Generación de dolinas en medios aluviales con modelos analógicos

La formación de cavidades y su posterior colapso genera distintos tipos de dolinas en superficie. La evaluación de los riesgos asociados al karst aluvial o cubierto varía respecto la percepción habitual por encontrarse su origen desde varios a decenas de metros de profundidad. Las dolinas no son estáticas; en su desarrollo influye tanto la continuidad del proceso de disolución como la estabilización del terreno aluvial afectado. Estos procesos pueden requerir amplios periodos de tiempo para su estabilización. En este trabajo se propone la realización de una serie de modelos de propagación de cavidades dentro de un material no cementado para que sean realizados por estudiantes en el aula. En estos modelos se evalúan las dimensiones de la cavidad en el subsuelo, la variación del comportamiento del aluvial a partir de cambios de sus propiedades y la estabilización dinámica de dichas evidencias. En este trabajo se propone además la utilización de distintas técnicas de investigación del fenómeno y la obtención de conclusiones a partir de un caso práctico que puede resolverse con ayuda de los resultados obtenidos en los ensayos. Este ejercicio consiste en la determinación de la influencia de las propiedades del material aluvial en la propagación de cavidades, y en la comparación de los resultados que pueden obtenerse en función del carácter estático-instantáneo y dinámico-estable¿de estos fenómenos. Como aspecto transversal a los conceptos adquiridos durante la realización de la actividad, se fomenta también la discusión y evaluación de datos con pensamiento crítico y la aplicación del método científico a partir de los datos obtenidos en laboratorio

Metodologías Activas para los “Cuidados de enfermería en el adulto con problemas en la eliminación urinaria y digestiva” de la asignatura Enfermería del Adulto III. Realidad Virtual para el marcaje del estoma

Dentro de la asignatura Enfermería de Adulto III hay un contenido denominado “Cuidados de enfermería en el adulto con problemas en la eliminación urinaria y digestiva”. El cuidado del estoma digestivo es una intervención principalmente de enfermería, por lo tanto, su formación y capacitación en este campo es imprescindible para garantizar la autonomía en los pacientes con estoma digestivo. Así pues, se hace necesaria la búsqueda y el establecimiento de las mejores prácticas pedagógicas para mejorar el aprendizaje y potenciar la formación de los alumnos de Grado en Enfermería para un desempeño autónomo y pertinente a las demandas sociales vinculadas al autocuidado de los pacientes con estoma digestivo. Por esta razón se elabora el presente proyecto, cuyo objetivo principal consiste en implementar las metodologías activas (MA) como estrategia didáctica para mejorar el nivel de enseñanza/aprendizaje en los estudiantes de Grado en Enfermería en el abordaje de las personas con estoma digestivo y analizar si estas metodologías mejoran su aprendizaje. Dentro de la gran variedad de métodos de aprendizaje activo, se ha seleccionado el Flipped Classroom (aula invertida), la Gamificación y la Realidad Virtual. El interés en estas MA se debe a su carácter innovador y por estar en pleno apogeo didáctico, además de los resultados relevantes mostrados en diferentes acciones formativas y los múltiples beneficios para el desarrollo del aprendizaje del alumno. Para alcanzar los objetivos propuestos, se organizará un seminario que se impartirá en los Campus Universitarios de Ceuta, Melilla y Granada. En una primera sesión se presentará el proyecto a los docentes encargados de la asignatura y se tendrá una primera toma de contacto con los alumnos, explicándoles cómo se va a desarrollar la acción formativa, así como la posibilidad de otorgar o no su consentimiento de participación. Tras finalizar la experiencia se llevará a cabo la evaluación de los resultados obtenidos, así como el impacto que han tenido las sesiones en los estudiantes a través de una encuesta de satisfacción

Longitudinal analysis of blood DNA methylation identifies mechanisms of response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor therapy in rheumatoid arthritis

[Abstract] Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the joints that has been associated with variation in the peripheral blood methylome. In this study, we aim to identify epigenetic variation that is associated with the response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) therapy. Methods: Peripheral blood genome-wide DNA methylation profiles were analyzed in a discovery cohort of 62 RA patients at baseline and at week 12 of TNFi therapy. DNA methylation of individual CpG sites and enrichment of biological pathways were evaluated for their association with drug response. Using a novel cell deconvolution approach, altered DNA methylation associated with TNFi response was also tested in the six main immune cell types in blood. Validation of the results was performed in an independent longitudinal cohort of 60 RA patients. Findings: Treatment with TNFi was associated with significant longitudinal peripheral blood methylation changes in biological pathways related to RA (FDR<0.05). 139 biological functions were modified by therapy, with methylation levels changing systematically towards a signature similar to that of healthy controls. Differences in the methylation profile of T cell activation and differentiation, GTPase-mediated signaling, and actin filament organization pathways were associated with the clinical response to therapy. Cell type deconvolution analysis identified CpG sites in CD4+T, NK, neutrophils and monocytes that were significantly associated with the response to TNFi. Interpretation: Our results show that treatment with TNFi restores homeostatic blood methylation in RA. The clinical response to TNFi is associated to methylation variation in specific biological pathways, and it involves cells from both the innate and adaptive immune systems

Substrate finishing and niobium content effects on the high temperature corrosion resistance in steam atmosphere of CrN/NbN superlattice coatings deposited by PVD-HIPIMS

The main objective of this work was to evaluate the oxidation resistance of three PVD-HIPIMS CrN/NbN coatings, studying the effect of the surface finishing of the substrate and the role of niobium content into the coating composition. CrN/NbN nano-multilayered films on P92 steel were tested at 650°C in pure steam atmosphere. The mass gain was measured at fixed intervals to study their oxidation kinetics. The morphology and thickness of nanoscales were measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Characterization of coatings before and after the thermal treatment was performed by scanning electron microscopy-energy with facilities of dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). All coatings improved the oxidation resistance of the substrate material, but the best behaviour was exhibited by the CrN/NbN with the high niobium (Nb) content and deposited on the substrate with the finest surface finishing

Genome-wide pathway analysis identifies VEGF pathway association with oral ulceration in systemic lupus erythematosus

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a genetically complex rheumatic disease characterized by heterogeneous clinical manifestations of unknown etiology. Recent studies have suggested the existence of a genetic basis for SLE heterogeneity. The objective of the present study was to identify new genetic variation associated with the clinically relevant phenotypes in SLE. Methods: A two-stage pathway-based approach was used to identify the genetic variation associated with the main clinical phenotypes in SLE. In the discovery stage, 482 SLE patients were genotyped using Illumina Human Quad610 microarrays. Association between 798 reference genetic pathways from the Molecular Signatures Database and 11 SLE phenotypes was tested using the set-based method implemented in PLINK software. Pathways significantly associated after multiple test correction were subsequently tested for replication in an independent cohort of 425 SLE patients. Using an in silico approach, we analyzed the functional effects of common SLE therapies on the replicated genetic pathways. The association of known SLE risk variants with the development of the clinical phenotypes was also analyzed. Results: In the discovery stage, we found a significant association between the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway and oral ulceration (P value for false discovery rate (P FDR) < 0.05), and between the negative regulation signaling pathway of retinoic acid inducible gene-I/melanoma differentiation associated gene 5 and the production of antinuclear antibodies (P FDR < 0.05). In the replication stage, we validated the association between the VEGF pathway and oral ulceration. Therapies commonly used to treat mucocutaneous phenotypes in SLE were found to strongly influence VEGF pathway gene expression (P = 4.60e-4 to 5.38e-14). Analysis of known SLE risk loci identified a strong association between PTPN22 and the risk of hematologic disorder and with the development of antinuclear antibodies. Conclusions: The present study has identified VEGF genetic pathway association with the risk of oral ulceration in SLE. New therapies targeting the VEGF pathway could be more effective in reducing the severity of this phenotype. These findings represent a first step towards the understanding of the genetic basis of phenotype heterogeneity in SLE

Blood RNA sequencing reveals immunological processes associated with the response to abatacept in rheumatoid arthritis.

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A deletion at Adamts9-magi1 Locus is associated with psoriatic arthritis risk

Objective: Copy number variants (CNVs) have been associated with the risk to develop multiple autoimmune diseases. Our objective was to identify CNVs associated with the risk to develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA) using a genome-wide analysis approach. Methods: A total of 835 patients with PsA and 1498 healthy controls were genotyped for CNVs using the Illumina HumanHap610 BeadChip genotyping platform. Genomic CNVs were characterised using CNstream analysis software and analysed for association using the χ2 test. The most significant genomic CNV associations with PsA risk were independently tested in a validation sample of 1133 patients with PsA and 1831 healthy controls. In order to test for the specificity of the variants with PsA aetiology, we also analysed the association to a cohort of 822 patients with purely cutaneous psoriasis (PsC). Results: A total of 165 common CNVs were identified in the genome-wide analysis. We found a highly significant association of an intergenic deletion between ADAMTS9 and MAGI1 genes on chromosome 3p14.1 (p=0.00014). Using the independent patient and control cohort, we validated the association between ADAMTS9-MAGI1 deletion and PsA risk (p=0.032). Using next-generation sequencing, we characterised the 26 kb associated deletion. Finally, analysing the PsC cohort we found a lower frequency of the deletion compared with the PsA cohort (p=0.0088) and a similar frequency to that of healthy controls (p>0.3). Conclusions: The present genome-wide scan for CNVs associated with PsA risk has identified a new deletion associated with disease risk and which is also differential from PsC risk