Edición de fórmulas matemáticas en los EVAs

Los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje (EVAs) suelen prestar poca atención a las herramientas para crear contenidos matemáticos, por lo que a menudo hay que lidiar con lenguajes de script como LaTeX o con editores de fórmulas rudimentarios y no compatibles con tabletas. Si los alumnos tienen que introducir fórmulas ellos mismos, esta dificultad puede ser insalvable. Vamos a realizar una comparativa de los editores de fórmulas de las grandes plataformas EVA, tanto en la funcionalidad que ofrece la creación o edición de las fórmulas como en la calidad y accesibilidad del resultado

QT interval and short-term outcome in acute heart failure

Acute heart failure; Electrocardiogram; Emergency departmentInsuficiencia cardiaca aguda; Electrocardiograma; EmergenciasInsuficiència cardíaca aguda; Electrocardiograma; Servei d'urgènciesObjective: To investigate the association of corrected QT (QTc) interval duration and short-term outcomes in patients with acute heart failure (AHF). Methods: We analyzed AHF patients enrolled in 11 Spanish emergency departments (ED) for whom an ECG with QTc measurement was available. Patients with pace-maker rhythm were excluded. Primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality and secondary outcomes were need of hospitalization, in-hospital mortality and prolonged hospitalization (> 7 days). Association between QTc and outcomes was explored by restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves. Results were expressed as odds ratios (OR) and 95%CI adjusted by patients baseline and decompensation characteristics, using a QTc = 450 ms as reference. Results: Of 1800 patients meeting entry criteria (median age 84 years (IQR = 77-89), 56% female), their median QTc was 453 ms (IQR = 422-483). The 30-day mortality was 9.7%, while need of hospitalization, in-hospital mortality and prolonged hospitalization were 77.8%, 9.0% and 50.0%, respectively. RCS curves found longer QTc was associated with 30-day mortality if > 561 ms, OR = 1.86 (1.00-3.45), and increased up to OR = 10.5 (2.25-49.1), for QTc = 674 ms. A similar pattern was observed for in-hospital mortality; OR = 2.64 (1.04-6.69), for QTc = 588 ms, and increasing up to OR = 8.02 (1.30-49.3), for QTc = 674 ms. Conversely, the need of hospitalization had a U-shaped relationship: being increased in patients with shorter QTc [OR = 1.45 (1.00-2.09) for QTc = 381 ms, OR = 5.88 (1.25-27.6) for the shortest QTc of 200 ms], and also increasing for prolonged QTc [OR = 1.06 (1.00-1.13), for QTc = 459 ms, and reaching OR = 2.15 (1.00-4.62) for QTc = 588 ms]. QTc was not associated with prolonged hospitalization.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature

Inhibition of BCR signaling using the Syk inhibitor TAK-659 prevents stroma-mediated signaling in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells

Altres ajuts: This work was cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC, M.C). N.P. is a recipient of a PhD fellowship granted by Institut de Recerca Vall d'Hebron. C.C. is supported by a grant from Sociedad Española de Hematología y Hemoterapia (SEHH).Proliferation and survival of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells depend on microenvironmental signals coming from lymphoid organs. One of the key players involved in the crosstalk between CLL cells and the microenvironment is the B-cell receptor (BCR). Syk protein, a tyrosine kinase essential for BCR signaling, is therefore a rational candidate for targeted therapy in CLL. Against this background, we tested the efficacy of the highly specific Syk inhibitor TAK-659 in suppressing the favorable signaling derived from the microenvironment. To ex vivo mimic the microenvironment found in the proliferation centers, we co-cultured primary CLL cells with BM stromal cells (BMSC), CD40L and CpG ODN along with BCR stimulation. In this setting, TAK-659 inhibited the microenvironment-induced activation of Syk and downstream signaling molecules, without inhibiting the protein homologue ZAP-70 in T cells. Importantly, the pro-survival, proliferative, chemoresistant and activation effects promoted by the microenvironment were abrogated by TAK-659, which furthermore blocked CLL cell migration toward BMSC, CXCL12, and CXCL13. Combination of TAK-659 with other BCR inhibitors showed synergistic effect in inducing apoptosis, and the sequential addition of TAK-659 in ibrutinib-treated CLL cells induced significantly higher cytotoxicity. These findings provide a strong rationale for the clinical development of TAK-659 in CLL

Thirty-day outcomes in frail older patients discharged home from the emergency department with acute heart failure: effects of high-risk criteria identified by the DEED FRAIL-AHF trial

Objectives: To study the effect of high-risk criteria on 30-day outcomes in frail older patients with acute heart failure (AHF) discharged from an emergency department (ED) or an ED's observation and short-stay areas. Material and methods: Secondary analysis of discharge records in the Older AHF Key Data registry. We selected frail patients (aged > 70 years) discharged with AHF from EDs. Risk factors were categorized as modifiable or nonmodifiable. The outcomes were a composite endpoint for a cardiovascular event (revisits for AHF, hospitalization for AHF, or cardiovascular death) and the number of days alive out-of-hospital (DAOH) within 30 days of discharge. Results: We included 380 patients with a mean (SD) age of 86 (5.5) years (61.2% women). Modifiable risk factors were identified in 65.1%, nonmodifiable ones in 47.8%, and both types in 81.6%. The 30-day cardiovascular composite endpoint occurred in 83 patients (21.8%). The mean 30-day DAOH observed was 27.6 (6.1) days. Highrisk factors were present more often in patients who developed the cardiovascular event composite endpoint: the rates for patients with modifiable, nonmodifiable, or both types of risk were, respectively, as follows in comparison with patients not at high risk: 25.0% vs 17.2%, P = .092; 27.6% vs 16.7%, P = .010; and 24.7% vs 15.2%, P = .098). The 30-day DAOH outcome was also lower for at-risk patients, according to type of risk factor present: modifiable, 26.9 (7.0) vs 28.4 (4.4) days, P = .011; nonmodifiable, 27.1 (7.0) vs 28.0 (5.0) days, P = .127; and both, 27.1 (6.7) vs 28.8 (3.4) days, P = .005). After multivariate analysis, modifiable risk remained independently associated with fewer days alive (adjusted absolute difference in 30-day DAOH, -1.3 days (95% CI, -2.7 to -0.1 days). Nonmodifiable factors were associated with increased risk for the 30-day cardiovascular composite endpoint (adjusted absolute difference, 10.4%; 95% CI, -2.1% to 18.7%). Conclusion: Risk factors are common in frail elderly patients with AHF discharged home from hospital ED areas. Their presence is associated with a worse 30-day prognosis

An Undergraduate Teaching Experience in HCI at the University of Lleida

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in Spanish university is a recent discipline. Moreover, its interdisciplinary nature and underdevelopment of teaching resources makes assimilation by students difficult. In this paper we present an educational experience based on a constructivist learning model of problem solving methodology it is put into practice in the subject of Introduction to HCI (INHCI), a compulsory course that currently forms part of the HCI curricula at the University of Lleida (Spain). The method is based on the resolution of real problems using the user centred proces

Synthesis of sequential machines: a mathematical approach

A new mathematical approach for encoding internal states in synchronous sequential machines is developed. The relationship between transition matrices and the corresponding matrices of the isometric group is studied. An algorithm to a priori determine the null cost assignment is proposed. The cycle lengths which appear for each n are analysed. The results obtained for the D or SR flip-flop can be extended to JK and GL

Synthesis of sequential machines: a mathematical approach

A new mathematical approach for encoding internal states in synchronous sequential machines is developed. The relationship between transition matrices and the corresponding matrices of the isometric group is studied. An algorithm to a priori determine the null cost assignment is proposed. The cycle lengths which appear for each n are analysed. The results obtained for the D or SR flip-flop can be extended to JK and GL