Hippocampal alterations after SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review

SARS-CoV-2 infection produces a wide range of symptoms. Some of the structural changes caused by the virus in the nervous system are found in the medial temporal lobe, and several neuropsychological sequelae of COVID-19 are related to the function of the hippocampus. The main objective of the systematic review is to update and further analyze the existing evidence of hippocampal and related cortices’ structural and functional alterations due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Both clinical and preclinical studies that used different methodologies to explore the effects of this disease at different stages and grades of severity were considered, besides exploring related cognitive and emotional symptomatology. A total of 24 studies were identified by searching in SCOPUS, Web Of Science (WOS), PubMed, and PsycInfo databases up to October 3rd, 2022. Thirteen studies were performed in clinical human samples, 9 included preclinical animal models, 3 were performed post-mortem, and 1 included both post-mortem and preclinical samples. Alterations in the hippocampus were detected in the acute stage and after several months of infection. Clinical studies revealed alterations in hippocampal connectivity and metabolism. Memory alterations correlated with altered metabolic profiles or changes in grey matter volumes. Hippocampal human postmortem and animal studies observed alterations in neurogenesis, dendrites, and immune response, besides high apoptosis and neuroinflammation. Preclinical studies reported the viral load in the hippocampus. Olfactory dysfunction was associated with alterations in brain functionality. Several clinical studies revealed cognitive complaints, neuropsychological alterations, and depressive and anxious symptomatology

Protocol for an observational cohort study on psychological, addictive, lifestyle behavior and highly prevalent affective disorders in primary health care adults

Depression and anxious symptoms are prevalent in the general population, and their onset and persistence may be linked to biological and psychosocial factors, many of which are lifestyle-related. The way we manage our care, physical and emotional health and/or discomfort is highly influenced by our own abilities, skills and attitudes despite life’s circumstances. The main aim of this protocol to analyze the relationship between psychological constructs (self-efficacy, activation, health literacy, resilience, personality traits, sense of coherence, self-esteem), and the presence of affective-emotional problems (anxiety, depression) and addictions in primary health care.MethodsThis is a protocol of a prospective longitudinal cohort study including people of 35–74 years old of Aragon primary health care centers (Spain). Three evaluations will be conducted: baseline evaluation, and follow-up assessments five and ten years after recruitment. The primary outcomes will be severity of depression, severity of anxiety, and addictive behaviors. A detailed set of secondary outcomes will be assessed across all three assessments. This will include psychosocial or personal factors on health behavior, social support, lifestyle patterns, quality of life, the use of health and social resources, and chronic comorbid pathology.DiscussionThe analysis of the impact of psychological constructs and lifestyles on the mental health of people and communities will provide evidence that will make it possible to better address and prevent these prevalent problems and address their improvement from a more global and holistic perspective. The evaluation of psychological constructs should be incorporated into health services to improve people’s ability their self-care, the level of knowledge of managing their disease and their physical, mental and social health.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.isrctn.com/, identifier ISRCTN12820058

Inclusión de TIC para la colaboración creativa en el descubrimiento de algoritmos

El trabajo se enmarca en una línea de investigación del Proyecto UBATIC “Innovación Pedagógica vía TIC para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa en la FIUBA”, acreditado por Resolución (CS) 3822/2011. Se presenta el ensayo de una experiencia colaborativa con TIC que intenta facilitar a los alumnos de las ingenierías no informáticas el descubrimiento de algoritmos para el aprendizaje de la solución de problemas con la computadora. Se explora la expansión de las fronteras del aula de Computación mediante la utilización del software libre Google Drive (disponible en la Web para crear documentos en línea, con la posibilidad de colaborar en grupo) y del recurso Wiki (de la plataforma de e-learning Moodle adoptada por la Facultad de Ingeniería de la Universidad de Buenos Aires como campus virtual para la creación colectiva de documentos) con la intención de provocar un encuentro de los integrantes de los diversos grupos en un taller propio donde ingeniarán con sus pares soluciones efectivas a los problemas. La búsqueda de la generación de oportunidades con la incorporación de TIC para ayudar a los alumnos a aprender a pensar cómo se construyen programas y para promover la creación colaborativa, motiva e impulsa la implementación de la propuesta.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

The importance of creating an english language instruction center for the UES personnel's children

In the last years, in El Salvador there has been an increasing demand of learning English as a foreign language in public and private schools. One factor that can contribute to this demand is the future job opportunities for people being bilingual, so there are many parents whose objectives are to have their children study English. However, there are not many institutions or centers where children can learn English at lower prices. Therefore, this research profile focuses on “The importance of creating an English Language Instruction Center for the UES personnel’s children”. This work mentions the main elements to know regarding teaching and learning English as a foreign language supported by authors who are interested in giving their point of view based on their studies in the educational field. Every topic within this work supports the proposal to create a center where children can learn English as a foreign language. All together will bring economic, educational, and employment advantages as well as increased linguistic and creative abilities, improved attention and enhanced social skills, because being bilingual is crucial in today’s multicultural and multilingual world. In addition, there can be found out in this profile the objectives and the justification why the topic is being researched. It is necessary to be well aware of the advantages children will have in a center that provides teaching for free. Also, there is included in this profile the methodology in which the research is expected to be approached by the researchers at the time they carry it out. The methodology has to do with the strategies to take into account to gather the information aimed in the research. Finally, there is the bibliography that will support the research to do it possible

Learning Methods on Heritage for Architects: Creative Design Process for a Sustainable Built Environment

Culture and heritage constitute the driven force to sustainability of the built environment, situated at the heart of urban renewal and innovation, becoming a key issue for training future architects. The fact that a substantial part of our built environment is already built, the population exponentially growing, and concentrated in the small areas of the cities, has brought forward the need to work with our preexistences. We cannot freeze the dynamics of human occupation; we can however learn how to assess the values it cherishes, and incorporate them to the design process, not as a limitation but as treasure design material for our proposals

Influence of national policies on the sustainability of heritage from the architectural and urban design perspective

The aim of this report is to reflect on urban policies and how they affect the issue of sustainability in heritage. The decentralized character of Spanish geopolitics and the transference of power to the different autonomous governments both in terms of heritage management but also architectural and urban policies in general, make one autonomous region the proper framework for this study. Therefore, we have structured the document as follows: 1) Andalusia, Spain. National, Regional and municipal policies. 2) Regulatory framework 3) The international context. International reference texts and charters 4) The protection of cultural heritage in Andalusia (Spain). The Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH) 5) Reference

Unravelling the genetic basis of simplex Retinitis Pigmentosa cases

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is the most common form of inherited retinal dystrophy (IRD) characterized ultimately by photoreceptors degeneration. Exhibiting great clinical and genetic heterogeneity, RP can be inherited as an autosomal dominant (ad), autosomal recessive (ar) and X-linked (xl) disorder. Although the relative prevalence of each form varies somewhat between populations, a major proportion (41% in Spain) of patients represent simplex cases (sRP) in which the mode of inheritance is unknown. Molecular genetic diagnostic is crucial, but also challenging, for sRP patients because any of the 81 RP genes identified to date may be causative. Herein, we report the use of a customized targeted gene panel consisting of 68 IRD genes for the molecular characterization of 106 sRP cases. The diagnostic rate was 62.26% (66 of 106) with a proportion of clinical refinements of 30.3%, demonstrating the high efficiency of this genomic approach even for clinically ambiguous cases. The high number of patients diagnosed here has allowed us to study in detail the genetic basis of the sRP. The solved sRP cohort is composed of 62.1% of arRP cases, 24.2% of adRP and 13.6% of xlRP, which implies consequences for counselling of patients and families.Union Europea PI15-01648España Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PI11-02923Junta de Andalucía,Ministerio de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo CTS-166

Altered Gut Microbiota and Compositional Changes in Firmicutes and Proteobacteria in Mexican Undernourished and Obese Children

Mexico is experiencing an epidemiological and nutritional transition period, and Mexican children are often affected by the double burden of malnutrition, which includes undernutrition (13.6% of children) and obesity (15.3%). The gut microbiome is a complex and metabolically active community of organisms that influences the host phenotype. Although previous studies have shown alterations in the gut microbiota in undernourished children, the affected bacterial communities remain unknown. The present study investigated and compared the bacterial richness and diversity of the fecal microbiota in groups of undernourished (n = 12), obese (n = 12), and normalweight (control) (n = 12) Mexican school-age children. We used next-generation sequencing to analyze the V3–V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, and we also investigated whether there were correlations between diet and relevant bacteria. The undernourished and obese groups showed lower bacterial richness and diversity than the normalweight group. Enterotype 1 correlated positively with dietary fat intake in the obese group and with carbohydrate intake in the undernourished group. The results showed that undernourished children had significantly higher levels of bacteria in the Firmicutes phylum and in the Lachnospiraceae family than obese children, while the Proteobacteria phylum was overrepresented in the obese group. The level of Lachnospiraceae correlated negatively with energy consumption and positively with leptin level. This is the first study to examine the gut microbial community structure in undernourished and obese Mexican children living in low-income neighborhoods. Our analysis revealed distinct taxonomic profiles for undernourished and obese children