Re-Conceptualizing Developmental Areas of Assessment for Screening, Eligibility Determination and Program Planning in Early Intervention

Contemporary recommended practices in early childhood assessment strive to gain a holistic picture of child learning and development to inform screening, eligibility, and program planning decisions. These practices have traditionally focused on competencies reflected in developmental domains with limited attention to the approaches-tolearning used to acquire those competencies. In this article, we call for the examination of early childhood constructs that impact a child’s ability to learn and develop, such as executive function (EF), mastery motivation, self-regulation and selfdetermination, specifically in the infant-toddler period. With EF defined as a wide range of central control processes in the brain that link and categorize information that is discernible in cognitive, motor, and behavioral responses [1], we propose a model of EF as the core construct that drives and unites these learning processes and describe how the model can be applied to Part C early intervention screening, assessment, eligibility determination, and program planning, as well as identify future directions in research and personnel preparation

Prevalence and morphometric analysis of the retromolar canal in a Spanish population sample:a helical CT scan study

The retromolar canal (RMC) is an anatomical variation of the mandibular canal (MC) whose identification and study should be considered given its implication in the surgical procedures of the retromolar area. The prevalence of the RMC widely varies according to previous studies and may be influenced by the followed study method. This work aimed to evaluate the prevalence of the RMC in a Spanish population sample. For this purpose, 225 CT scan images (with a higher resolution than the cone beam CT used in other previous studies) from the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia were analyzed. The Osirix MD® radiological image analysis system was applied to analyse the dimensions, location in the retromolar area and morphologic characteristics of the RMC by classifying them according to their typology. Furthermore, the relations between the RMC and gender, age and laterality were studied. RMC prevalence was 23.1%. No significant relation between the presence of the canal and gender, age or laterality was found. Type Ia was the commonest type with a prevalence of 40.8%. Based on the results of this study, the RMC should be considered a frequent anatomical variation whose complete study is very important in daily clinical practice

Thermo-fluid dynamics modelling of steam electrolysis in fully-assembled tubular high-temperature proton-conducting cells

Electrolysis based on renewable energies offers a promising carbon-free solution for hydrogen generation and storage. The recent developments of proton ceramic electrolysis cells operating at intermediate temperatures bear promise of superior energy efficiency compared to oxide ion conducting electrolytes. Here, a proton ceramic Single Engineering Unit (SEU) design is optimized for steam electrolysis using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model implemented in a COMSOL Multiphysics software. The SEU is an all-in-one tubular cell arrangement that constitutes the smallest electrolysis unit and enables efficient, adaptable pressurized hydrogen generation. The parametrical modelling study is conducted for two adiabatic operation scenarios with distinct steam conversion rates and tested for multiple key parameters, namely internal and external chamber pressures and inlet stream temperature. The modelling results show that low steam conversions enable operation at higher current densities and that the thermoneutral voltage for a fixed steam conversion is highly sensitive to the process conditions and operation modes. The increment of the pressure of the generated hydrogen implies a reduced production rate at thermoneutral voltage, although it can be compensated with an enhanced steam pressure or a reduced inlet temperature. Additionally, the introduction of a porous medium as the SEU current collector in the steam chamber enhances heat transport within this chamber. The area specific resistance of the system determines the current density, enforcing an adaption of the area of the electrolyser to satisfy the target hydrogen production and energy efficiency. The resulting proposed SEU design and adapted operational parameters allow effective delivery of pressurized dry hydrogen for a wide range of conditions and applications.publishedVersio

Microvideos on social networks as a complement to Human Anatomy learning

[EN] In the training of university students of health sciences (medicine, physiotherapy, nursing, podiatry...) the knowledge of human anatomy in its various variants is fundamental; from anatomical dissection and prosection, surface anatomy and neuroanatomy, to clinical anatomy and bioscopic anatomy and diagnostic imaging. Given the observed trends in learning and behavior of the new generations of students, presenting additional or complementary information through game and gamification strategies, quizzes and social networks can be an exciting experience, positive in various academic aspects. By recording micro-videos and diverse posts distributed through social networks, students can have almost-unlimited access to additional, complementary and/or review content for their human anatomy classes.[ES] En la formación de los y las estudiantes universitarios de ciencias de la salud (medicina, fisioterapia, enfermería, podología…) es fundamental el conocimiento de la anatomía humana en sus diversas variantes; desde la disección y prosección anatómica, la anatomía de superficie y neuroanatomía, hasta la anatomía clínica y la anatomía bioscópica e imagen diagnóstica. Dadas las tendencias observadas en el aprendizaje y conductas de las nuevas generaciones de alumnos y alumnas, presentar información adicional o complementaria mediante estrategias de juego y gamificación, quizzes y redes sociales puede resultar una experiencia positiva en diversos aspectos académicos. Mediante la grabación de microvídeos y realización de posts distribuidos a través de redes sociales, los alumnos y las alumnas pueden acceder de forma casi ilimitada a contenido adicional, complementario y/o de repaso de sus clases de anatomía humana.González-Soler, E.; Blasco-Serra, A.; Higueras-Villar, C.; Blasco-Ausina, MC.; Alfosea-Cuadrado, GM.; Valverde-Navarro, A. (2022). Microvídeos en redes sociales como complemento del aprendizaje de la Anatomía Humana. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1350-1358. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2022.2022.158991350135

Stressful Life Events and Distress in Breast Cancer:A 5-Years Follow-Up

Antecedentes/Objetivo El estrés psicosocial ha demostrado tener un impacto en la evolución del cáncer de mama (CM). Este estudio tiene como objetivo explorar el impacto de la psicoterapia y de los acontecimientos vitales estresantes (AVE) en la supervivencia de pacientes con CM. Método 113 mujeres con CM recibieron psicoterapia positiva o terapia cognitivo-conductual para manejar el estrés y 37 se incluyeron como grupo control. Se analizaron los efectos de la reducción de la Escala de Ansiedad y Depresión Hospitalaria (HADS) y de los AVE sobre la recurrencia a los cinco años, así como el efecto de recibir psicoterapia y del tipo de enfoque d esta sobre la supervivencia. Resultados La reducción de un punto en la HADS después de recibir psicoterapia predijo un menor riesgo de recurrencia, OR = 0,84, p = 0,037, IC 95% = 0,71-0,99. Además, cada aumento en el número de AVE vividos como amenazantes (OR = 1,92; p = 0,028, 95% CI = 1,07-3,43) se relacionó con una mayor recurrencia. Conclusiones Los resultados indican la necesidad de estudiar no solo la presencia de un evento potencialmente impactante en la conducta (psicoterapia o AVE) sino el efecto especifico que ha tenido en cada individuo

Group and sex differences in social cognition in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and healthy people

Background: Impairment of social cognition is documented in bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (SCH). In healthy individuals, women perform better than men in some of its sub-domains. However, in BD and SCH the results are mixed. Our aim was to compare emotion recognition, affective Theory of Mind (ToM) and first- and second-order cognitive ToM in BD, SCH and healthy subjects, and to investigate sex-related differences. Methods: 120 patients (BD = 60, SCH = 60) and 40 healthy subjects were recruited. Emotion recognition was assessed by the Pictures of Facial Affect (POFA) test, affective ToM by the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and cognitive ToM by several false-belief stories. Group and sex differences were analyzed using parametric (POFA, RMET) and non-parametric (false-belief stories) tests. The impact of age, intelligence quotient (IQ) and clinical variables on patient performance was examined using a series of linear/logistic regressions. Results: Both groups of patients performed worse than healthy subjects on POFA, RMET and second-order false-belief (p < 0.001), but no differences were found between them. Instead, their deficits were related to older age and/or lower IQ (p < 0.01). Subthreshold depression was associated with a 6-fold increased risk of first-order false-belief failure (p < 0.001). Sex differences were only found in healthy subjects, with women outperforming men on POFA and RMET (p ≤ 0.012), but not on first/second-order false-belief. Limitations: The cross-sectional design does not allow for causal inferences. Conclusion: BD and SCH patients had deficits in emotion recognition, affective ToM, and second-order cognitive ToM, but their performance was comparable to each other, highlighting that the differences between them may be subtler than previously thought. First-order cognitive ToM remained intact, but subthreshold depression altered their normal functioning. Our results suggest that the advantage of healthy women in the emotional and affective aspects of social cognition would not be maintained in BD and SCH

Prospective Exploratory Analysis of Angiogenic Biomarkers in Peripheral Blood in Advanced NSCLC Patients Treated With Bevacizumab Plus Chemotherapy: The ANGIOMET Study

Finding angiogenic prognostic markers in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer is still an unmet medical need. We explored a set of genetic variants in the VEGF-pathway as potential biomarkers to predict clinical outcomes of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer treated with chemotherapy plus bevacizumab. We prospectively analyzed the relationship between VEGF-pathway components with both pathological and prognostic variables in response to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab in 168 patients with non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer. Circulating levels of VEGF and VEGFR2 and expression of specific endothelial surface markers and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in VEGF-pathway genes were analyzed. The primary clinical endpoint was progression-free survival. Secondary endpoints included overall survival and objective tumor response. VEGFR-1 rs9582036 variants AA/AC were associated with increased progression-free survival (p = 0.012 and p = 0.035, respectively), and with improved overall survival (p = 0.019) with respect to CC allele. Patients with VEGF-A rs3025039 harboring allele TT had also reduced mortality risk (p = 0.049) compared with the CC allele. The VEGF-A rs833061 variant was found to be related with response to treatment, with 61.1% of patients harboring the CC allele achieving partial treatment response. High pre-treatment circulating levels of VEGF-A were associated with shorter progression-free survival (p = 0.036). In conclusion, in this prospective study, genetic variants in VEGFR-1 and VEGF-A and plasma levels of VEGF-A were associated with clinical benefit, progression-free survival, or overall survival in a cohort of advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy plus antiangiogenic therapy. © Copyright © 2021 Jantus-Lewintre, Massutí Sureda, González Larriba, Rodríguez-Abreu, Juan, Blasco, Dómine, Provencio Pulla, Garde, Álvarez, Maestu, Pérez de Carrión, Artal, Rolfo, de Castro, Guillot, Oramas, de las Peñas, Ferrera, Martínez, Serra, Rosell and Camps