Funerary practices in megalithic tombs during the Argaric Bronze Age in South-Eastern Iberia: The cemetery of Los Eriales

The transition between the Copper Age and the Argaric Bronze Age in south-eastern Iberia has traditionally been understood in an evolutionary framework that would have involved the replacement of some cultural forms by others. The chronology of megalithic societies has changed this assumption, revealing that the continuity of ancestral funerary practices is also a key feature of the Bronze Age. In this context, the new radiocarbon series from Los Eriales discussed in this paper can be considered a key contribution. Three main aspects stand out according to their statistical analysis: i) Los Eriales should be considered the most recent Iberian megalithic cemetery, as ritual activity began in the last centuries of the third millennium cal BC; ii) funerary activity took place during short events of intensive ritual depositions spanning a few decades, mainly in the 21st and 18th centuries; and iii) Los Eriales cemetery was mainly used during the Argaric period, which means the coexistence of two very different funerary practices: collective megalithic rituals and individual intramural inhumations. The continuity of megalithic rituals can be explained in terms of resilience to the social fragmentation that characterised Argaric societies.FEDER programme–University of Granada (A-HUM-123-UGR18 and B-HUM-174-UGR20)Regional Government of Andalusia (P18-FR-4123)Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-114282GB-I00)Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Funerary practices in megalithic tombs during the Argaric Bronze Age in South-Eastern Iberia: the cemetery of Los Eriales

The transition between the Copper Age and the Argaric Bronze Age in south-eastern Iberia has traditionally been understood in an evolutionary framework that would have involved the replacement of some cultural forms by others. The chronology of megalithic societies has changed this assumption, revealing that the continuity of ancestral funerary practices is also a key feature of the Bronze Age. In this context, the new radiocarbon series from Los Eriales discussed in this paper can be considered a key contribution. Three main aspects stand out according to their statistical analysis: i) Los Eriales should be considered the most recent Iberian megalithic cemetery, as ritual activity began in the last centuries of the third millennium cal BC; ii) funerary activity took place during short events of intensive ritual depositions spanning a few decades, mainly in the 21st and 18th centuries; and iii) Los Eriales cemetery was mainly used during the Argaric period, which means the coexistence of two very different funerary practices: collective megalithic rituals and individual intramural inhumations. The continuity of megalithic rituals can be explained in terms of resilience to the social fragmentation that characterised Argaric societies.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA. This research was supported by the FEDER programme–University of Granada (A-HUM-123-UGR18 and B-HUM-174-UGR20), the Regional Government of Andalusia (P18-FR-4123), and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-114282GB-I00)

La co-evaluación una herramienta de aprendizaje

Una de las herramientas fundamentales para asegurarnos de cómo se está desarrollando el proceso de aprendizaje y, por lo tanto, de comprobar si efectivamente nuestro alumnado va camino de adquirir las competencias previstas es la evaluación. Las tareas de evaluación deben promover el tipo de aprendizaje necesario para que los estudiantes adquieran las competencias necesarias en su formación. En nuestra investigación partimos de que los estudiantes pueden convertirse en evaluadores de tres maneras: a través de la autoevaluación, en la que se les da la posibilidad de valorar su propio aprendizaje, la evaluación entre pares, en la que los estudiantes deben evaluar los trabajos de sus compañeros mientras que sus trabajos son igualmente evaluados por sus compañeros y la evaluación participativa o co-evaluación, en la que puntúan tanto estudiantes como docentes. Creemos que la evaluación entre iguales sobre actividades de carácter práctico fomenta el aprendizaje activo por parte del alumnado al tiempo que todos y todas disponen de unas pautas claras, a partir de las cuales, ajustar sus realizaciones. Para sistematizar dicho proceso hemos optado por aplicar una rúbrica de evaluación a partir de la cual todos los evaluadores deben ajustar sus criterios calificativos y justificar las diferentes valoraciones realizadas

Little Brains

En el siguiente trabajo de investigación se han identificado los factores para el funcionamiento de una start up digital, basado en el servicio de talleres virtuales a niños entre 6 y 12 años. En la actualidad, el mundo entero y nuestro país, Perú, están atravesando una crisis sanitaria, debido a la propagación del COVID-19, lo cual desencadenó que como medida de seguridad se establezca la prohibición de algunas actividades, como las clases presenciales. De acuerdo con la coyuntura se origina Little Brains, plataforma virtual que brinda siete talleres individuales y familiares, para niños de 6 a 12 años, quienes dentro de su tiempo libre busquen nuevas opciones para disfrutar de este y puedan disminuir con los niveles de sedentarismo. El proyecto se realizará mediante talleres personalizados, donde se ofrecerá que el usuario aprenda a un ritmo adecuado y disfrute de su tiempo libre. Para poder identificar a los clientes potenciales, se realizaron cuatro experimentos en sus redes sociales y Landing Page, a través de publicaciones y campañas publicitarias donde se brindó información referente a los talleres, precios y métodos de pago para poder obtener posibles clientes, y completar el proceso de compra. Finalmente, se evaluaron los presupuestos asignados como inversión para que la empresa pueda entrar en funcionamiento y datos estimados de ingresos, de manera que con esta información se logre evaluar si la empresa en los próximos tres años sería rentable. También, los métodos de financiamiento que serán tomados por nosotros para poner el negocio en marcha.In the following research work, the factors for the operation of a digital start-up have been identified, based on the service of virtual workshops for children between 6 and 12 years old. Currently, the whole world and our country, Peru, are going through a health crisis, due to the spread of COVID-19, which triggered the prohibition of some activities, such as face-to-face classes, as a security measure. According to the situation, Little Brains originates, a virtual platform that offers seven individual and family workshops, for children from 6 to 12 years old, who, in their free time, seek new options to enjoy this and may decrease with the levels of sedentary lifestyle. The project will be carried out through personalized workshops, where the user will be offered to learn at an appropriate pace and enjoy their free time. To identify potential customers, four experiments were carried out on their social networks and Landing Page, through publications and advertising campaigns where information regarding the workshops, prices and payment methods was provided to obtain potential customers and complete the purchasing process. Finally, the budgets assigned as investment were evaluated so that the company can start operating and estimated income data, so that with this information it is possible to evaluate whether the company in the next three years would be profitable. Also, the financing methods that will be taken by us to start the business.Trabajo de investigació

Discovery of New Compounds Active against Plasmodium falciparum by High Throughput Screening of Microbial Natural Products

Due to the low structural diversity within the set of antimalarial drugs currently available in the clinic and the increasing number of cases of resistance, there is an urgent need to find new compounds with novel modes of action to treat the disease. Microbial natural products are characterized by their large diversity provided in terms of the chemical complexity of the compounds and the novelty of structures. Microbial natural products extracts have been underexplored in the search for new antiparasitic drugs and even more so in the discovery of new antimalarials. Our objective was to find new druggable natural products with antimalarial properties from the MEDINA natural products collection, one of the largest natural product libraries harboring more than 130,000 microbial extracts. In this work, we describe the optimization process and the results of a phenotypic high throughput screen (HTS) based on measurements of Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase. A subset of more than 20,000 extracts from the MEDINA microbial products collection has been explored, leading to the discovery of 3 new compounds with antimalarial activity. In addition, we report on the novel antiplasmodial activity of 4 previously described natural productsThis work was supported by the Junta de Andalucía [BIO-199, P09-CVI- 5367], the VI Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica 2008-2011, Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa-Red de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Tropicales (RICET FIS Network: RD12/0018/0017),the Plan Nacional (SAF2013-48999-R), the FEDER funds from the EU and the PARAMET network (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-ITN. GA290080) to DG-P. Research of FV and OG was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa-Red de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Tropicales (RICET FIS Network: RD12/0018/0005) and the FEDER funds from the EU and the PARAMET network (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-ITN. GA290080). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe

Gender-Based Differences by Age Range in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: A Spanish Observational Cohort Study

There is some evidence that male gender could have a negative impact on the prognosis and severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The aim of the present study was to compare the characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) between hospitalized men and women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. This multicenter, retrospective, observational study is based on the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry. We analyzed the differences between men and women for a wide variety of demographic, clinical, and treatment variables, and the sex distribution of the reported COVID-19 deaths, as well as intensive care unit (ICU) admission by age subgroups. This work analyzed 12,063 patients (56.8% men). The women in our study were older than the men, on average (67.9 vs. 65.7 years; p < 001). Bilateral condensation was more frequent among men than women (31.8% vs. 29.9%; p = 0.007). The men needed non-invasive and invasive mechanical ventilation more frequently (5.6% vs. 3.6%, p < 0.001, and 7.9% vs. 4.8%, p < 0.001, respectively). The most prevalent complication was acute respiratory distress syndrome, with severe cases in 19.9% of men (p < 0.001). In men, intensive care unit admission was more frequent (10% vs. 6.1%; p < 0.001) and the mortality rate was higher (23.1% vs. 18.9%; p < 0.001). Regarding mortality, the differences by gender were statistically significant in the age groups from 55 years to 89 years of age. A multivariate analysis showed that female sex was significantly and independently associated with a lower risk of mortality in our study. Male sex appears to be related to worse progress in COVID-19 patients and is an independent prognostic factor for mortality. In order to fully understand its prognostic impact, other factors associated with sex must be considered

Un periodismo de cine: ver, aprender y debatir sobre las rutinas profesionales a través de películas y series de ficción

Depto. de Periodismo y Comunicación GlobalFac. de Ciencias de la InformaciónFALSEsubmitte

β-Cyclodextrins as affordable antivirals to treat coronavirus infection

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic made evident that there are only a few drugs against coronavirus. Here we aimed to identify a cost-effective antiviral with broad spectrum activity and high safety profile. Starting from a list of 116 drug candidates, we used molecular modelling tools to rank the 44 most promising inhibitors. Next, we tested their efficacy as antivirals against α and β coronaviruses, such as the HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2 variants. Four drugs, OSW-1, U18666A, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HβCD) and phytol, showed in vitro antiviral activity against HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2. The mechanism of action of these compounds was studied by transmission electron microscopy and by fusion assays measuring SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviral entry into target cells. Entry was inhibited by HβCD and U18666A, yet only HβCD inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in the pulmonary Calu-3 cells. Compared to the other cyclodextrins, β-cyclodextrins were the most potent inhibitors, which interfered with viral fusion via cholesterol depletion. β-cyclodextrins also prevented infection in a human nasal epithelium model ex vivo and had a prophylactic effect in the nasal epithelium of hamsters in vivo. All accumulated data point to β-cyclodextrins as promising broad-spectrum antivirals against different SARS-CoV-2 variants and distant alphacoronaviruses. Given the wide use of β-cyclodextrins for drug encapsulation and their high safety profile in humans, our results support their clinical testing as prophylactic antivirals

β-Cyclodextrins as affordable antivirals to treat coronavirus infection

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic made evident that there are only a few drugs against coronavirus. Here we aimed to identify a cost-effective antiviral with broad spectrum activity and high safety profile. Starting from a list of 116 drug candidates, we used molecular modelling tools to rank the 44 most promising inhibitors. Next, we tested their efficacy as antivirals against α and β coronaviruses, such as the HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2 variants. Four drugs, OSW-1, U18666A, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HβCD) and phytol, showed in vitro antiviral activity against HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2. The mechanism of action of these compounds was studied by transmission electron microscopy and by fusion assays measuring SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviral entry into target cells. Entry was inhibited by HβCD and U18666A, yet only HβCD inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in the pulmonary Calu-3 cells. Compared to the other cyclodextrins, β-cyclodextrins were the most potent inhibitors, which interfered with viral fusion via cholesterol depletion. β-cyclodextrins also prevented infection in a human nasal epithelium model ex vivo and had a prophylactic effect in the nasal epithelium of hamsters in vivo. All accumulated data point to β-cyclodextrins as promising broad-spectrum antivirals against different SARS-CoV-2 variants and distant alphacoronaviruses. Given the wide use of β-cyclodextrins for drug encapsulation and their high safety profile in humans, our results support their clinical testing as prophylactic antivirals.This work has been funded by grant RTI2018-094445-B100 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE) from the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (C.R.), by Palex Medical S.A., Sika S.A.U. and 7 more companies, and by Ms. Raquel Casaus Alvarez, Mr. Miguel Pardo Gil, Mr. Jacques Noguès and a total of 2916 citizens through the Precipita crowdfunding platform of Fecyt (Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología). NI-U is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant PID2020-117145RB-I00), EU HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CORONA-01 (grant 101046118) and by institutional funding of Grifols, Pharma Mar, HIPRA, Amassence and Palobiofarma. This work used the computational resources of the Centro de Supercomputación de Galicia (CESGA) supported by the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) COVID-19 Fast Track Call for Proposals – Allocation Decision – Proposal COVID19-85.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

I Coloquio Internacional de Jóvenes Investigadores en Traducción e Interpretación UdeA-UPC

En noviembre de 2020 se celebró el I Coloquio Internacional de Jóvenes Investigadores en Traducción e Interpretación UdeA-UPC, el cual tuvo como objetivo crear un espacio bilateral para la presentación de los mejores trabajos finales de los estudiantes del curso de Investigación del pregrado en Traducción de la UdeA y de los estudiantes que culminaban la línea de cursos de investigación de la carrera de Traducción e Interpretación Profesional de la UPC. Los seis capítulos del presente libro derivan de las presentaciones que se hicieron en el coloquio, las cuales fueron seleccionadas por un comité científico conformado por miembros de distintas afiliaciones