Learning styles and their relationship with the Technologies of Information and Communication (TIC) in the adaptation of pharmacy studies to the ESHE

Introducción: El conocimiento de los estilos de aprendizaje es fundamental para el docente a fin de comprender cómo aprenden sus alumnos y así modificar/reforzar su estilo de enseñanza. La aplicación de las nuevas Tecnologías de la Comunicación y de la Información (TIC) facilita la adaptación de las enseñanzas universitarias al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES). Objetivo: Evaluar el estilo de aprendizaje de los alumnos de Farmacia de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) y comparar dichos estilos con las TIC. Metodología: Alumnos de 4º curso de licenciatura en Farmacia y de postgrado. Todos respondieron al cuestionario CHAEA de estilos de aprendizaje. Además, se ha planteado un nuevo cuestionario para correlacionar estilos de aprendizaje y TIC. Discusión: Las puntuaciones positivas más elevadas correspondieron al estilo reflexivo seguido del teórico. Más del 80% de los alumnos muestran preferencia muy elevada por las clases magistrales (puntuaciones 4-5, siendo 5 la puntación de máxima preferencia). Este resultado estaría en concordancia con el estilo mayoritario de aprendizaje de los alumnos evaluados. Más del 90% de los alumnos valora de forma altamente positiva (4-5) la impartición de clases mediante la utilización de presentaciones en PowerPoint y, a continuación la utilización de la pizarra y la proyección de videos. Conclusiones: El estilo de aprendizaje de los alumnos de cuarto curso de Farmacia y de postgrado es fundamentalmente reflexivo aunque valoran de forma altamente positiva la utilización de las TIC, lo que confirma la importancia de su uso en la consecución de los objetivos del EEES.Introduction: knowledge of the learning styles of Pharmacy students is an important tool that can be used to improve teaching thereby reinforcing the use of appropriate and transferable teaching strategies. For this, the use of the Technologies of Information and Communication (TIC) may facilitate the implementation of the European Space for Higher Education (ESHE). Objective: To evaluate the learning styles of graduate and postgraduate pharmacy students at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid and, to compare the student´s learning styles with their preferences regarding the use of the TIC. Methods: The study was performed on fourth-year pharmacy students and postgraduate students. The instrument used to analyze the learning styles was the CHAEA questionnaire. Moreover, a new questionnaire was developed and implemented in order to establish a correlation between learning styles and TIC. Results: The preferred learning styles corresponded to reflexive and, in second place, theoretical learning. More than 80% of the students highly graded traditional lectures (4-5, being 5 the grade for maximum preference), with this result in accordance with the main learning style of the population assayed. More than 90% of the students also positively graded (4-5) multimedia presentations using PowerPoint software, followed by the use of blackboard and videos. Conclusions: The main learning style of fourth-year graduate students and postgraduate students at the School of Pharmacy (UCM) is reflexive. The populations assayed highly and positively graded the use of TIC, thereby stating their importance in the implementation of the ESHE

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB): Pathogenesis, clinical, diagnostic and genetic aspects, molecular basis, epidemiological aspects, management of patients with EB and translational implications of mutation analysis

Dismorfología, Citogenética y Clínica: Resultados de estudios sobre los datos del ECEMCUnder the term "Epidermolysis Bullosa" (EB), there is a heterogeneous group of vesicular disorders that are generally congenital and of genetic origin, and affect skin and often mucosas. It is remarkable the extreme fragility of these epithelia; the vesicles arise spontaneously as well as induced by even slight trauma or the influence of high temperatures. Their content is sero-hemorrhagic and in the scarring can be very difficult. As a consecuence of the scarring processes, joint contractures and fusion of digits (pseudo-syndactyly) can occur. Pathogenetically, EB is caused by abnormal blistering at the basement membrane zone in the dermal-epidermal attachment zone and its surroundings. This is due to alterations in the attachment complexes, and some mutations have been identified in a total of 10 genes expressed in such level. Four main types of EB can be distinguished (simple, junctional, dystrophic and hemidesmosomal), depending on the level at which the cleavage that forms the bulla takes place, although about 30 subtypes have been described. The clinical characteristics or optic microscopy are not adequate for diagnosis, and it is mandatory to perform electron microscopy, immunofluorescent and immunohistochemical studies, as well as mutation analysis if available. Regarding the epidemiological aspects, in the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC), since 1976 up to December 2004, a total of 2,204,264 liveborn infants were controlled and, among them 27 cases have been identified, for a minimum frequency of 0.12 per 10,000 (95% confidence interval:0.08-0.18). It seems generally accepted that the determination of the frequency of EB is subject to multiple biases and registration of cases is always incomplete. We have also reviewed the issues related to management of EB patients by clinicians.N

Pre-treatment and extraction techniques for recovery of added value compounds from wastes throughout the agri-food chain

The enormous quantity of food wastes discarded annually force to look for alternatives for this interesting feedstock. Thus, food bio-waste valorisation is one of the imperatives of the nowadays society. This review is the most comprehensive overview of currently existing technologies and processes in this field. It tackles classical and innovative physical, physico-chemical and chemical methods of food waste pre-treatment and extraction for recovery of added value compounds and detection by modern technologies and are an outcome of the COST Action EUBIS, TD1203 Food Waste Valorisation for Sustainable Chemicals, Materials and Fuels

Estado actual de la psicocirugía en España

Con el objetivo de recoger el estado actual de la psicocirugía en España y la opinión de los neurocirujanos hacia la misma, se diseñó una encuesta dirigida a todos los neurocirujanos en activo en nuestro país. Respondió al menos un neurocirujano de cada uno los 74 centros neuroquirúrgicos existentes en España (tasa de respuesta=100%). Únicamente 6 neurocirujanos realizaron intervenciones de psicocirugía. En total, se practicaron 111 intervenciones psicoquirúrgicas entre 1999 y 2003. El 75,7% de las mismas se llevó a cabo en centros privados. La indicación más frecuente ha sido el trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo, y la técnica más frecuente la capsulotomía anterior, aunque existe diversidad de indicaciones y técnicas entre los diversos neurocirujanos que la practican. Los que no realizan psicocirugía aducen como motivos la falta de remisión de pacientes (54,4%) y la propia inexperiencia (36,8%). La sospecha de una posible falta de eficacia o los posibles efectos adversos no son planteados frecuentemente. La posibilidad del empleo de la estimulación cerebral profunda en la psicocirugía, junto con la experiencia de algunos neurocirujanos y la opinión favorable del resto, puede dar lugar en el futuro a un mayor número de intervenciones en nuestro país

Lesion-associated microglia and macrophages mediate corralling and react with massive phagocytosis for debris clearance and wound healing after LPS-induced dopaminergic depletion

Altres ajuts: Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICNeuroinflammation contributes to neuronal degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, how brain inflammatory factors mediate the progression of neurodegeneration is still poorly understood. Experimental models of PD have shed light on the understanding of this phenomenon, but the exploration of inflammation-driven models is necessary to better characterize this aspect of the disorder. The use of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce a neuroinflammation-mediated neuronal loss is useful to induce reliable elimination of dopaminergic neurons. Nevertheless, how this model parallels the PD-like neuroinflammation is uncertain. In the present work, we used the direct LPS injection as a model inductor to eliminate dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in rats and reevaluated the inflammatory reaction. High-resolution 3D histological examination revealed that, although LPS induced a reliable elimination of SNpc dopaminergic neurons, it also generated a massive inflammatory response. This inflammation-mediated injury was characterized by corralling, a damaged parenchyma occupied by a vast population of lesion-associated microglia and macrophages (LAMMs) undertaking wound compaction and scar formation, surrounded by highly reactive astrocytes. LAMMs tiled the entire lesion and engaged in long-standing phagocytic activity to resolve the injury. Additionally, modeling LPS inflammation in a cell culture system helped to understand the role of phagocytosis and cytotoxicity in the initial phases of dopaminergic degeneration and indicated that LAMM-mediated toxicity and phagocytosis coexist during LPS-mediated dopaminergic elimination. However, this type of severe inflammatory-mediated injury, and subsequent resolution appear to be different from the ageing-related PD scenario where the architectural structure of the parenchyma is mostly preserved. Thus, the necessity to explore new experimental models to properly mimic the inflammatory compound observed in PD degeneration

Stimulation of the midkine/ALK axis renders glioma cells resistant to cannabinoid antitumoral action

Acknowledgements This work was supported by grants from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) (PS09/01401; HF2005/0021, FR2009-0052 and IT2009-0053 to GV; SAF2006/00918 to MG), Santander-Complutense (PR34/07-15856 to GV), Comunidad de Madrid (S-SAL/0261/2006 to MG). ML was sequentially the recipient of a ‘Juan de la Cierva’ contract, a postdoctoral contract from Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) and a postdoctoral contract from Comunidad de Madrid. ST was recipient of a research formation contract from Comunidad de Madrid, MS was recipient of a fellowship from MEC and of a research formation contract from Comunidad de Madrid, AC was recipient of fellowships from Gobierno Vasco, FEBS and EMBO. SH-T has a technician contract from MICINN and Fondo Social Europeo. We thank Horacio Zimman and Carmen Moreno from Hospital Clínico San Carlos as well as Leyre Urigüen from Universidad del Pais Vasco for their kind collaboration in the processing and delivery of glioma samples; Miguel Ángel Piris, Raquel Villuendas, Paloma Cueva and Rosa Pérez for technical advice in the gene expression experiments and other members of our lab for their continuous support.Identifying the molecular mechanisms responsible for the resistance of gliomas to anticancer treatments is an issue of great therapeutic interest. Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major active ingredient of marijuana, and other cannabinoids inhibit tumor growth in animal models of cancer, including glioma, an effect that relies, at least in part, on the stimulation of autophagy-mediated apoptosis in tumor cells. Here, by analyzing the gene expression profile of a large series of human glioma cells with different sensitivity to cannabinoid action, we have identified a subset of genes specifically associated to THC resistance. One of these genes, namely that encoding the growth factor midkine (Mdk), is directly involved in the resistance of glioma cells to cannabinoid treatment. We also show that Mdk mediates its protective effect via the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) receptor and that Mdk signaling through ALK interferes with cannabinoid-induced autophagic cell death. Furthermore, in vivo Mdk silencing or ALK pharmacological inhibition sensitizes cannabinod-resistant tumors to THC antitumoral action. Altogether, our findings identify Mdk as a pivotal factor involved in the resistance of glioma cells to THC pro-autophagic and antitumoral action, and suggest that selective targeting of the Mdk/ALK axis could help to improve the efficacy of antitumoral therapies for gliomas.Depto. de Bioquímica y Biología MolecularFac. de Ciencias BiológicasTRUEpu