Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the questionnaire of students' attitudes towards schizophrenia

En el presente estudio se analiza las propiedades psicométricas de la versión en castellano del Cuestionario de Actitudes de los Estudiantes hacia la Esquizofrenia. Se trata de un instrumento diseñado y aplicado originalmente en Alemania. Los resultados encontrados señalan un alpha de Cronbach de .95. El Análisis Factorial Exploratorio señaló la existencia, al igual que la versión original, de dos factores con una varianza total explicada del 59.94%. Esta estructura fue confirmada por el Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio. Sin embargo, el contenido y significado de estos dos factores difieren ligeramente de la muestra alemana. En este caso, el primer factor haría referencia a miedo o temor hacia las personas con esquizofrenia, el segundo se refiere a estereotipos. Se discute la importancia de estos resultados.The present study analyzes the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Student Attitudes Questionnaire towards Schizophrenia. It is an instrument originally designed and applied in Germany. The results found point to a Cronbach alpha of .95. The Exploratory Factor Analysis indicated the existence, as the original version, of two factors with a total variance explained of 59.94%. This structure was confirmed by the Factorial Confirmatory Analysis. However, the content and significance of these two factors differ slightly from the German sample. In this case, the first factor would refer to fear or fear towards people with schizophrenia, the second refers to stereotypes. The importance of these results is discussed

La huella de carbono de la Universidad de Córdoba. 2013

La huella de carbono es un término usado para describir la cantidad de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) que son liberados a la atmósfera directa o indirectamente como consecuencia de una actividad determinada, bien sea la fabricación de un producto, la prestación de un servicio, o el funcionamiento de una organización. Con el concepto huella de carbono de una organización se pretende describir el impacto total que una organización tiene sobre el clima en relación a las emisiones de GEI a la atmósfera. La utilización de la huella de carbono se ha ido desarrollando también como un elemento de información para comunicar el desempeño ambiental de una entidad a todas sus partes interesadas. Además de como indicador para tomar decisiones a la hora de reducir las emisiones asociadas a una actividad. Existen diversas metodologías para la identificación, cuantificación y comunicación de emisiones de GEI de organizaciones. Los documentos que constituyen las referencias más importantes en esta materia son las normas ISO 14064 y 14069, junto con el GHG Protocol, del World Resources Institute y el World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Combining Management, Education and Participation for the Transformation of Universities towards Sustainability: The Trébol Programme

This article presents the design and development of the ‘Trébol (Clover) Programme’, a tool which allows us to improve environmental sustainability in the university environment by reinforcing the education, awareness, and training of its members. The system for certifying ‘good practice’ is divided into four progressive levels, and a certificate is awarded in order to demonstrate the environmental commitment acquired to third parties. The aim of the whole process is to create a practical forum for participation, communication, motivation and competence, which is necessary to foster effective pro-environmental behaviour. The study took place at the University of Córdoba (Spain), and, since it began in the 2013/2014 academic year, over 50 groups a wide range of areas have taken part, making a total of nearly 600 participants. The results show that the Trébol Programme enables environmental commitment to be put into practice, through continuous, systematised, participative and well-organised improvements in environmental performance. Its potential as an educational resource for environmental improvement should also be noted, by boosting environmental awareness and establishing new norms. It fits in well with the principles and areas of action of Education for Sustainable Development, and can be applied to universities and other settings to bring about a shift towards sustainability in the fields of teaching, research and management

The mitochondrial activity of leukocytes from Artibeus jamaicensis bats remains unaltered after several weeks of flying restriction

Bats are the only flying mammals known. They have longer lifespan than other mammals of similar size and weight and can resist high loads of many pathogens, mostly viruses, with no signs of disease. These distinctive characteristics have been attributed to their metabolic rate that is thought to be the result of their flying lifestyle. Compared with non-flying mammals, bats have lower production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and high levels of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase. This anti-oxidative vs. oxidative profile may help to explain bat's longer than expected lifespans. The aim of this study was to assess the effect that a significant reduction in flying has on bats leukocytes mitochondrial activity. This was assessed using samples of lymphoid and myeloid cells from peripheral blood from Artibeus jamaicensis bats shortly after capture and up to six weeks after flying deprivation. Mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), mitochondrial calcium (mCa2+), and mitochondrial ROS (mROS) were used as key indicators of mitochondrial activity, while total ROS and glucose uptake were used as additional indicators of cell metabolism. Results showed that total ROS and glucose uptake were statistically significantly lower at six weeks of flying deprivation (p 0.05). These results suggest that bat mitochondria are stable to sudden changes in physical activity, at least up to six weeks of flying deprivation. However, decrease in total ROS and glucose uptake in myeloid cells after six weeks of captivity suggest a compensatory mechanism due to the lack of the highly metabolic demands associated with flying

New Compounds with Bioisosteric Replacement of Classic Choline Kinase Inhibitors Show Potent Antiplasmodial Activity

In the fight against Malaria, new strategies need to be developed to avoid resistance of the parasite to pharmaceutics and other prevention barriers. Recently, a Host Directed Therapy approach based on the suppression of the starting materials uptake from the host by the parasite has provided excellent results. In this article, we propose the synthesis of bioisosteric compounds that are capable of inhibiting Plasmodium falciparum Choline Kinase and therefore to reduce choline uptake, which is essential for the development of the parasite. Of the 41 bioisosteric compounds reported herein, none showed any influence of the linker on the antimalarial and enzyme inhibitory activity, whereas an effect of the type of cationic heads used could be observed. SARs determined that the thienopyrimidine substituted in 4 by a pyrrolidine is the best scaffold, independently of the chosen linker. The decrease in lipophilicity seems to improve the antimalarial activity but to cause an opposite effect on the inhibition of the enzyme. While potent compounds with similar good inhibitory values have been related to the proposed mechanism of action, some of them still show discrepancies and further studies are needed to determine their specific molecular target

Gamificación en Iberoamérica. Experiencias desde la comunicación y la educación

La presente obra capitular es el resultado de las investigaciones sobre las aplicaciones de la gamificación en contextos múltiples, emergentes provenientes de las comunicaciones presentadas en el Simposio 06 del III Congreso Internacional Comunicación y Pensamiento (Sevilla, España), así como de aquellas presentadas por los miembros del Gamelab UPS, del Proyecto I+D+i Coordinado “Competencias mediáticas de la ciudadanía en medios digitales emergentes (smartphones y tablets): Prácticas innovadoras y estrategias educomunicativas en contextos múltiples” (EDU2015-64015-C3-1-R) (MINECO/FEDER), de la “Red de Educación Mediática” del Programa Estatal de Investigación Científica-Técnica de Excelencia, Subprograma Estatal de Generación de Conocimiento (EDU2016-81772-REDT), financiados por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) y Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España. En este sentido se busca construir, desde una mirada dual desde Europa y América Latina el primer libro iberoamericano de gamificación, avalado por el Gamelab de la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (Ecuador), el Proyecto I+D+i EDU2015-64015-C3-1-R, la Red Interuniversitaria Euroamericana de Investigación sobre Competencias Mediáticas para la Ciudadanía (Alfamed), el Laboratorio de Estudios en Comunicación (Ladecom) y el Grupo de Investigación Ágora (PAI-HUM-648) de la Universidad de Huelva (España) y el Grupo de Investigación Estructura, Historia y Contenidos de la Comunicación GREHCCO

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

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

Experiencias docentes en tiempo de pandemia

El texto Experiencias docentes en tiempo de pandemia está estructurado en dos partes: 1. Discusiones necesarias sobre la educación superior en tiempo de pandemia. 2. Prácticas docentes en época de pandemia expresadas a través del relato. En la primera parte, se presenta un conjunto de nueve artículos que buscan fundamentar teóricamente la situación actual de la educación conforme a las circunstancias que estamos viviendo, de manera que: Robert Fernando Bolaños Vivas, en su artículo La filosofía de la Educación ante la crisis sanitaria COVID-19, una oportunidad de humanización, considera que la crisis sanitaria de la COVID-19 ha puesto de manifesto la profunda crisis humana que pone a prueba la calidad de los seres humanos, razón por la cual el autor intenta demostrar la deficiente respuesta antropológica a las complejas exigencias y complejidades de la crisis sanitaria provocada por la COVID- 19, en este sentido, en el artículo reflexiona sobre la dimensión de la alteridad, la historicidad y la temporalidad humana

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements