El UPOBARÓMETRO como experiencia de innovación docente del Área de Ciencia Política y de la Administración, de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide

This article discusses and analyses the educational innovation experience around the making of the fourth edition of the UPOBAROMETRO Opinion Survey by the Political Science students at the Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Seville, Spain), conducted during the 2012-2013 academic year. The whole experience reveals that the usage of such a means help students obtain a useful, autonomous knowledge regarding their employability and career opportunities, which is highly assessed by them.Este artículo describe y analiza la experiencia de innovación docente que ha supuesto la elaboración del Estudio de Opinión UPOBARÓMETRO por el alumnado de Ciencia Política de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide, de Sevilla. Concretamente, describe y analiza la cuarta edición de dicho Estudio de Opinión, realizada durante el curso académico 2012-2013 y en la cual han participado activamente estudiantes de dos asignaturas de Ciencia Política, pertenecientes a diversos cursos de Grado y/o Licenciatura de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide. La citada experiencia de innovación docente revela que la elaboración del UPOBARÓMETRO por los referidos estudiantes permite a éstos obtener un valioso aprendizaje autónomo asociado a su empleabilidad laboral y salidas profesionales, lo cual es valorado de forma muy positiva por sus protagonistas

Nanoscale imaging of buried topological defects with quantitative X-ray magnetic microscopy

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.-- et al.Advances in nanoscale magnetism increasingly require characterization tools providing detailed descriptions of magnetic configurations. Magnetic transmission X-ray microscopy produces element specific magnetic domain images with nanometric lateral resolution in films up to ∼100 nm thick. Here we present an imaging method using the angular dependence of magnetic contrast in a series of high resolution transmission X-ray microscopy images to obtain quantitative descriptions of the magnetization (canting angles relative to surface normal and sense). This method is applied to 55-120 nm thick ferromagnetic NdCo 5 layers (canting angles between 65° and 22°), and to a NdCo 5 film covered with permalloy. Interestingly, permalloy induces a 43° rotation of Co magnetization towards surface normal. Our method allows identifying complex topological defects (merons or 1/2 skyrmions) in a NdCo 5 film that are only partially replicated by the permalloy overlayer. These results open possibilities for the characterization of deeply buried magnetic topological defects, nanostructures and devices.Work supported by Spanish MINECO under grant FIS2013-45469. A. Hierro-Rodriguez acknowledges support from FCT of Portugal (Grant SFRH/BPD/90471/2012). C. Blanco-Roldán thanks support from CSIC JAE Predoc Program.Peer Reviewe

Ocean circulation pattern over North Atlantic seamounts: Ormonde and Formigas

Seamounts constitute an obstacle to the free ocean flow giving rise to a variety of hydrodynamical processes and phenomena such as, among others, Taylor columns/caps. As a consequence of that, seamounts may turn into very productive ecosystems with high biodiversity, which provide a particularly good environment for the settle of some organisms, acting as stepping stones and contributing to its dispersal. In this study, we verify if these oceanographic effects explain the presence of cold-water corals of Mediterranean origin in the Atlantic. To achieve this, CTD, LADPC and biochemical measurements were carried out in three seamounts in the path of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW): the Gazul mud volcano, and the Ormonde and Formigas seamounts. Taylor columns were not observed in any of the three sampled areas. In fact, the oceanographic processes in those areas are more influenced by the vertical distribution of water masses, which determine the stability of the water column. Moreover, the high values of the Brunt-Väisälä frequency around the MOW halocline can lead to the formation of internal waves. These perturbations in the water column can enhance the vertical mixing, producing suspension, which, in turn, could affect the vertical distribution of cold-water corals

Influence of Menstrual Cycle Length and Age at Menarche on Symptoms, Cognition, Social Cognition, and Metacognition in Patients with First-Episode Psychosis

Altres ajuts: PERIS call (grant no. SLT006/17/00231); the Progress and Health Foundation of the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health (grant no. PI-0634/2011 and PI-0193/2014); Obra Social La Caixa (RecerCaixa call 2013); CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya; Obra Social Sant Joan de Déu (BML); and FI19/00062 (Ayudas para la Contratación de Personal Predoctoral).A protective effect has traditionally been attributed to estrogen in psychotic disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate cumulative lifetime estrogen by assessing the menstrual cycle length, age at menarche, and years of difference between the onset of psychotic symptoms and the age of menarche, measuring their effects on symptoms, cognition, social cognition, and metacognition. As it was not possible to directly measure cumulative estrogen levels over the lifetime of a patient, the study sample was composed of 42 women with first-episode psychosis; estrogen levels were inferred by the menstrual cycle length, age at menarche, and years of difference between the onset of psychotic symptoms and menarche. All patients were assessed with a battery of questionnaires using the BDI, PSYRATS, PANSS, STROOP, TAVEC, WSCT, IPSAQ, and BCIS questionnaires. The results related to menstrual cycle length showed a relationship with memory; specifically, shorter cycles with semantic strategies (p = 0.046) and longer cycles with serial strategies in the short term (p = 0.005) as well as in the long term (p = 0.031). The results also showed a relationship with perseverative errors (p = 0.035) and self-certainty (p = 0.049). Only personalized bias (p = 0.030) was found to be significant in relation to the age at menarche. When analyzing the differences in years of difference between the age at menarche and the onset of psychotic symptoms, the results indicated lower scores in women with a smaller difference between both events in memory (short-term (p = 0.050), long-term (p = 0.024), intrusions (p = 0.013), and recognition (p = 0.043)) and non-perseverative errors (p = 0.024). No relationship was found between symptoms and menstrual characteristics. The investigatory outcomes seem to indicate a relationship between estrogen cumulative effects and the memory domain. More in-depth investigations in the field are necessary in order to improve personalized treatment in women with psychosis

Heterogeneity in Response to MCT and Psychoeducation : A Feasibility Study Using Latent Class Mixed Models in First-Episode Psychosis

Metacognitive training (MCT) is an effective treatment for psychosis. Longitudinal trajectories of treatment response are unknown but could point to strategies to maximize treatment efficacy during the first episodes. This work aims to explore the possible benefit of using latent class mixed models (LCMMs) to understand how treatment response differs between metacognitive training and psychoeducation. We conducted LCMMs in 28 patients that received MCT and 34 patients that received psychoeducation. We found that MCT is effective in improving cognitive insight in all patients but that these effects wane at follow-up. In contrast, psychoeducation does not improve cognitive insight, and may increase self-certainty in a group of patients. These results suggest that LCMMs are valuable tools that can aid in treatment prescription and in predicting response to specific treatments

Diagnosis of Genetic White Matter Disorders by Singleton Whole-Exome and Genome Sequencing Using Interactome-Driven Prioritization

Background and Objectives Genetic white matter disorders (GWMD) are of heterogeneous origin, with >100 causal genes identified to date. Classic targeted approaches achieve a molecular diagnosis in only half of all patients. We aimed to determine the clinical utility of singleton whole-exome sequencing and whole-genome sequencing (sWES-WGS) interpreted with a phenotype- and interactome-driven prioritization algorithm to diagnose GWMD while identifying novel phenotypes and candidate genes. Methods A case series of patients of all ages with undiagnosed GWMD despite extensive standard-of-care paraclinical studies were recruited between April 2017 and December 2019 in a collaborative study at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and neurology units of tertiary Spanish hospitals. We ran sWES and WGS and applied our interactome-prioritization algorithm based on the network expansion of a seed group of GWMD-related genes derived from the Human Phenotype Ontology terms of each patient. Results We evaluated 126 patients (101 children and 25 adults) with ages ranging from 1 month to 74 years. We obtained a first molecular diagnosis by singleton WES in 59% of cases, which increased to 68% after annual reanalysis, and reached 72% after WGS was performed in 16 of the remaining negative cases. We identified variants in 57 different genes among 91 diagnosed cases, with the most frequent being RNASEH2B, EIF2B5, POLR3A, and PLP1, and a dual diagnosis underlying complex phenotypes in 6 families, underscoring the importance of genomic analysis to solve these cases. We discovered 9 candidate genes causing novel diseases and propose additional putative novel candidate genes for yet-to-be discovered GWMD. Discussion Our strategy enables a high diagnostic yield and is a good alternative to trio WES/WGS for GWMD. It shortens the time to diagnosis compared to the classical targeted approach, thus optimizing appropriate management. Furthermore, the interactome-driven prioritization pipeline enables the discovery of novel disease-causing genes and phenotypes, and predicts novel putative candidate genes, shedding light on etiopathogenic mechanisms that are pivotal for myelin generation and maintenance

Role of Plant-Specific N-Terminal Domain of Maize CK2β1 Subunit in CK2β Functions and Holoenzyme Regulation

Protein kinase CK2 is a highly pleiotropic Ser/Thr kinase ubiquituous in eukaryotic organisms. CK2 is organized as a heterotetrameric enzyme composed of two types of subunits: the catalytic (CK2α) and the regulatory (CK2β). The CK2β subunits enhance the stability, activity and specificity of the holoenzyme, but they can also perform functions independently of the CK2 tetramer. CK2β regulatory subunits in plants differ from their animal or yeast counterparts, since they present an additional specific N-terminal extension of about 90 aminoacids that shares no homology with any previously characterized functional domain. Sequence analysis of the N-terminal domain of land plant CK2β subunit sequences reveals its arrangement through short, conserved motifs, some of them including CK2 autophosphorylation sites. By using maize CK2β1 and a deleted version (ΔNCK2β1) lacking the N-terminal domain, we have demonstrated that CK2β1 is autophosphorylated within the N-terminal domain. Moreover, the holoenzyme composed with CK2α1/ΔNCK2β1 is able to phosphorylate different substrates more efficiently than CK2α1/CK2β1 or CK2α alone. Transient overexpression of CK2β1 and ΔNCK2β1 fused to GFP in different plant systems show that the presence of N-terminal domain enhances aggregation in nuclear speckles and stabilizes the protein against proteasome degradation. Finally, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays show the nuclear and cytoplasmic location of the plant CK2 holoenzyme, in contrast to the individual CK2α/β subunits mainly observed in the nucleus. All together, our results support the hypothesis that the plant-specific N-terminal domain of CK2β subunits is involved in the down-regulation of the CK2 holoenzyme activity and in the stabilization of CK2β1 protein. In summary, the whole amount of data shown in this work suggests that this domain was acquired by plants for regulatory purposes

Trayectos de investigación en trabajo social: hacia una cultura de investigación.

Los contenidos de Trayectos de investigación en Trabajo Social ponen a consideración del público diversas temáticas que, estructuradas como líneas de investigación, motivan la controversia y la construcción de conocimiento al interior del programa, en algunos casos como resultado de procesos de investigación formativa y del desarrollo de semilleros de investigación, y en otros como resultado de apuestas individuales que logran convencer e involucrar a otros miembros del equipo docente. Esto, en atención a la necesidad de resaltar y fortalecer una relación entre docencia e investigación que evite que el proceso formativo se convierte en rutinario y sin sentido, ante la dinámica de los problemas y contextos frente a los cuales se pretende reflexionar y generar conocimiento. En esa medida, es esencial mencionar que el interés de los investigadores del programa es que, además de apreciar el proceso vivido en cada caso, la comunidad académica pueda relacionar entre si las diferentes temáticas que, tal vez por ser presentadas en forma separa como líneas de investigación, puedan no ser visualizadas como parte integral del proceso complejo de configuración del actuar investigativo en el marco del programa de Trabajo Social

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality