Tratamiento farmacológico de la neurocisticercosis

Introducción: la neurocisticercosis es una infección parasitaria prevenible y desatendida del SNC ocasionada por ingestión de huevos de Taenia solium, platelminto parásito de la clase Cestoda. La presencia del estadio larvario (cisticercos) en el SNC, puede ser asintomática o manifestarse con diferentes síndromes neurológicos. Es actualmente la causa del 30% de los casos de epilepsia en zonas endémicas. Objetivo: el objetivo general de este trabajo es realizar una revisión bibliográfica de la información científica actualizada sobre la neurocisticercosis y su tratamiento farmacológico. Métodos: Revisión sistemática de los artículos científicos recuperados en las bases de datos MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane library y Embase. Consulta de libros y enlaces de interés relacionados con el tema de estudio. Resultados y discusión: Se describen las características esenciales de la enfermedad incluyendo: agente etiológico, ciclo biológico, epidemiologia, manifestaciones clínicas, diagnóstico y tratamiento. Por otro lado, de 1247 artículos recuperados, se seleccionaron 9 ensayos clínicos en humanos comparando las distintas terapéuticas disponibles para abordar la enfermedad con efectividad, con seguridad y con eficacia. Conclusión: La neurocisticercosis es una enfermedad de amplia distribución geográfica y polimorfa en su expresión clínica. El tratamiento debe ser individualizado según el número, la ubicación, el estadio de las lesiones y la intensidad de la respuesta inflamatoria. Se tratan, en primer lugar, los síntomas asociados a la NCC con antiepilépticos, y antiinflamatorios, dejando en último lugar el tratamiento con antiparasitarios. Son pocos los antiparasitarios disponibles actualmente, así como los ensayos clínicos realizados para para definir la posología adecuada de los mismos y su uso de multiterapia.Introduction: neurocysticercosis is a preventable and neglected parasitic infection of the CNS, caused by the ingestion of Taenia solium eggs, a parasitic flatworm of the Cestoda class. The presence of the larval stage (cysticerci) in the CNS can be asymptomatic or show different neurological syndromes. It is currently the cause of 30% of epilepsy cases in endemic areas. Objective: the general objective of this work is to carry out a bibliographic review of the updated scientific information on neurocysticercosis and its pharmacological treatment. Results and discussion: the essential characteristics of the disease are described, including: etiological agent, biological cycle, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, of 1247 articles retrieved, 9 clinical trials in humans were selected comparing the different therapies available to address the disease effectively, safely and efficiently. Conclusion: neurocysticercosis is a disease with a wide geographical distribution and polymorphous in its clinical expression. Treatment should be individualized according to the number, location, and stage of the lesions, as well as the intensity of the inflammatory response. First, the symptoms associated with NCC are treated with antiepileptic and anti-inflammatory drugs, leaving treatment with antiparasitic drugs last. There are few antiparasitic drugs currently available, as well as clinical trials carried out to define their appropriate dosage and their use as multi-therapy

Gender gap in the Digital Society; a qualitative analysis of the international conversation in the WYRED project

[EN]The objective of this research is to know the opinion of young people about one of the main current issues: gender stereotypes and equality. The research has been developed in the context of the WYRED project. Specifically, the information has been obtained from an international conversation about stereotypes and equality on Internet carried out on the WYRED Platform between February and March 2019. The content analysis has been done with the Nvivo software following a qualitative analysis method. The most important results are the importance of technology in the perpetuation of stereotypes, the criticism towards traditional gender stereotypes, and the defense of education in breaking stereotypes in order to achieve an egalitarian society. In short, the opinion of young people concludes in a critique of traditional stereotypes and the need for change in society

Strategies to unblock the n-GaAs surface when electrodepositing Bi from acidic solutions

Bismuth ultra-thin films grown on n-GaAs electrodes via electrodeposition are porous due to a blockade of the electrode surface caused by adsorbed hydrogen when using acidic electrolytes. In this study, we discuss the existence of two sources of hydrogen adsorption and e propose different routes to unblock the n-GaAs surface in order to improve Bi films compactness. Firstly, we demonstrate that increasing the electrolyte temperature provides ompact yet polycrystalline Bi films. Cyclic voltammetry scans indicate that this low crystal quality might be a result of the incorporation ofBi hydroxides within the Bi film as a result of the temperature increase. Secondly, we have illuminated the semiconductor surface to take advantage of photogenerated holes. These photocarriers oxidize the adsorbed hydrogen nblocking the surface, but also create pits at the substrate surface that degrade the Bi/GaAs interface and prevent an epitaxial growth. Finally, we show that performing a cyclic voltammetry scan before electrodeposition enables the growth of compact Bi ultra-thin films of high crystallinity on semiconductor substrates with a doping level low enough to perform transport measurements

What kind of capital flows does the IMF catalyze and when?

Using empirical analysis, complemented with case studies, this paper studies under which circumstances IMF programs manage to catalyze private capital flows into the countries concerned. While we found no catalysis in general, the situation differs very much depending on the type of capital flow and the program’s objective. On the first, the Fund seems to be doing a better job at attracting FDI than shorter-term flows, particularly cross-border bank lending. On the second, programs oriented towards crisis prevention or with longer-term objectives, also perform better in terms of catalysis. In turn, programs oriented towards crisis resolution actually discourage private capital flows. This worrisome finding, given the importance of crisis resolution for the Fund, is mitigated for FDI inflows in the case studies analysed. Finally, all case studies point to the role of conditionality –as opposed to signalling and liquidity– as the strongest channel through which IMF catalyzes private flows. [resumen de autor

Gender differences in HIV-related sexual behavior among college students from Spain and Portugal

Under the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behavior, the objective of this study was to know the gender differences in the variables involved in the use of effective preventive measures in sexual relations against HIV in a sample of university students from Spain and Portugal. Furthermore, it is examined whether these factors produce different predictions concerning the adoption of safe sexual behaviour for young man and women in each country. The sample consisted of 683 university students, 319 Portuguese (64% female and 36% male) from the University of Algarve and 364 Spanish students (51% female and 49% male) from the University of Huelva. Data were obtained by means of a questionnaire. The data revealed that there are gender differences which apply in both countries, highlighting that the young women have more positive attitudes, greater perceived behavioural control and intention of condom use than young men. However, they protect themselves less that their male counterparts: the percentage of females who say using condoms as a contraceptive method is less than the percentage of males, and especially with their steady partners. The results are discussed in relation to gender role norms, to have a steady partner or not, gender relations, the associated meaning to sexual relations for men and women and their implications for the design of sexual educational programmes for them

Oral tongue cancer in public hospitals in Madrid, Spain (1990-2008)

The cancer which appears in the mobile portion of the tongue is the most common neoplasm of the oral cavity. The objective of this study was to analyse oral tongue cancer epidemiology in a population of 610 patients diagnosed between 1990 and 2008 and detailed in the Tumour Registry of the Madrid region. A retrospective analysis based on the following variables provided in the Tumour Registry was achieved: age, gender, histology, stage, location, treatment. Descriptive and analytic statistics with these variables, using Pearson?s Chi-square test to study the relationship between the qualitative variables. Patients? mean age was 61.53±13.95 years, with a gender ratio of 2.09:1 (413 males vs 197 females). The lesion was mainly localized in the lateral border of tongue, with other sites (dorsal face, ventral face, lingual tonsil, contiguous sites, tongue NOS) represented at lower rates. Squamous cell carcinomas (94.9%) far outweighted other histologies (salivary gland tumours, soft tissue tumours, haematolymphoid tumours). 59% of the cases appeared in localized stages, versus 35.2% in regional and 4.8% in distant stages. Surgery was the most frequently used treatment, followed by surgery in combination with radiotherapy. Oral tongue cancer is a disease of the elderly, with a male predominance. It mainly appears in its lateral border, localized squamous cell carcinomas representing the great majority of lingual neoplasms

A Meta-modeling Approach to Take into Account Data Domain Characteristics and Relationships in Information Visualizations

[EN]Visual explanations are powerful means to convey information to large audiences. However, the design of information visualizations is a complex task, because a lot of factors are involved (the audience profile, the data domain, etc.). The complexity of this task can lead to poor designs that could make users reach wrong conclusions from the visualized data. This work illustrates the process of identifying features that could make an information visualization confusing or even misleading with the goal of arranging them into a meta-model. The metamodel provides a powerful resource to automatically generate information visualizations and dashboards that take into account not only the input data, but also the audience’s characteristics, the available data domain knowledge and even the data context

University students’ views regarding gender in STEM studies: Design and validation of an instrument

[EN] Diferences in the representation of diversity in higher education, emphasising the gender gap in some areas, are issues addressed from diferent research domains. Socially, gender roles have been constructed and are also related to professions. In this context, the Social Cognitive Career Theory explores the possible causes of segregation. This segregation is evident in Europe and Spain, as indicated by the European Institute for Gender Equality. This paper describes the design and validation process of an instrument to fnd out what opinions university students have about higher education studies in science, technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM), according to gender. After drafting the questionnaire, it was piloted in a non-experimental quantitative design in Spain. Subsequently, a validity and reli ability study was applied to validate the items and construct their dimensionality. The process was implemented using Reliability Analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis. Also, the dimensionality consists of fve scales: Gender Ideology, Perception and Self-perception, Expectations about Science, Attitudes and Interests. Based on the results, it is concluded that the opinion about STEM studies is conditioned by personal elements, such as motivations, educational background and family and social infuences, such as people who judged their decision, were their references or studied STEM programs. Finally, it is essential to pay socio-educational attention to the modulating components of decisions about which higher education studies to pursue. Awareness of the factors involved in the decision helps the educational community to establish mechanisms to prevent horizontal gender segregation. The instrument designed, validated and presented in this study provides a glimpse of possible causes for the gender gap in STEM higher education.Publicación en abierto financiada por el Consorcio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Castilla y León (BUCLE), con cargo al Programa Operativo 2014ES16RFOP009 FEDER 2014-2020 DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN, Actuación:20007-CL - Apoyo Consorcio BUCLE

Specifying information dashboards’ interactive features through meta-model instantiation

[EN]Information dashboards1 can be leveraged to make informed decisions with the goal of improving policies, processes, and results in different contexts. However, the design process of these tools can be convoluted, given the variety of profiles that can be involved in decision-making processes. The educative context is one of the contexts that can benefit from the use of information dashboards, but given the diversity of actors within this area (teachers, managers, students, researchers, etc.), it is necessary to take into account different factors to deliver useful and effective tools. This work describes an approach to generate information dashboards with interactivity capabilities in different contexts through meta-modeling. Having the possibility of specifying interaction patterns within the generative workflow makes the personalization process more fine-grained, allowing to match very specific requirements from the user. An example of application within the context of Learning Analytics is presented to demonstrate the viability of this approach

Technological Ecosystems in the Health Sector: a Mapping Study of European Research Projects

The European Union has a substantial investment in research and development and demand side-measures in the health sector in order to promote new initiatives, prevent disease and foster healthy lifestyles. In particular, the European Commission and other European entities have funded research projects focused on the use of technology in the health sector. In this context, health research initiatives have evolved from user-centred monolithic solutions into collaborative partnerships of different stakeholders that gather around different technological platforms. In order to identify the lacks and opportunities in this area, a systematic mapping study was conducted with the aim of identifying and analysing the recent research projects developed in Europe related to technological ecosystems in the health sector. The study covered closed European research projects from 2003 to 2018. This paper aims to extend that systematic mapping study through ongoing research projects. The analysis of these research projects provides an overview of the current trends and identify the lacks and opportunities to define new advances in this research area. Moreover, the comparison between the first mapping study focused on closed projects, and the current study, allows getting an overview of the evolution of technological ecosystems in the health sector