La Webquest como recurso didáctico en el aula de infantil

El uso específico de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación digital en las aulas de infantil permite la iniciación en los recursos tecnológicos en edades tempranas. Por ello, la función docente juega un papel principal como agente educativo en la introducción de herramientas como son las aplicaciones para móviles y tablets, blogs o webquest. En concreto, en este trabajo se presenta la facilidad en el desarrollo y diseño de una WebQuest ad hoc con contenidos matemáticos recogidos en el currículo de la Comunidad de Madrid, así como su inclusión en el aula de infantil como herramienta pedagógica

Diseño de aplicaciones tecnológicas para aprender matemáticas en el aula

La incorporación de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TICs) en las aulas, ha permitido reunir herramientas educativas y técnicas innovadoras para formar a los más pequeños. Desde esta premisa, el objetivo del presente trabajo es proponer el uso de una herramienta dinámica y sencilla que permita al profesorado de infantil incorporar la competencia digital a sus programaciones. En concreto, se ha diseñado una aplicación para móviles y tablets que recoge los contenidos matemáticos que se trabajan en las aulas de Educación infantil de la Comunidad de Madrid. En definitiva, con esta aportación se les facilita a los profesores de infantil un método interactivo para que los niños, desde tres años, puedan usarlo de manera cotidiana, dentro y fuera del aula, a la vez que refuerzan su aprendizaje en el área de las matemáticas

First genotyping of Giardia duodenalis and prevalence of enteroparasites in children from Tetouan (Morocco).

Intestinal parasites are common in the Moroccan population. Enteroparasites in children from four schools in urban and rural areas of Tetouan (Morocco) were studied to treat these children and to design prevention and control programs. A total of 673 children were examined. The prevalence of parasitized children was 51%. The average number of enteroparasites was half in urban areas than in rural areas. Multiple parasitism appeared in 30% of the samples presenting two, three, or four parasites. The most prevalent parasite was Blastocystis hominis (64%). Giardia duodenalis was the most frequent pathogen, with an overall prevalence of 20% (24% in rural areas and 16% in urban areas). Other pathogenic enteroparasites were Cyclospora cayetanensis (5% in rural and urban areas), Iodamoeba butschlii, Hymenolepis spp., Trichuris trichiura and Enterobius vermicularis, with prevalence lower than 2%. In this work, G. duodenalis genotypes were molecularly characterized by a study of the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and 18S rRNA genes. This is the first study of molecular characterization of G. duodenalis in Moroccan children, and the sequence analysis revealed both Assemblage A (AII) and Assemblage B (BIII, BIV), with the predominance of Assemblage BIV (73%)

GWAS loci associated with Chagas cardiomyopathy influences DNA methylation levels

Cardiomyopathies; Genomics; Chagas diseaseCardiomiopatías; Genómica; Enfermedad de ChagasMiocardiopaties; Genòmica; Malaltia de ChagasA recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified a locus in chromosome 11 associated with the chronic cardiac form of Chagas disease. Here we aimed to elucidate the potential functional mechanism underlying this genetic association by analyzing the correlation among single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and DNA methylation (DNAm) levels as cis methylation quantitative trait loci (cis-mQTL) within this region. A total of 2,611 SNPs were tested against 2,647 DNAm sites, in a subset of 37 chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy patients and 20 asymptomatic individuals from the GWAS. We identified 6,958 significant cis-mQTLs (False Discovery Rate [FDR]<0.05) at 1 Mb each side of the GWAS leading variant, where six of them potentially modulate the expression of the SAC3D1 gene, the reported gene in the previous GWAS. In addition, a total of 268 cis-mQTLs showed differential methylation between chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy patients and asymptomatic individuals. The most significant cis-mQTLs mapped in the gene bodies of POLA2 (FDR = 1.04x10-11), PLAAT3 (FDR = 7.22x10-03), and CCDC88B (FDR = 1.89x10-02) that have been associated with cardiovascular and hematological traits in previous studies. One of the most relevant interactions correlated with hypermethylation of CCDC88B. This gene is involved in the inflammatory response, and its methylation and expression levels have been previously reported in Chagas cardiomyopathy. Our findings support the functional relevance of the previously associated genomic region, highlighting the regulation of novel genes that could play a role in the chronic cardiac form of the disease.This research was supported by grants from Programa Iberoamericano de ciencia y tecnología para el desarrollo (RIMGECH - 217RT0524) to Chagas Genetics CYTED Network. MAH was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-Juan de la Cierva fellowship (IJC2018-035131-I). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) Gene Polymorphism and Infant’s Anthropometry at Birth

This research was funded by the Institute of Health Carlos III (PI13/01559), including the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Regional Health Council of Andalusia (Spain) (PI-0405-2014).This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of “Consejería de Salud y Familias, Junta de Andalucía” (PI-0405-2014). and “Consejería de Igualdad, Salud y Políticas Sociales, Junta de Andalucía” (PI13/01559)We follow the standards described in Andalusian and Spanish laws of personal data protection and biomedical research for the treatment of information and biological samples of human origin.Women were informed of all study procedures and gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study.The authors thank the team of the i-Diet software for their support in the estimation of daily energy and nutrient intake. Likewise, a special mention to the pregnant women who participated in this study and the health professionals from El Poniente Hospital, Almeria.Identification of causal factors that influence fetal growth and anthropometry at birth is of great importance as they provide information about increased risk of disease throughout life. The association between maternal genetic polymorphism MTHFR(677)C>T and anthropometry at birth has been widely studied because of its key role in the one-carbon cycle. MTHFR(677) CT and TT genotypes have been associated with a greater risk of low birth weight, especially in case of deficient intake of folic acid during pregnancy. This study aimed to analyze the association between the maternal MTHFR(677)C>T genetic polymorphism and anthropometry at birth in a population with adequate folate consumption. We included 694 mother-newborn pairs from a prospective population-based birth cohort in Spain, in the Genetics, Early life enviroNmental Exposures and Infant Development in Andalusia (GENEIDA) project. Women were genotyped for MTHFR(677)C>T SNP by Q-PCR using TaqMan (c) probes. Relevant maternal and newborn information was obtained from structured questionnaires and medical records. Results showed that maternal MTHFR(677)C>T genotype was associated with newborn anthropometry. Genotypes CT or CT/TT showed statistically significant associations with increased or decreased risk of large-for-gestational-age (LGA) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) based on weight and height, depending on the newborn's sex, as well as with SGA in premature neonates. The relationships between this maternal genotype and anthropometry at birth remained despite an adequate maternal folate intake.Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI13/01559European CommissionRegional Health Council of Andalusia (Spain) PI-0405-201

Validity and Reproducibility of a Food Frequency Questionnaire to Assess Nutrients Intake of Pregnant Women in the South-East of Spain

Proper nutrition during pregnancy is pivotal to maintain good health for the child and the mother. This study evaluates the reproducibility and validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) designed to assess nutrient intake during pregnancy in the GENEIDA (Genetics, Early life Environmental Exposures and Infant Development in Andalusia) prospective birth cohort study. In addition, the nutrient intake was estimated and then compared with European guidelines and other studies. Diet information was collected from 690 pregnant women using a FFQ administered at two periods of pregnancy (used for the reproducibility study) and 24-h dietary recall (for the validity study). Statistical approaches included Spearman’s correlation coefficient and percentage agreement, classifying women into the same or adjacent quintiles to assess reproducibility, and limits of agreement (LoA) to evaluate validity. In the study of reproducibility, significant correlations for nutrients adjusted for total energy had an average of 0.417. Moreover, the percentage of subjects classified in the same quintile for nutrient intakes were above 66%. In the validation study, the significant correlation for nutrients adjusted for total energy had an average of 0.272. Nevertheless, the percentage of results in the LoA was above 94%. Our results were similar to other studies suggesting that the FFQ used is a valid tool of collect dietary intakes for South-East Spanish pregnant women.Institute of Health Carlos III (PI13/01559), including The European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)Regional Health Council of Andalusia (Spain) (PI045-2014)Plan propio de Investigación y Transferencia of the University of Granada under the program “Intensificación de la Investigación, modalidad B”

La venganza de un desamor : episodio de la conquista de Granada

Anteport

A Comparative Study of Ultrasmall Calcium Carbonate Nanoparticles for Targeting and Imaging Atherosclerotic Plaque

therosclerosis is a complex disease that can lead to life-threatening events, such as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Despite the severity of this disease, diagnosing plaque vulnerability remains challenging due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools. Conventional diagnostic protocols lack specificity and fail to predict the type of atherosclerotic lesion and the risk of plaque rupture. To address this issue, technologies are emerging, such as noninvasive medical imaging of atherosclerotic plaque with customized nanotechnological solutions. Modulating the biological interactions and contrast of nanoparticles in various imaging techniques, including magnetic resonance imaging, is possible through the careful design of their physicochemical properties. However, few examples of comparative studies between nanoparticles targeting different hallmarks of atherosclerosis exist to provide information about the plaque development stage. Our work demonstrates that Gd (III)-doped amorphous calcium carbonate nanoparticles are an effective tool for these comparative studies due to their high magnetic resonance contrast and physicochemical properties. In an animal model of atherosclerosis, we compare the imaging performance of three types of nanoparticles: bare amorphous calcium carbonate and those functionalized with the ligands alendronate (for micro- calcification targeting) and trimannose (for inflammation targeting). Our study provides useful insights into ligand-mediated targeted imaging of atherosclerosis through a combination of in vivo imaging, ex vivo tissue analysis, and in vitro targeting experiments.We acknowledge M. Spuch for his scientific drawings and the Basque Government for the R&D Project in Health (grant number 2022333041). S.C.R. acknowledges the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN)/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) Grant PID2019-106139RA-100 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the Ramon y Cajal Grant RYC2020-030241-I. C.S.C. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish State Research Agency (grant PID2020-118176RJ-I100), and the Gipuzkoa Foru Aldundia (Gipuzkoa Fellows program; grant number 2019-FELL- 000018-01/62/2019). This work was performed under the Severo Ochoa Centers of Excellence Program of the Spanish State Research Agency − Grant No. CEX2018-000867-S (DIPC). SXRF analysis was carried out with the support of Diamond Light Source, beamline I18 (proposal SP27720). J.R.C. is funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (PID2021-123238OB-I00) and from La Caixa Foundation (Health Research Call 2020: HR20-00075). A.M.G. and C.U. acknowledge the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN)/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) Grant: PID2021-122504NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe. W.J.P. acknowledges funding from the Cluster of Excellence “Advanced Imaging of Matter” of the Deutsche Forschungsge- meinschaft (DFG) - EXC 2056 - project ID 390715994. F.H. acknowledges MCIN (PID2019-104059RB-I00) and M.J.S.G. the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional (PRE2018-083691). REFERENCES (1) Libby, P. The changing landscape of atherosclerosPeer reviewe

First genotyping of Giardia duodenalis and prevalence of enteroparasites in children from Tetouan (Morocco)

Intestinal parasites are common in the Moroccan population. Enteroparasites in children from four schools in urban and rural areas of Tetouan (Morocco) were studied to treat these children and to design prevention and control programs. A total of 673 children were examined. The prevalence of parasitized children was 51%. The average number of enteroparasites was half in urban areas than in rural areas. Multiple parasitism appeared in 30% of the samples presenting two, three, or four parasites. The most prevalent parasite was Blastocystis hominis (64%). Giardia duodenalis was the most frequent pathogen, with an overall prevalence of 20% (24% in rural areas and 16% in urban areas). Other pathogenic enteroparasites were Cyclospora cayetanensis (5% in rural and urban areas), Iodamoeba butschlii, Hymenolepis spp., Trichuris trichiura and Enterobius vermicularis, with prevalence lower than 2%. In this work, G. duodenalis genotypes were molecularly characterized by a study of the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and 18S rRNA genes. This is the first study of molecular characterization of G. duodenalis in Moroccan children, and the sequence analysis revealed both Assemblage A (AII) and Assemblage B (BIII, BIV), with the predominance of Assemblage BIV (73%)

Association of IL18 genetic polymorphisms with Chagas disease in Latin American populations

Malaltia de Chagas; IL18Enfermedad de Chagas; IL18Chagas disease; IL18Host genetic factors have been suggested to play an important role in the susceptibility to Chagas disease. Given the influence of interleukin 18 (IL-18) in the development of the disease, in the present study, we analyzed three IL18 genetic variants (rs2043055, rs1946518, rs360719) regarding the predisposition to Trypanosoma cruzi infection and the development of chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC), in different Latin America populations. Genetic data of 3,608 patients from Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil were meta-analyzed to validate previous findings with increased statistical power. Seropositive and seronegative individuals were compared for T. cruzi infection susceptibility. In the Colombian cohort, the allelic frequencies of the three variants showed a significant association, with adjustment for sex and age, and also after applying multiple testing adjustments. Among the Colombian and Argentinean cohorts, rs360719 showed a significant genetic effect in a fixed-effects meta-analysis after a Bonferroni correction (OR: 0.76, CI: 0.66–0.89, P = 0.001). For CCC, the rs2043055 showed an association with protection from cardiomyopathy in the Colombian cohort (OR: 0.79, CI: 0.64–0.99, P = 0.037), with adjustment for sex and age, and after applying multiple testing adjustments. The meta-analysis of the CCC vs. asymptomatic patients from the four cohorts showed no evidence of association. In conclusion, our results validated the association found previously in the Colombian cohort suggesting that IL18 rs360719 plays an important role in the susceptibility to T. cruzi infection and no evidence of association was found between the IL18 genetic variants and CCC in the Latin American population studied.This research was supported by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología de Córdoba (GRFT 2017, https://mincyt.cba.gov.ar/), Secretaría de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina (https://www.unc.edu.ar/ciencia-y-tecnología/) and Red Iberoamericana de medicina genómica en enfermedad de Chagas - CYTED (http://www.cyted.org). Mariana Strauss performed the experimental work in this article during an internship at the Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López-Neyra, IPBLN-CSIC, Granada, España. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript