Entornos virtuales de aprendizaje como espacio complementario en la formación inicial de profesores

The objective of this article is to describe the projections of uses of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) as Complementary Training Spaces (CTS) within the courses oriented to the integration of ICTs in educational processes of the School of Education at the University of Antoquia. (Medellin, Colombia). For this purpose, a qualitative approach is adopted. A documentary review of course syllabi was carried out and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the teachers who guide the courses. The results are reported from four categories: roles, interactivity, competencies, and educational potential of VLEs. The findings highlight that the roles of the educational actors change when interacting in a VLE; the interaction made possible by these environments gives place to new ways of relating to others. Emphasis is placed on the autonomy component required of future teachers to participate in these spaces, in addition to the need for training in technologies so that the educational processes in an VLE can be developed successfully.El objetivo de este artículo es describir las proyecciones de uso de los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje (EVA) como espacios complementarios de formación dentro de los cursos orientados a la integración de las TIC en procesos educativos de la Facultad de Educación de la Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín, Colombia). Para ello se adopta un enfoque cualitativo fundamentado en una revisión documental de los programas de curso y en entrevistas semiestructuradas con los profesores que orientan dichos espacios. Los resultados se reportan a partir de cuatro categorías: roles, interactividad, habilidades y aptitudes, y potencial educativo de los EVA. Dentro de los hallazgos se destaca que los roles de los actores educativos cambian al interactuar en un EVA; la interacción que posibilitan estos entornos da paso a nuevas formas de relacionarse. Se hace hincapié en el componente de autonomía que se requiere de los futuros profesores para participar en estos espacios, además de las necesidades de formación en tecnología para que los procesos educativos en un EVA se desarrollen de manera exitosa

Quantification of SNAP-25 with mass spectrometry and Simoa: a method comparison in Alzheimer's disease

BACKGROUND: Synaptic dysfunction and degeneration are central to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and have been found to correlate strongly with cognitive decline. Thus, studying cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers reflecting synaptic degeneration, such as the presynaptic protein synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25), is of importance to better understand the AD pathophysiology. METHODS: We compared a newly developed Single molecule array (Simoa) immunoassay for SNAP-25 with an in-house immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry (IP-MS) method in a well-characterized clinical cohort (n = 70) consisting of cognitively unimpaired (CU) and cognitively impaired (CI) individuals with and without Aβ pathology (Aβ+ and Aβ-). RESULTS: A strong correlation (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rs) > 0.88; p < 0.0001) was found between the Simoa and IP-MS methods, and no statistically significant difference was found for their clinical performance to identify AD pathophysiology in the form of Aβ pathology. Increased CSF SNAP-25 levels in CI Aβ+ compared with CU Aβ- (Simoa, p ≤ 0.01; IP-MS, p ≤ 0.05) and CI Aβ- (Simoa, p ≤ 0.01; IP-MS, p ≤ 0.05) were observed. In independent blood samples (n = 32), the Simoa SNAP-25 assay was found to lack analytical sensitivity for quantification of SNAP-25 in plasma. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the Simoa SNAP-25 method can be used interchangeably with the IP-MS method for the quantification of SNAP-25 in CSF. Additionally, these results confirm that CSF SNAP-25 is increased in relation to amyloid pathology in the AD continuum

Comportamento criminoso em Medellín em tempos de pandemia, um modelo espaço-tempora

This paper aimed to identify the effect that the implementation of preventive mandatory social isolation had on the dynamics of security and coexistence in Medellín, Colombia. Using a Bayesian structural time-series model, the weight of this preventive measure in the variation of the indicators was calculated: homicides, forced intra-urban displacement, robbery, motorcycles theft, car theft, sexual crimes, family violence, fights, and personal injuries. The results showed this measure had a direct and significant impact on the behavior of the indicators considered; there were increases between 9.8% and 173%, and decreases between 22.9% and 85%, compared to the projections without this measure.Este artículo buscó identificar el efecto que tuvo la implementación del aislamiento social preventivo obligatorio en las dinámicas de seguridad y convivencia de Medellín, Colombia. Por medio de un modelo de series de tiempo estructural bayesiano, se calculó el peso que tuvo esta medida preventiva en la variación de los indicadores: homicidios, desplazamiento forzado intraurbano, hurto a personas, hurto de motos, hurto de carros, delitos sexuales, violencia intrafamiliar, riñas y lesiones personales. Los resultados mostraron que tuvo un impacto directo y significativo sobre el comportamiento de los indicadores considerados; se registraron aumentos entre el 9,8 y el 173% y disminuciones entre el 22,9 y el 85%, en comparación con las proyecciones realizadas para un escenario sin esta medida.Este artigo busca identificar o efeito que a implementação do isolamento social preventivo obrigatório —ASPO (em espanhol)— teve sobre a dinâmica da segurança e da convivência em Medellín (Colômbia). Utilizando um modelo de séries temporais estruturais bayesianas, foi calculado o efeito do ASPO na variação dos indicadores: homicídios, deslocamento intra-urbano forçado, furto de pessoas, motocicletas e automóveis, crimes sexuais, violência doméstica, brigas e lesões corporais. Os resultados mostraram que o ASPO teve um impacto direto e significativo no comportamento dos indicadores considerados, registrando aumentos entre 9,8% e 173% e diminuições entre 22,9% e 85% em relação às projeções feitas para uma etapa sem ASPO

Validation of the LUMIPULSE automated immunoassay for the measurement of core AD biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid

Altres ajuts: Swedish Research Council (#2017-00915); Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), USA (#RDAPB-201809-2016615); Swedish Alzheimer Foundation (#AF-742881); Hjärnfonden, Sweden (#FO2017-0243); Swedish State Under the Agreement Between the Swedish Government and the County Councils, the ALF-Agreement (#ALFGBG-715986); National Program of Sustainability II (MEYS CR); Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (grant no. 19-04-00560); ZonMW (part of the Dutch national 'Deltaplan for Dementia'; Selfridges Group Foundation; National Institutes of Health, USA (grant number 5R01NS104147-02); Alzheimerfonden (AF-930934); Åhléns-stiftelsen; Stiftelsen för Gamla tjänarinnor; Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (MOP-11-51-31; RFN 152985, 159815, 162303); Canadian Consortium of Neurodegeneration and Aging (CCNA; MOP-11-51-31 -team 1); Weston Brain Institute, the Alzheimer's Association (NIRG-12-92090, NIRP-12-259245); Brain Canada Foundation (CFI Project 34874; 33397); Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS; Chercheur Boursier, 2020-VICO-279314); Wallenberg Scholar supported by grants, Swedish Research Council (#2018-02532); Swedish State Support for Clinical Research (#ALFGBG-720931); Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), USA (#201809-2016862); Dementia Research Institute at UCL.Objectives: The core cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers; total tau (tTau), phospho-tau (pTau), amyloid β 1-42 (Aβ 1-42), and the Aβ 1-42/Aβ 1-40 ratio have transformed Alzheimer's disease (AD) research and are today increasingly used in clinical routine laboratories as diagnostic tools. Fully automated immunoassay instruments with ready-to-use assay kits and calibrators has simplified their analysis and improved reproducibility of measurements. We evaluated the analytical performance of the fully automated immunoassay instrument LUMIPULSE G (Fujirebio) for measurement of the four core AD CSF biomarkers and determined cutpoints for AD diagnosis. Methods: Comparison of the LUMIPULSE G assays was performed with the established INNOTEST ELISAs (Fujirebio) for hTau Ag, pTau 181, β-amyloid 1-42, and with V-PLEX Plus Aβ Peptide Panel 1 (6E10) (Meso Scale Discovery) for Aβ 1-42/Aβ 1-40, as well as with a LC-MS reference method for Aβ 1-42. Intra- and inter-laboratory reproducibility was evaluated for all assays. Clinical cutpoints for Aβ 1-42, tTau, and pTau was determined by analysis of three cohorts of clinically diagnosed patients, comprising 651 CSF samples. For the Aβ 1-42/Aβ 1-40 ratio, the cutpoint was determined by mixture model analysis of 2,782 CSF samples. Results: The LUMIPULSE G assays showed strong correlation to all other immunoassays (r>0.93 for all assays). The repeatability (intra-laboratory) CVs ranged between 2.0 and 5.6%, with the highest variation observed for β-amyloid 1-40. The reproducibility (inter-laboratory) CVs ranged between 2.1 and 6.5%, with the highest variation observed for β-amyloid 1-42. The clinical cutpoints for AD were determined to be 409 ng/L for total tau, 50.2 ng/L for pTau 181, 526 ng/L for β-amyloid 1-42, and 0.072 for the Aβ 1-42/Aβ 1-40 ratio. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the LUMIPULSE G assays for the CSF AD biomarkers are fit for purpose in clinical laboratory practice. Further, they corroborate earlier presented reference limits for the biomarkers

Plasma concentration of 36 (poly)phenols and prospective body weight change in participants from the EPIC cohort.

Introduction: Dietary intake of (poly)phenols has been linked to reduced adiposity and body weight (BW) in several epidemiological studies. However, epidemiological evidence on (poly)phenol biomarkers, particularly plasma concentrations, is scarce. We aimed to investigate the associations between plasma (poly)phenols and prospective BW change in participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods: This study included 761 participants with data on BW at baseline and after 5 years of follow-up. Plasma concentrations of 36 (poly)phenols were measured at baseline using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Associations were assessed through general linear mixed models and multinomial logistic regression models, using change in BW as a continuous or as a categorical variable (BW loss, maintenance, gain), respectively. Plasma (poly)phenols were assessed as log2-transformed continuous variables. The false discovery rate (FDR) was used to control for multiple comparisons. Results: Doubling plasma (poly)phenol concentrations showed a borderline trend towards a positive association with BW loss. Plasma vanillic acid showed the strongest association (-0.53 kg/5 years; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.99, -0.07). Similar results were observed for plasma naringenin comparing BW loss versus BW maintenance (odds ratio: 1.1; 95% CI: 1.0, 1.2). These results did not remain significant after FDR correction. Conclusion: Higher concentrations of plasma (poly)phenols suggested a tendency towards 5-year BW maintenance or loss. While certain associations seemed promising, they did not withstand FDR correction, indicating the need for caution in interpreting these results. Further studies using (poly)phenol biomarkers are needed to confirm these suggestive protective trends. Keywords: Body weight; Cohort; EPIC; Nutritional biomarker; Plasma (poly)phenol

Robust T cell immunity in convalescent individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cells will likely prove critical for long-term immune protection against COVID-19. Here, we systematically mapped the functional and phenotypic landscape of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in unexposed individuals, exposed family members, and individuals with acute or convalescent COVID-19. Acute-phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells displayed a highly activated cytotoxic phenotype that correlated with various clinical markers of disease severity, whereas convalescent-phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were polyfunctional and displayed a stem-like memory phenotype. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were detectable in antibody-seronegative exposed family members and convalescent individuals with a history of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19. Our collective dataset shows that SARS-CoV-2 elicits broadly directed and functionally replete memory T cell responses, suggesting that natural exposure or infection may prevent recurrent episodes of severe COVID-19

Methodologies for in vitro and in vivo evaluation of efficacy of antifungal and antibiofilm agents and surface coatings against fungal biofilms

KT acknowledges receipt of a mandate of Industrial Research Fund (IOFm/05/022). JB acknowledges funding from the European Research Council Advanced Award 3400867/RAPLODAPT and the Israel Science Foundation grant # 314/13 (www.isf.il). NG acknowledges the Wellcome Trust and MRC for funding. CD acknowledges funding from the Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID). CJN acknowledges funding from the National Institutes of Health R35GM124594 and R21AI125801. AW is supported by the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award (grant 097377), the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (grant MR/N006364/1) at the University of Aberdeen MaCA: outside this study MaCA has received personal speaker’s honoraria the past five years from Astellas, Basilea, Gilead, MSD, Pfizer, T2Candida, and Novartis. She has received research grants and contract work paid to the Statens Serum Institute from Astellas, Basilea, Gilead, MSD, NovaBiotics, Pfizer, T2Biosystems, F2G, Cidara, and Amplyx. CAM acknowledges the Wellcome Trust and the MRC MR/N006364/1. PVD, TC and KT acknowledge the FWO research community: Biology and ecology of bacterial and fungal biofilms in humans (FWO WO.009.16N). AAB acknowledges the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – CRC FungiNet.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

COVID-19 trajectories among 57 million adults in England: a cohort study using electronic health records

BACKGROUND: Updatable estimates of COVID-19 onset, progression, and trajectories underpin pandemic mitigation efforts. To identify and characterise disease trajectories, we aimed to define and validate ten COVID-19 phenotypes from nationwide linked electronic health records (EHR) using an extensible framework. METHODS: In this cohort study, we used eight linked National Health Service (NHS) datasets for people in England alive on Jan 23, 2020. Data on COVID-19 testing, vaccination, primary and secondary care records, and death registrations were collected until Nov 30, 2021. We defined ten COVID-19 phenotypes reflecting clinically relevant stages of disease severity and encompassing five categories: positive SARS-CoV-2 test, primary care diagnosis, hospital admission, ventilation modality (four phenotypes), and death (three phenotypes). We constructed patient trajectories illustrating transition frequency and duration between phenotypes. Analyses were stratified by pandemic waves and vaccination status. FINDINGS: Among 57 032 174 individuals included in the cohort, 13 990 423 COVID-19 events were identified in 7 244 925 individuals, equating to an infection rate of 12·7% during the study period. Of 7 244 925 individuals, 460 737 (6·4%) were admitted to hospital and 158 020 (2·2%) died. Of 460 737 individuals who were admitted to hospital, 48 847 (10·6%) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), 69 090 (15·0%) received non-invasive ventilation, and 25 928 (5·6%) received invasive ventilation. Among 384 135 patients who were admitted to hospital but did not require ventilation, mortality was higher in wave 1 (23 485 [30·4%] of 77 202 patients) than wave 2 (44 220 [23·1%] of 191 528 patients), but remained unchanged for patients admitted to the ICU. Mortality was highest among patients who received ventilatory support outside of the ICU in wave 1 (2569 [50·7%] of 5063 patients). 15 486 (9·8%) of 158 020 COVID-19-related deaths occurred within 28 days of the first COVID-19 event without a COVID-19 diagnoses on the death certificate. 10 884 (6·9%) of 158 020 deaths were identified exclusively from mortality data with no previous COVID-19 phenotype recorded. We observed longer patient trajectories in wave 2 than wave 1. INTERPRETATION: Our analyses illustrate the wide spectrum of disease trajectories as shown by differences in incidence, survival, and clinical pathways. We have provided a modular analytical framework that can be used to monitor the impact of the pandemic and generate evidence of clinical and policy relevance using multiple EHR sources. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre, led by Health Data Research UK