Drogas y conflicto armado.

En el marco de la política de Seguridad Democrática colombiana, los autores amplían y hacen claridad acerca de la relación conflicto armado-narcotráfico. Este valioso análisis expone otros casos internacionales que nos sirven de referencia; además, ve las debilidades del Estado colombiano y propone soluciones que implican la corresponsabilidad y el compromiso mutuo

Interpretación de la letra en estudiantes “talentosos” de educación básica y media

Esta intervención se realizó con estudiantes con rendimiento académicosobresaliente en un colegio distrital de la ciudad de Bogotá. El instrumentoaplicado es del profesor Pedro Javier Rojas y fue discutido en el seminario deTransición Aritmética- Álgebra de la Maestría en Educación de la UniversidadDistrital Francisco José de Caldas. Se presentan los resultados de la implementación de un instrumento que tiene como fin, en este caso, indagar sobrelos significados de la letra en contextos numéricos en estudiantes de grado 8°a 11°. El análisis se hace a partir de lo que se esperaba antes de la aplicación ylo que realmente ocurrió al aplicarlo

Personalidad y ajuste psicológico en cuidadores remunerados. ¿Lo mejor para el cuidado es también lo mejor para los cuidadores?

Caring for a dependent person can involve a risk for the caregiver’s psychological health. This risk is clarified by the individual differences in per-sonality. These are stable but non-definitive personal characteristics, and their variability in efficiency depends on the context. The processes involved in caregivers’ adaptation can facilitate or hinder general psychological adjustment and well-being. Objectives: To explore which caregiver characteristics are consi-dered suitable to care for others and to contribute to caregivers’ better functioning and well-being. Methods: 171 formal caregivers (mean age = 36.34, SD = 9.99) completed the Millon Index of Personality Styles, which assesses normal persona-lity and offers a Clinical Index, to evaluate psychological adjustment; the Global Satisfaction scale; and the CUIDA, a questionnaire of the appropriate affective and cognitive variables to offer good care to others. Multiple stepwise linear regressions were carried out. Results: Caregiver characteristics related to In-dependence and Altruism explained poorer psychological adjustment, whereas Self-Esteem, Sociability, and Emotional Balance explained better personal ad-justment. Self-Esteem and Sociability explained higher Global Satisfaction, whereas Openness explained lower Satisfaction. Conclusions: Some personal characteristics that may be important for caregiving may not facilitate good psychological adjustment and well-being in some caregiving contexts. Per-sonal adaptation, as defined herein, depends on the context.Cuidar de una persona en situación de dependencia puede suponer un riesgo para la salud psicológica de la persona que cuida. Este riesgo es matizado por las diferencias individuales en personalidad. Se trata de características personales estables pero no definitivas, y su eficiencia depende del contexto. Los procesos involucrados en la adaptación de las personas cuidadoras pueden facilitar o dificultar su ajuste y bienestar psicológicos. Objetivo: explorar qué características son apropiadas para cuidar de otras personas y para contribuir a un buen funcionamiento y bienestar psicológicos en los cuidadores. Método: 171 cuidadores remunerados (media de edad = 36.34, DT = 9.99) completaron el Inventario de Estilos de Personalidad de Millon, que evalúa personalidad normal y ofrece un Índice de Ajuste, que valora el ajuste psicológico; la Escala de Satisfacción Global; y el CUIDA, un cuestionario sobre las variables afectivas y cognitivas necesarias para cuidar bien de otras personas. Se utilizaron Regre-siones Múltiples por pasos. Resultados: las características de los cuidadores relacionadas con Independecia y Altruismo explicaron un peor ajuste psicológico, mientras que Autoestima, Sociabilidad y Equilibrio emocional explicaron un mayor ajuste. Autoestima y Sociabilidad explicaron una mayor satisfacción global, mientras que Apertura explicó una peor satisfacción. Conclusiones: algunas características personales que pueden ser importantes para el cuidado pueden no facilitar un buen ajuste y bienestar psicológicos en algunos contextos de cuidado. La adaptación personal, tal y como es definida en este trabajo, depende del contexto

eHealth Intervention to Improve Health Habits in the Adolescent Population: Mixed Methods Study

[EN] Background: Technology has provided a new way of life for the adolescent population. Indeed, strategies aimed at improving health-related behaviors through digital platforms can offer promising results. However, since it has been shown that peers are capable of modifying behaviors related to food and physical exercise, it is important to study whether digital interventions based on peer influence are capable of improving the weight status of adolescents. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an eHealth app in an adolescent population in terms of improvements in their age- and sex-adjusted BMI percentiles. Other goals of the study were to examine the social relationships of adolescents pre- and postintervention, and to identify the group leaders and study their profiles, eating and physical activity habits, and use of the web app. Methods: The BMI percentiles were calculated in accordance with the reference guidelines of the World Health Organization. Participants’ diets and levels of physical activity were assessed using the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED) questionnaire and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A), respectively. The variables related to social networks were analyzed using the social network analysis (SNA) methodology. In this respect, peer relationships that were considered reciprocal friendships were used to compute the “degree” measure, which was used as an indicative parameter of centrality. Results: The sample population comprised 210 individuals in the intervention group (IG) and 91 individuals in the control group (CG). A participation rate of 60.1% (301/501) was obtained. After checking for homogeneity between the IG and the CG, it was found that adolescents in the IG at BMI percentiles both below and above the 50th percentile (P50) modified their BMI to approach this reference value (with a significance of P<.001 among individuals with an initial BMI below the P50 and P=.04 for those with an initial BMI above the P50). The diet was also improved in the IG compared with the CG (P<.001). After verifying that the social network had increased postintervention, it was seen that the group leaders (according to the degree SNA measure) were also leaders in physical activity performed (P=.002) and use of the app. Conclusions: The eHealth app was able to modify behaviors related to P50 compliance and exert a positive influence in relation to diet and physical exercise. Digital interventions in the adolescent population, based on the improvement in behaviors related to healthy habits and optimizing the social network, can offer promising results that help in the fight against obesity.SIThis research was funded by the Junta de Castilla y León grant number LE014G

S 47445 counteracts the behavioral manifestations and hippocampal neuroplasticity changes in bulbectomized mice

S 47445 is a positive allosteric modulator of glutamate AMPA-type receptors that possesses procognitive, neurotrophic and enhancing synaptic plasticity properties. Its chronic administration promotes antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like effects in different rodent models of depression. We have evaluated the behavioral effects of S 47445 in the bilateral olfactory bulbectomy mice model (OB) and the adaptive changes in those proteins associated to brain neuroplasticity (BDNF and mTOR pathway). Following OB surgery, adult C57BL/6J male mice were chronically administered S 47445 (1, 3 and 10?mg/kg/day; i.p.) and fluoxetine (18?mg/kg/day; i.p.), and then behaviorally tested in the open field test. Afterwards, the expression levels of BDNF, mTOR, phospho-mTOR, 4EBP1 and phospho-4EBP1 were evaluated in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Both drugs reduced the OB-induced locomotor activity, a predictive outcome of antidepressant efficacy, with a similar temporal pattern of action. S 47445, but not fluoxetine, showed an anxiolytic effect as reflected by an increased central activity. Chronic administration of S 47445 reversed OB-induced changes in BDNF and phopho-mTOR expression in hippocampus but not in prefrontal cortex. The chronic administration of S 47445 induced antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like effects at low-medium doses (1 and 3?mg/kg/day, i.p.) associated with the reversal of OB-induced changes in hippocampal BDNF and mTOR signaling pathways.Funding: This work was supported by the Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO/FEDER) (grant number SAF2015-67457-R)

Modulation of neuroplasticity pathways and antidepressant-like behavioural responses following the short-term (3 and 7 days) administration of the 5-HT4 receptor agonist RS67333

It has been recently suggested that activation of 5-HT4 receptors might exert antidepressant-like effects in rats after 3 d treatment, suggesting a new strategy for developing faster-acting antidepressants. We studied the effects of 3 d and 7 d treatment with the 5-HT4 receptor partial agonist RS67333 (1.5 mg/kg.d) in behavioural tests of chronic efficacy and on neuroplastic-associated changes, such as adult hippocampal neurogenesis, expression of CREB, BDNF, ß-catenin, AKT and 5-HT4 receptor functionality. RS67333 treatment up-regulated hippocampal cell proliferation, ß-catenin expression and pCREB/CREB ratio after 3 d treatment. This short-term treatment also reduced immobility time in the forced swim test (FST), together with a partial reversion of the anhedonic-like state (sucrose consumption after chronic corticosterone). Administration of RS67333 for 7 d resulted in a higher increase in the rate of hippocampal cell proliferation, a significant desensitization of 5-HT4 receptor-coupled adenylate cyclase activity and a more marked increase in the expression of neuroplasticity-related proteins (BDNF, CREB, AKT): these changes reached the same magnitude as those observed after 3 wk administration of classical antidepressants. Consistently, a positive behavioural response in the novelty suppressed feeding (NSF) test and a complete reversion of the anhedonic-like state (sucrose consumption) were also observed after 7 d treatment. These results support the antidepressant-like profile of RS67333 with a shorter onset of action and suggest that this time period of administration (3-7 d) could be a good approximation to experimentally predict the onset of action of this promising strategy.This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SAF-07/61862), Fundación Alicia Koplowitz and Fundación de Investigación Médica Mutua Madrileña.Peer Reviewe

A case study of university student networks and the COVID-19 pandemic using a social network analysis approach in halls of residence

[EN] The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that young university students have had to adapt their learning and have a reduced relational context. Adversity contexts build models of human behaviour based on relationships. However, there is a lack of studies that analyse the behaviour of university students based on their social structure in the context of a pandemic. This information could be useful in making decisions on how to plan collective responses to adversities. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) method has been chosen to address this structural perspective. The aim of our research is to describe the structural behaviour of students in university residences during the COVID-19 pandemic with a more in-depth analysis of student leaders. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at one Spanish Public University, León, from 23th October 2020 to 20th November 2020. The participation was of 93 students, from four halls of residence. The data were collected from a database created specifically at the university to "track" contacts in the COVID-19 pandemic, SiVeUle. We applied the SNA for the analysis of the data. The leadership on the university residence was measured using centrality measures. The top leaders were analyzed using the Egonetwork and an assessment of the key players. Students with higher social reputations experience higher levels of pandemic contagion in relation to COVID-19 infection. The results were statistically significant between the centrality in the network and the results of the COVID-19 infection. The most leading students showed a high degree of Betweenness, and three students had the key player structure in the network. Networking behaviour of university students in halls of residence could be related to contagion in the COVID-19 pandemic. This could be described on the basis of aspects of similarities between students, and even leaders connecting the cohabitation sub-networks. In this context, Social Network Analysis could be considered as a methodological approach for future network studies in health emergency contexts.S

A Qualitative Study of Secondary School Teachers’ Perception of Social Network Analysis Metrics in the Context of Alcohol Consumption among Adolescents

10 p.Adolescence is a transitional period during which a number of changes occur. Social relationships established during this period influence adolescent behaviour and affect academic performance or alcohol consumption habits, among other issues. Teachers are very important actors in observing and guiding the evolution of their students, and should therefore have the appropriate knowledge and tools to gain insight into the complex social relationships that exist in their classes. The use of social network analysis (SNA) techniques may be helpful in order to study and monitor the evolution of these social networks. This study tries to understand how teachers perceive SNA metrics from an intuitive point of view. Using this information, useful tools could be created that allow teachers to use SNA techniques to improve their understanding of student relationships. A number of interviews with different teachers were held in secondary schools in Spain, allowing SNA concepts to be related to the everyday terms used by the teachers to characterize their students. Results from the study have an impact on questionnaire design for gathering data from students in order to perform an SNA analysis and on the design of software applications that can help teachers to understand the results of this analysis.S

Modulation of neuroplasticity pathways and antidepressant-like behavioural responses following the short-term (3 and 7 days) administration of the 5-HT₄ receptor agonist RS67333.

It has been recently suggested that activation of 5-HT4 receptors might exert antidepressant-like effects in rats after 3 d treatment, suggesting a new strategy for developing faster-acting antidepressants. We studied the effects of 3 d and 7 d treatment with the 5-HT4 receptor partial agonist RS67333 (1.5 mg/kg.d) in behavioural tests of chronic efficacy and on neuroplastic-associated changes, such as adult hippocampal neurogenesis, expression of CREB, BDNF, b-catenin, AKT and 5-HT4 receptor functionality. RS67333 treatment up-regulated hippocampal cell proliferation, b-catenin expression and pCREB/CREB ratio after 3 d treatment. This short-term treatment also reduced immobility time in the forced swim test (FST), together with a partial reversion of the anhedonic-like state (sucrose consumption after chronic corticosterone). Administration of RS67333 for 7 d resulted in a higher increase in the rate of hippocampal cell proliferation, a significant desensitization of 5-HT4 receptor-coupled adenylate cyclase activity and a more marked increase in the expression of neuroplasticity-related proteins (BDNF, CREB, AKT): these changes reached the same magnitude as those observed after 3 wk administration of classical antidepressants. Consistently, a positive behavioural response in the novelty suppressed feeding (NSF) test and a complete reversion of the anhedonic-like state (sucrose consumption) were also observed after 7 d treatment. These results support the antidepressant-like profile of RS67333 with a shorter onset of action and suggest that this time period of administration (3–7 d) could be a good approximation to experimentally predict the onset of action of this promising strategy