Genetic analysis of kinematic traits at the trot in Lusitano horse subpopulations with different types of training

The possibility of using quantitative kinematic traits as indirect selection criteria for sport performance could be beneficial to perform an early genetic evaluation of the animals. The genetic parameters for objectively measured kinematic traits under field conditions have been estimated for the first time, in order to potentially use these traits as indicators of gait quality in future selection of the Lusitano breed. The repeatability within three different types of training (dressage, bullfighting and untrained) was also discussed. A total of 176 males (4 to 14 years old) were recorded at trot in hand using a 3D videographic system. The speed and 10 kinematic traits were studied (one temporal, two linear and seven angular variables). The genetic parameters of the kinematic variables were estimated using VCE software. The heritability estimates were moderate to high (0.18 to 0.53). The stride length and the forelimb angular variables presented the highest heritabilities (0.49 to 0.53), whereas the hindlimb angular variables revealed the lowest values (0.18 to 0.40). More than half of the genetic correlations were moderately to highly positive (mostly 0.20 to 0.70; up to 0.88 between hindlimb traits). The dressage and bullfighting groups presented the highest repeatabilities (over 0.6) in the majority of the traits, maybe because of the acquired gait regularity expected in animals subjected to specific training, and suggesting a greater influence of the individuals over the kinematic traits studied in these two subpopulations than in the untrained subpopulation. The longer swing phase duration and the larger range of motion of the elbow, hock and pelvis joints observed in the dressage group may indicate a better gait quality of this group, according to FEI (International Equestrian Federation) standards. The bullfighting and untrained groups were more similar to each other in terms of kinematic traits. Selection of young horses for characteristics such as stride length and the hindlimbs traits can apparently contribute to further genetic improvement of the performance of Lusitano breed

Estrategias metodológicas enfocadas a la mejora del aprendizaje en estudiantes con diversidad

Diseño y desarrollo de estrategias metodológicas que faciliten el aprendizaje de los estudiantes en general y que permitan a los estudiantes con diversidad funcional la integración y participación en el proceso de aprendizaje, que refuercen su inclusión y que favorezcan la adquisición de competencias

"Escape Seminar": Escápate del seminario

Las "escape room" son juegos de equipo para "escapar" de una sala o una sala virtual. Esta sala está llena de desafíos que se deben superar para ganar (escapar) dentro de un límite de tiempo determinado. Debido a que la enseñanza tradicional está causando problemas en torno a la motivación y el compromiso, y muchos estudiantes la perciben como ineficaz y aburrida, el uso de juegos educativos es muy prometedor porque son una herramienta de enseñanza para mejorar las habilidades no cognitivas, como la resolución de problemas y la colaboración. y comunicación. Los juegos tienen un notable poder motivador debido al uso de una serie de mecanismos que alientan a las personas a participar en ellos, a menudo sin ninguna recompensa, solo por la satisfacción de jugar y la posibilidad de ganar. En el curso 2019-2020, hemos desarrollado actividades basadas en el concepto de la "escape room" en las asignaturas: "Ciencia y Análisis de agua y bebidas" del Grado en Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos, "Química Analítica I" y "Físico-Química Farmacéutica" del Grado de Farmacia y “Química” del Grado en Óptica y Optometría de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Para el desarrollo del proyecto, todas las características y el progreso de las diferentes fases del seminario de la "escape room" se informaron en el primer día de clase y a través de la plataforma del Campus Virtual. Los estudiantes se agruparon (5-7 personas / grupo) y nombraron un portavoz que fue responsable de responder los retos de la actividad. Al final de esta acción, los estudiantes respondieron voluntariamente a las encuestas Likert para evaluar sus implicaciones y su percepción sobre su aprendizaje, trabajo en equipo y si les gustó la actividad propuesta

Científicas españolas: un mundo por descubrir

Objetivos: La Unión Europea sugiere, entre otros puntos, que la formación universitaria sea complementada con los avances que se vayan produciendo en la investigación científica y, además, pone un especial énfasis en la digitalización de contenidos y en la difusión a través de internet en la Educación Superior. Por ello, el objetivo del proyecto llevado a cabo fue realizar una actividad en la que los alumnos entrevistaran a una mujer científica española que trabajara en alguno de los temas estudiados en clases e ir creando un blog, vinculado a Facebook, con las entrevistas realizadas. De esta forma, además de dar visibilidad a las científicas de nuestro país, ya que en muchos casos la mujer está infravalorada por la sociedad en el ámbito científico, se pretendía conseguir la participación activa del alumnado y favorecer y fomentar su aprendizaje activo, desarrollar la capacidad del alumno de profundizar en un tema de investigación y de plantearse y de que tomaran conciencia del relevante nivel científico que existe en nuestro país y, en concreto, de la importancia que tienen las mujeres. Metodología: Se propuso la actividad a alumnos de 5 Grados diferentes (Farmacia, Doble Grado de Nutrición y Dietética, Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Terapia Ocupacional y Óptica y Optometría). Los alumnos interesados en participar formaron grupos de trabajo y eligieron el tema sobre el que querían trabajar del listado propuesto por los profesores. Buscaron una mujer científica española de reconocido prestigio que trabajara en el tema elegido y, después de comunicárselo al profesor, se pusieron en contacto con ella para solicitarles la realización de la entrevista. Una vez que esta accedía a su realización, los alumnos prepararon un dossier de preguntas basándose en los trabajos publicados de la misma, y, tras ser supervisado y corregido por el profesor, eran formuladas a la científica elegida. Una vez realizada la entrevista, los alumnos redactaron un artículo y tras su revisión por el profesor, se hacía público en el blog. Para dar mayor visibilidad al blog, se creó una cuenta abierta de Facebook en la que se iba vinculando el mismo. Al final de todo el proceso se realizó una valoración de la actividad global por parte de los alumnos mediante una encuesta de opinión tipo Likert. Resultados: Se ofertó la actividad a 581 alumnos y participaron 195 (33,6%). Con la actividad propuesta se ha conseguido la participación activa de un porcentaje considerable del alumnado, destacando en los Grados de CYTA (78,4%), Doble Grado de Farmacia y Nutrición (72,3%) y Farmacia (24,1%). Dentro de los que participaron en la actividad, el porcentaje de aprobados fue mayor que el de suspensos (78 vs. 22%; p<0,05, respectivamente). Por otra parte, la valoración otorgada a la actividad fue bastante buena (3,8 sobre 5 puntos), aunque muchos estudiantes manifestaron que les llevó bastante tiempo su realización. Por último, según los alumnos, la actividad les hizo tomar conciencia del alto nivel científico de muchas científicas españolas (4,5 puntos sobre 5)

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat