Advanced displays and natural user interfaces to support learning

[EN] Advanced displays and Natural User Interfaces (NUI) are a very suitable combination for developing systems to provide an enhanced and richer user experience. This combination can be appropriate in several fields and has not been extensively exploited. One of the fields that this combination is especially suitable for is education. Nowadays, children are growing up playing with computer games, using mobile devices, and other technological devices. New learning methods that use these new technologies can help in the learning process. In this paper, two new methods that use advanced displays and NUI for learning about a period of history are presented. One of the methods is an autostereoscopic system that lets children see themselves as a background in the game and renders the elements in 3D without the need for special glasses; the second method is a frontal projection system that projects the image on a table in 2D and works similarly to a touch table. The Microsoft Kinect© is used in both systems for the interaction. A comparative study to check different aspects was carried out. A total of 128 children from 7 to 11 years old participated in the study. From the results, we observed that the different characteristics of the systems did not influence the children s acquired knowledge, engagement, or satisfaction. There were statistically significant differences for depth perception and presence in which the autostereoscopic system was scored higher. However, of the two systems, the children considered the frontal projection to be easier to use. We would like to highlight that the scores for the two systems and for all the questions were very high. These results suggest that games of this kind (advanced displays and NUI) could be appropriate educational games and that autostereoscopy is a technology to exploit in their development.This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the APRENDRA project (TIN2009-14319-C02-01).Martín San José, JF.; Juan, M.; Mollá Vayá, RP.; Vivó Hernando, RA. (2017). Advanced displays and natural user interfaces to support learning. Interactive Learning Environments. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2015.1090455

The PARP inhibitor olaparib enhances the sensitivity of Ewing sarcoma to trabectedin

Producción CientíficaRecent preclinical evidence has suggested that Ewing Sarcoma (ES) bearing EWSR1-ETS fusions could be particularly sensitive to PARP inhibitors (PARPinh) in combination with DNA damage repair (DDR) agents. Trabectedin is an antitumoral agent that modulates EWSR1-FLI1 transcriptional functions, causing DNA damage. Interestingly, PARP1 is also a transcriptional regulator of EWSR1-FLI1, and PARPinh disrupts the DDR machinery. Thus, given the impact and apparent specificity of both agents with regard to the DNA damage/DDR system and EWSR1-FLI1 activity in ES, we decided to explore the activity of combining PARPinh and Trabectedin in in vitro and in vivo experiments. The combination of Olaparib and Trabectedin was found to be highly synergistic, inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis, and the accumulation of G2/M. The drug combination also enhanced γH2AX intranuclear accumulation as a result of DNA damage induction, DNA fragmentation and global DDR deregulation, while EWSR1-FLI1 target expression remained unaffected. The effect of the drug combination was corroborated in a mouse xenograft model of ES and, more importantly, in two ES patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models in which the tumors showed complete regression. In conclusion, the combination of the two agents leads to a biologically significant deregulation of the DDR machinery that elicits relevant antitumor activity in preclinical models and might represent a promising therapeutic tool that should be further explored for translation to the clinical setting.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PI081828)Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (RD06/0020/0059 )Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (RD12/0036/0017)Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PT13/0010/0056

Mendelian Randomisation Confirms the Role of Y-Chromosome Loss in Alzheimer’s Disease Aetiopathogenesis in Men

Mosaic loss of chromosome Y (mLOY) is a common ageing-related somatic event and has been previously associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, mLOY estimation from genotype microarray data only reflects the mLOY degree of subjects at the moment of DNA sampling. Therefore, mLOY phenotype associations with AD can be severely age-confounded in the context of genome-wide association studies. Here, we applied Mendelian randomisation to construct an age-independent mLOY polygenic risk score (mloy-PRS) using 114 autosomal variants. The mloy-PRS instrument was associated with an 80% increase in mLOY risk per standard deviation unit (p = 4.22 × 10−20) and was orthogonal with age. We found that a higher genetic risk for mLOY was associated with faster progression to AD in men with mild cognitive impairment (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.23, p = 0.01). Importantly, mloy-PRS had no effect on AD conversion or risk in the female group, suggesting that these associations are caused by the inherent loss of the Y chromosome. Additionally, the blood mLOY phenotype in men was associated with increased cerebrospinal fluid levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau181 in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Our results strongly suggest that mLOY is involved in AD pathogenesis.P.G.-G. (Pablo García-González) is supported by CIBERNED employment plan CNV-304-PRF-866. CIBERNED is integrated into ISCIII (Instituto de Salud Carlos III). I.d.R is supported by a national grant from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III FI20/00215. A.C. (Amanda Cano) acknowledges the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities under the grant Juan de la Cierva (FJC2018-036012-I). M.B. (Mercé Boada) and A.R. (Agustín Ruiz) are also supported by national grants PI13/02434, PI16/01861, PI17/01474, PI19/01240, and PI19/01301. The Genome Research @ Fundació ACE project (GR@ACE) is supported by Grifols SA, Fundación bancaria “La Caixa”, Fundació ACE, and CIBERNED. Acción Estratégica en Salud is integrated into the Spanish National R + D + I Plan and funded by ISCIII (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)—Subdirección General de Evaluación—and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER—“Una manera de hacer Europa”). Genotyping of the ACE MCI-EADB samples was performed in the context of EADB (European Alzheimer DNA biobank) funded by the JPco-fuND FP-829-029 (ZonMW project number 733051061). This work was supported by a grant (European Alzheimer DNA BioBank, EADB) from the EU Joint Program—Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND). Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Long runs of homozygosity are associated with Alzheimer's disease

Altres ajuts: The Genome Research at Fundació ACE project (GR@ACE) is supported by Fundación bancaria "La Caixa," Grifols SA and Fundació ACE. L.M.R. is supported by Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (Grant PI-0001/2017).Long runs of homozygosity (ROH) are contiguous stretches of homozygous genotypes, which are a footprint of inbreeding and recessive inheritance. The presence of recessive loci is suggested for Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, their search has been poorly assessed to date. To investigate homozygosity in AD, here we performed a fine-scale ROH analysis using 10 independent cohorts of European ancestry (11,919 AD cases and 9181 controls.) We detected an increase of homozygosity in AD cases compared to controls [ β (CI 95%) = 0.070 (0.037-0.104); P = 3.91 × 10 −5 ; β (CI95%) = 0.043 (0.009-0.076); P = 0.013]. ROHs increasing the risk of AD (OR > 1) were significantly overrepresented compared to ROHs increasing protection (p < 2.20 × 10 −16). A significant ROH association with AD risk was detected upstream the HS3ST1 locus (chr4:11,189,482‒11,305,456), (β (CI 95%) = 1.09 (0.48 ‒ 1.48), p value = 9.03 × 10 −4), previously related to AD. Next, to search for recessive candidate variants in ROHs, we constructed a homozygosity map of inbred AD cases extracted from an outbred population and explored ROH regions in whole-exome sequencing data (N = 1449). We detected a candidate marker, rs117458494, mapped in the SPON1 locus, which has been previously associated with amyloid metabolism. Here, we provide a research framework to look for recessive variants in AD using outbred populations. Our results showed that AD cases have enriched homozygosity, suggesting that recessive effects may explain a proportion of AD heritability

Evaluación del perfil competencial del estudiantado UCM por nivel de iniciativa emprendedora y género. Validación del Modelo Entrecomp de competencias emprendedoras

Examinar la relación entre las competencias emprendedoras propuestas por el Marco Europeo de Competencias Emprendedoras (Entrecomp) y el nivel de intención emprendedora. Se consideran las siguientes variables: sexo, estudios que realiza, si compagina trabajo y estudio, y Universidad en la que estudia

Viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are the main etiological agents of community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalized pediatric patients in Spain

[Objectives]: To describe the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in hospitalized children in Spain and analyze the predictors of the etiology.[Hypothesis]: The different etiological groups of pediatric CAP are associated with different clinical, radiographic, and analytical data.[Design]: Observational, multicenter, and prospective study.[Patient selection]: This study included children aged 1 month to 17 years with CAP, who were hospitalized between April 2012 and May 2019.[Methods]: An extensive microbiological workup was performed. The clinical, radiographic, and analytical parameters were analyzed for three etiological groups.[Results]: Among the 495 children included, at least one causative pathogen was identified in 262 (52.9%): pathogenic viruses in 155/262 (59.2%); atypical bacteria (AB), mainly Mycoplasma pneumonia, in 84/262 (32.1%); and typical bacteria (TyB) in 40/262 (15.3%). Consolidation was observed in 89/138 (64.5%) patients with viral CAP, 74/84 (88.1%) with CAP caused by AB, and 40/40 (100%) with CAP caused by TyB. Para-pneumonic pleural effusion (PPE) was observed in 112/495 (22.6%) patients, of which 61/112 (54.5%) presented a likely causative pathogen: viruses in 12/61 (19.7%); AB in 23/61 (37.7%); and TyB in 26/61 (42.6%). Viral etiology was significantly frequent in young patients and in those with low oxygen saturation, wheezing, no consolidation, and high lymphocyte counts. CAP patients with AB as the etiological agent had a significantly longer and less serious course as compared to those with other causative pathogens.[Conclusions]: Viruses and M. pneumoniae are the main causes of pediatric CAP in Spain. Wheezing, young age, and no consolidation on radiographs are indicative of viral etiology. Viruses and AB can also cause PPE. Since only a few cases can be directly attributed to TyB, the indications for antibiotics must be carefully considered in each patient.Instituto de Investigación Hospital 12 de Octubre (i+12), Grant/Award Number: AY191212‐1; Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness) and co‐funded by the European Regional Development Funds, Grant/Award Number: Project PI17/01458; Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS), Grant/Award Number: PCAPE 2011_0025 Register 320/11; Research Project of Universidad Europea de Madrid, Grant/Award Number: 2017/UEM03Peer reviewe

Caracterización del Banco de La Concepción

Se integra información hidrográfica, geomorfológica, sedimentológica, biológica, sobre hábitats marinos y pesquera, para establecer las bases ecológicas necesarias para la protección y conservación del Banco de La ConcepciónEl proyecto INDEMARES ha permitido utilizar amplios medios económicos y personales para estudiar en detalle y desde múltiples perspectivas la zona del Banco de La Concepción. Se han aplicado metodologías para el estudio de la hidrografía, caracterizando la región, describiendo sus principales masas de agua y la hidrodinámica de las corrientes. También se ha abordado la geología de la zona, incluyendo levantamientos batimétricos, perfiles sísmicos, muestreos de sedimento y petrológicos, obteniendo modelos digitales del terreno, mapas de tipos de fondo, geomorfológicos. Se han caracterizado las comunidades bentopelágicas, demersales, epibentónicas y endobentónicas, prestando especial atención a aquellas que conforman o estructuran los hábitats sensibles cuyo inventariado y cartografía era objeto principal del proyecto. Los trabajos de identificación de hábitats se han realizado con muestreadores directos, pero también con muestreadores visuales, que han permitido hacer un mayor esfuerzo de muestreo sin aumentar el impacto sobre los fondos de la zona. Por otro lado se ha estudiado la huella pesquera de la zona por medio del análisis de los datos VMS y los cuadernos de pesca proporcionados por la SGP, además de una ardua labor a pie de puerto de entrevistas y encuestas. Toda la información ha sido gestionada y analizada por diferentes grupos de investigación de diferentes centros (Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar de Barcelona, Universidad de Barcelona, Centro de Investigaciones Medioambientales del Atlántico, Centro Oceanográfico de Santander y Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga del Instituto Español de Oceanografía, …), aunque el grueso de esta labor, además de la coordinación, se ha llevado a cabo en el Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias del Instituto Español de Oceanografía. Los resultados permiten tener un conocimiento profundo y multidisciplinar de la zona de estudio comparable a pocos proyectos de investigación marina en la macaronesia. El estudio oceanográfico, el geológico, y el de las comunidades biológicas, ha permitido la caracterización de los hábitats de la zona, y su cartografiado mediante el intenso muestreo y la aplicación de análisis de idoneidad de hábitats.INDEMARES Project made possible to bring together economic and staff resources to study in detail, and from multiple perspectives, the area of Banco de La Concepción. Methodologies have been applied to study hydrography, making a regional characterization, depicting main water masses, and current hydrodynamics. Geology has been tackled including bathymetric uplifting, seismic profiles, sediment and petrological sampling, obtaining digital terrain models, type of bottom maps, geomorphological maps, as an output. Benthopelagic, demersal, epibenthic and endobenthic communities have been characterized, paying special attention to sensitive habitats which inventory and mapping was the project’s main aim. Habitat identification has been made with direct and visual samplers, the latter making a major sampling effort possible without an increase of bottom impact. Moreover, fisheries footprint has been identified by Vessel Monitoring System data, together with logbooks from Secretaría General de Pesca (Fisheries Ministry), as well as a hard interviewing and surveying task at landing points. Information has been managed and analysed by different research groups from different Centres (Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar de Barcelona, Universidad de Barcelona, Centro de Investigaciones Medioambientales del Atlántico, Centro Oceanográfico de Santander y Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga del Instituto Español de Oceanografía), although the main body of the work, plus coordination, has been made by the Canary Islands Oceanographic Centre, from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography. Results let us have a multidisciplinary profound knowledge of the study zone, comparable to few other marine research projects off Macaronesia. The study about oceanography, geology and biologic communities has allowed the habitats characterization and mapping by means of intensive sampling and habitat suitability analysis.Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Comisión Europea Programa LIFE+, Fundación Biodiversida

Caracterización del Sur de Fuerteventura

Se integra información hidrográfica, geomorfológica, sedimentológica, biológica, sobre hábitats marinos y pesquera, para establecer las bases ecológicas necesarias para la protección y conservación del Sur de Fuerteventura (Montes de Amanay y El Banquete)El proyecto INDEMARES ha permitido utilizar amplios medios económicos y personales para estudiar en detalle y desde múltiples perspectivas la zona del Sur de Fuerteventura (montes de Amanay y El Banquete). Se han aplicado metodologías para el estudio de la hidrografía, caracterizando la región, describiendo sus principales masas de agua y la hidrodinámica de las corrientes. También se ha abordado la geología de la zona, incluyendo levantamientos batimétricos, perfiles sísmicos, muestreos de sedimento y petrológicos, obteniendo modelos digitales del terreno, mapas de tipos de fondo, geomorfológicos. Se han caracterizado las comunidades bentopelágicas, demersales, epibentónicas y endobentónicas, prestando especial atención a aquellas que conforman o estructuran los hábitats sensibles cuyo inventariado y cartografía era objeto principal del proyecto. Los trabajos de identificación de hábitats se han realizado con muestreadores directos, pero también con muestreadores visuales, que han permitido hacer un mayor esfuerzo de muestreo sin aumentar el impacto sobre los fondos de la zona. Por otro lado se ha estudiado la huella pesquera de la zona por medio del análisis de los datos VMS y los cuadernos de pesca proporcionados por la SGP, además de una ardua labor a pie de puerto de entrevistas y encuestas. Toda la información ha sido gestionada y analizada por diferentes grupos de investigación de diferentes centros (Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar de Barcelona, Universidad de Barcelona, Centro de Investigaciones Medioambientales del Atlántico, Centro Oceanográfico de Santander y Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga del Instituto Español de Oceanografía, …), aunque el grueso de esta labor, además de la coordinación, se ha llevado a cabo en el Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias del Instituto Español de Oceanografía. Los resultados permiten tener un conocimiento profundo y multidisciplinar de la zona de estudio comparable a pocos proyectos de investigación marina en la Macaronesia. El estudio oceanográfico, el geológico, y el de las comunidades biológicas, ha permitido la caracterización de los hábitats de la zona, y su cartografiado mediante el intenso muestreo y la aplicación de análisis de idoneidad de hábitats.Abstract: INDEMARES Project made possible to bring together economic and staff resources to study in detail, and from multiple perspectives, the area of South of Fuerteventura (Amanay and El Banquete Semounts). Methodologies have been applied to study hydrography, making a regional characterization, depicting main water masses, and current hydrodynamics. Geology has been tackled including bathymetric uplifting, seismic profiles, sediment and petrological sampling, obtaining digital terrain models, type of bottom maps, geomorphological maps, as an output. Benthopelagic, demersal, epibenthic and endobenthic communities have been characterized, paying special attention to sensitive habitats which inventory and mapping was the project’s main aim. Habitat identification has been made with direct and visual samplers, the latter making a major sampling effort possible without an increase of bottom impact. Moreover, fisheries footprint has been identified by Vessel Monitoring System data, together with logbooks from Secretaría General de Pesca (Fisheries Ministry), as well as a hard interviewing and surveying task at landing points. Information has been managed and analysed by different research groups from different Centres (Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar de Barcelona, Universidad de Barcelona, Centro de Investigaciones Medioambientales del Atlántico, Centro Oceanográfico de Santander y Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga del Instituto Español de Oceanografía), although the main body of the work, plus coordination, has been made by the Canary Islands Oceanographic Centre, from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography. Results let us have a multidisciplinary profound knowledge of the study zone, comparable to few other marine research projects off Macaronesia. The study about oceanography, geology and biologic communities has allowed the habitats characterization and mapping by means of intensive sampling and habitat suitability analysis.Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Comisión Europea Programa LIFE+, Fundación Biodiversida

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues