Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression in older adults: A panel data analysis

Background: This paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression in the older population, an especially vulnerable group for which to date there is limited empirical research. Methods: We employ a panel data consisting of seven waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2010–2020). The breadth and depth of the data considered enabled us to control for individual fixed effects, to adjust for pre-pandemic trends in depression levels and to perform a heterogeneity analysis, depending on the intensity of the lockdown measures implemented and relevant socioeconomic characteristics. Results: We find that, following the COVID-19 pandemic, study participants reported a statistically significant increase in the depressive symptoms by around 0.7 over 8 points as measured by the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) index. The estimated coefficients were larger in November than in July, for individuals who lost their job, retired and women. Interestingly, we observed that mental health has worsened substantially relative to the pre-pandemic period across all income groups of the older population, suggesting a limited role of income as a protective mechanism for mental health. Conclusions: Our findings provide compelling evidence that depression levels amongst older adults have worsened considerably following the COVID-19 pandemic, and that factors other than income, such as social interactions, may be highly relevant for well-being in later life.Universidad de Granada/ CBU

Sustainable development of an Ultra-High Performance Fibber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC): towards partial replacement of cement by slags

The global production of concrete represents, every year, more than 5% of the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, mainly from the production of cement. This negative factor can be improved by incorporating supplementary cementitious materials in order to replace cement. In the last few decades, research has been conducted on what it is known as Ultra High Performance Fibber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC). The term includes a broad range of materials such as defect-free, dense particle, engineered composite, multi-scale particle and fibber-reinforced cementitious materials, with enhanced properties. UHPFRC has better mechanical and durability properties compared to normal strength concrete. Other benefits of using UHPFRC on a structure includes the reduction of concrete sections, concrete formwork, labour, equipment and time of construction. Despite of the benefits associated to this material, the UHPFRC is still struggling to be universally applied, mainly due to its high cost and its high environmental impact. UHPFRC cost is higher than normal concrete, due to a very high powder content and steel fibber addition. However, the production of UHPFRC using locally available materials, under normal curing conditions, should reduce its cost and turned it into a more attractive construction product. In this paper, the fresh and hardened properties of a specific UHPFRC composition are presented. The mixture replaces a significant percentage of cement by slags, and the results reveal the viability of the proposed mix. The environmental performance of the mixture confirmed the improvement on the material sustainability and allowed the identification of some potential future studies.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Learning potential assessment and adaptation to the educational context: the usefulness of the acfs for assessing immigrant preschool children

The objective of this study was to test the usefulness of dynamic assessment for determining cognitive abilities such as classification, auditory and visual memory, pattern sequences, perspective taking, verbal planning, learning potential, andmetacognition in immigrant preschool childrenwith and without competence in the dominant language (Spanish). One hundred seventy-six preschoolchildren were distributed in three groups according to the cultural background of their parents (native Spanish/Spanish-speaking immigrants/non-Spanish speaking immigrants). The children were assessed by means of the K-BIT, the Application of Cognitive Functions Scale (ACFS), and metacognition, language competence and academic performance estimates. The results show that although there are initial differences in execution between the two groups (Spanish/immigrants), there are no differences with regard to learning potential. The study also demonstrates the importance of behavioral, attitudinal, and metacognitive variables in children’s test execution and academic performance.

The Assessment of Myocardial Longitudinal Strain in a Paediatric Spanish Population Using a New Software Analysis

Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) has been present for years. However, it is underutilized due to the expertise and time requirements for its analysis. Our aims were to provide strain values in a paediatric Spanish population and to assess the feasibility and reproducibility of a new strain software analysis in our environment. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 156 healthy children aged 6 to 17 years. Longitudinal strain (LS) analysis of the left ventricle, right ventricle, and left atrium was performed. Feasibility and reproducibility were assessed. The associations of clinical and echocardiographic variables with strain values were investigated by multivariate analysis. Results: Mean age was 11 ± 3 years (50% female). Feasibility of LS measurement ranged from 94.2% for left ventricle global LS (LVGLS) to 98.1% for other chamber strain parameters. Strain values were 26.7 ± 2.3% for LVGLS; 30.5 ± 4.4% and 26.9 ± 4% for right ventricle free wall LS (RVFWLS) and four chambers view LS (RV4CLS) respectively; and 57.8 ± 10.5%, 44.9 ± 9.5%, and 12.9 ± 5.5% for left atrium LS reservoir phase (LALSr), conduct phase (LALScd) and contraction phase (LALSct), also respectively. Body surface area (BSA) and age presented a negative correlation with strain values. Higher values were found in females than in males, except for LALScd. Excellent intra- and inter-observer reproducibility were found for right and left ventricular strain measurement, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) ranging from 0.88 to 0.98, respectively. In conclusion, we described strain values in a healthy Spanish paediatric population. LS assessment by this new strain analysis software by semi-automatic manner was highly feasible and reproducible

La democracia participativa: de los presupuestos a los supuestos participativos en la ciudad de Sevilla

Es mucho suponer que los Presupuestos Participativos de Sevilla incorporen todos los supuestos participativos, aunque si nos dan la oportunidad de experimentar otros modos de construir ciudadanía, desde nosotr@s mism@s, donde estamos invitadas las cuatro ciudadanías (la asociada, la no asociada, la técnica y la política). Sin embargo quedarían sin tener la repercusión social y estructural deseada si no consiguiésemos democratizar las estructuras económicas, culturales, ambientales, educativas y políticas, y esta oportunidad nos la brindan unos invitados de lujo, que con sus nuevos modos de ser, estar y hacer nos posibilitan encarar este nuevo reto que es la democracia participativa, por lo menos con el reconocimiento del estatutos de ciudadan@ de todos y todas las personas que convivimos en la comunidad de nuestro centro educativo, la calle, la plaza, el barrio, el distrito o la ciudad. Ell@s los grandes ausentes de todos y cada uno de los procesos participativos en nuestra ciudad, nos enseñan que la participación puede ser de otra manera, y que debe hacerse y cocinarse con otros ingredientes, l@s niñ@s, chavales/as y jóvenes protagonizan el gran cambio en los presupuestos participativos de Sevilla

Factors structuring microbial communities in highly impacted coastal marine sediments (Mar Menor lagoon, SE Spain)

Coastal marine lagoons are environments highly vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures such as agriculture nutrient loading or runoff from metalliferous mining. Sediment microorganisms, which are key components in the biogeochemical cycles, can help attenuate these impacts by accumulating nutrients and pollutants. The Mar Menor, located in the southeast of Spain, is an example of a coastal lagoon strongly altered by anthropic pressures, but the microbial community inhabiting its sediments remains unknown. Here, we describe the sediment prokaryotic communities along a wide range of environmental conditions in the lagoon, revealing that microbial communities were highly heterogeneous among stations, although a core microbiome was detected. The microbiota was dominated by Delta- and Gammaproteobacteria and members of the Bacteroidia class. Additionally, several uncultured groups such as Asgardarchaeota were detected in relatively high proportions. Sediment texture, the presence of Caulerpa or Cymodocea, depth, and geographic location were among the most important factors structuring microbial assemblages. Furthermore, microbial communities in the stations with the highest concentrations of potentially toxic elements (Fe, Pb, As, Zn, and Cd) were less stable than those in the non-contaminated stations. This finding suggests that bacteria colonizing heavily contaminated stations are specialists sensitive to change

Influence of Carbon Nanosheets on the Behavior of 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine Langmuir Monolayers

Carbon nanomaterials are widespread in the atmospheric aerosol as a result of the combustion processes and their extensive industrial use. This has raised many question about the potential toxicity associated with the inhalation of such nanoparticles, and its incorporation into the lung surfactant layer. In order to shed light on the main physical bases underlying the incorporation of carbon nanomaterials into lung surfactant layers, this work has studied the interaction at the water/vapor interface of carbon nanosheets (CN) with Langmuir monolayers of 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), with this lipid being the main component of lung surfactant layers and responsible of some of the most relevant features of such film. The incorporation of CN into DPPC Langmuir monolayers modifies the lateral organization of the DPPC at the interface, which is explained on the basis of two different effects: (i) particles occupy part of the interfacial area, and (ii) impoverishment of the lipid composition of the interface due to lipid adsorption onto the CN surface. This results in a worsening of the mechanical performance of the monolayers which may present a negative impact in the physiological performance of lung surfactant. It would be expected that the results obtained here can be useful as a step toward the understanding of the most fundamental physico-chemical bases associated with the effect of inhaled particles in the respiratory cycle

Captive Breeding and Trichomonas gallinae Alter the Oral Microbiome of Bonelli’s Eagle Chicks

Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata) is an endangered raptor species in Europe, and trichomonosis is one of the menaces affecting chicks at nest. In this paper, we attempt to describe the oral microbiome of Bonelli’s eagle nestlings and evaluate the influence of several factors, such as captivity breeding, Trichomonas gallinae infection, and the presence of lesions at the oropharynx. The core oral microbiome of Bonelli’s eagle is composed of Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria as the most abundant phyla, and Megamonas and Bacteroides as the most abundant genera. None of the factors analysed showed a significant influence on alfa diversity, but beta diversity was affected for some of them. Captivity breeding exerted a high influence on the composition of the oral microbiome, with significant differences in the four most abundant phyla, with a relative increase of Proteobacteria and a decrease of the other three phyla in comparison with chicks bred at nest. Some genera were more abundant in captivity bred chicks, such as Escherichia-Shigella, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Corynebacterium, Clostridium and Staphylococcus, while Bacteroides, Oceanivirga, Peptostreptococcus, Gemella, Veillonella, Mycoplasma, Suttonella, Alloscardovia, Varibaculum and Campylobacter were more abundant in nest raised chicks. T. gallinae infection slightly influenced the composition of the microbiome, but chicks displaying trichomonosis lesions had a higher relative abundance of Bacteroides and Gemella, being the last one an opportunistic pathogen of abscess complications in humans. Raptor’s microbiomes are scarcely studied. This is the first study on the factors that influence the oral microbiome of Bonelli’s eagle