Use of new technologies and personality factors in college students

Internet y móvil son TIC de gran incidencia a nivel social. Aunque proporcionan innumerables ventajas, también pueden complicarnos la vida si se hace un uso inadecuado de las mismas. Los objetivos del estudio fueron caracterizar el posible uso problemático de Internet y móvil y las posibles relaciones con factores psicológicos. Para ello, se recogieron datos sociodemográficos y se administraron cinco cuestionarios a 229 estudiantes de la Universidad de Cádiz: Cuestionario de Experiencias Relacionadas con el uso de Internet (CERI), Cuestionario de Experiencias Relacionadas con el uso de Móvil (CERM), Escala de Autoestima de Rosenberg, NEO-FFI y Escala de Impulsividad Estado (EIE). La muestra reveló que un 5,7% presentaba problemas frecuentes con el uso de Internet y un 2,2% con el móvil. El uso problemático correlacionaba positivamente con neuroticismo y bajo control de impulsos, y negativamente con responsabilidad en ambas TIC. En conclusión, los datos aportan evidencias sobre la relación existente entre el uso problemático de las TIC y determinados factores psicológicos.Internet and mobile are ICT of high magnitude on the social level and provide many advantages, making easier our daily. However, our daily can also become difficult if we don’t use them appropriately. Our objectives were to determinate the problematic uses of Internet and mobile and its relationships with psychological factors. A sociodemographic data were collected and five questionnaires were applied to 229 from students of the University of Cádiz: one scale for problematic use of Internet (CERI) and for mobile (CERM), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the NEO-FFI Inventory, the impulsivity State Scale (EIE). The results revealed that 5.7% had frequent problems with Internet and 2.2% with mobile. The problematic use correlates positively with neuroticism and low impulse control, and negatively with responsibility for both ICT. In conclusion, the data provides evidence of the relationship between the problematic use of ICT and psychological factors

Percepção do uso de ̈Finatic: una ciudad sostenible ̈, uma ferramenta gamificada para estudantes da educação em Santander, na Colômbia

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a study that allowed identification of the perceptions of a group of eleventh-grade students on the use of the gamified tool or video game "Finatic: una ciudad sostenible", which seeks to support the economic and financial education of young people from educational institutions in Santander, Colombia. For this, a qualitative analysis methodology was used, which includes a descriptive analysis and a text-mining analysis of the information collected from a measurement instrument and includes factors such as narratives, levels, and missions, referring to elements of the game design. The study shows that there is acceptance among the students for the narratives and mechanics proposed in the tool. In addition, as the main finding, it was found that the initial version of the video game is accepted by the students, and, as in any process, it is necessary to make adjustments for its improvement and greater acceptance by users. The foregoing is essential since technological changes and the current rapid economic growth have generated the need to promote the design and implementation of tools that encourage the development of sustainable lifestyles in terms of personal finances in young people.El presente artículo tiene como propósito presentar los resultados de un estudio que permite identificar la percepción de un grupo de estudiantes de undécimo grado sobre el uso de la herramienta gamificada o videojuego “Finatic: una ciudad sostenible”, el cual busca apoyar la educación económica y financiera de los jóvenes de instituciones educativas en Santander, Colombia. Para ello, se empleó una metodología de análisis cualitativo, que incluye un análisis descriptivo y un análisis de minería de texto de la información recolectada a partir de un instrumento de medición que incluye factores como narrativas, niveles y misiones, referentes a elementos del diseño del juego. Con el estudio se evidencia que existe una aceptación de las y los estudiantes a las narrativas y las mecánicas propuestas en la herramienta. Además, como principal hallazgo, se encontró que la versión inicial del videojuego es aceptada por las y los estudiantes, y, como en todo proceso, es necesario realizar adecuaciones para su mejora y mayor aceptación de los usuarios. Lo anterior resulta fundamental, pues los cambios tecnológicos y el rápido crecimiento económico actual han generado la necesidad de promover el diseño y la implementación de herramientas que permitan incentivar el desarrollo de estilos de vida sostenibles en materia de finanzas personales en los jóvenes.The purpose of this article is to present the results of a study that allowed identification of the perceptions of a group of eleventh-grade students on the use of the gamified tool or video game "Finatic: una ciudad sostenible", which seeks to support the economic and financial education of young people from educational institutions in Santander, Colombia. For this, a qualitative analysis methodology was used, which includes a descriptive analysis and a text-mining analysis of the infor- mation collected from a measurement instrument and includes factors such as narratives, levels, and missions, referring to elements of the game design. play. The study shows that there is acceptance among the students for the narratives and mechanics proposed in the tool. In addition, as the main finding, it was found that the initial version of the video game is accepted by the students, and, as in any process, it is necessary to make adjustments for its improvement and greater acceptance by users. The foregoing is essential since technological changes and the current rapid economic growth have generated the need to promote the design and implementation of tools that encourage the development of sustainable lifestyles in terms of personal finances in young people

A novel study of copy number variations in Hirschsprung disease using the multiple ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technique.

Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't;BACKGROUND Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) is a congenital malformation of the hindgut produced by a disruption in neural crest cell migration during embryonic development. HSCR has a complex genetic etiology and mutations in several genes, mainly the RET proto-oncogene, have been related to the disease. There is a clear predominance of missense/nonsense mutations in these genes whereas copy number variations (CNVs) have been seldom described, probably due to the limitations of conventional techniques usually employed for mutational analysis. METHODS In this study we have aimed to analyze the presence of CNVs in some HSCR genes (RET, EDN3, GDNF and ZFHX1B) using the Multiple Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) approach. RESULTS Two alterations in the MLPA profiles of RET and EDN3 were detected, but a detailed inspection showed that the decrease in the corresponding dosages were due to point mutations affecting the hybridization probes regions. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that CNVs of the gene coding regions analyzed here are not a common molecular cause of Hirschsprung disease. However, further studies are required to determine the presence of CNVs affecting non-coding regulatory regions, as well as other candidate genes.This study was funded by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Spain (PI070070 and PI071315 for the E-Rare project), Consejeria de Salud de la Junta de Andalucia (PI-0249/2008) and Consejería de Innovación Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía (CTS2590).Ye

Matrix metalloproteases and TIMPs as prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy: A pilot study

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common tumour in women and one of the most important causes of cancer death worldwide. Radiation therapy (RT) is widely used for BC treatment. Some proteins have been identified as prognostic factors for BC (Ki67, p53, E‐cadherin, HER2). In the last years, it has been shown that variations in the expression of MMPs and TIMPs may contribute to the development of BC. The aim of this pilot work was to study the effects of RT on different MMPs (‐1, ‐2, ‐3, ‐7, ‐8, ‐9, ‐10, ‐12 and ‐13) and TIMPs (‐1 to ‐4), as well as their relationship with other variables related to patient characteristics and tumour biology. A group of 20 BC patients treated with RT were recruited. MMP and TIMP serum levels were analysed by immunoassay before, during and after RT. Our pilot study showed a slight increase in the levels of most MMP and TIMP with RT. However, RT produced a significantly decrease in TIMP‐1 and TIMP‐3 levels. Significant correlations were found between MMP‐3 and TIMP‐4 levels, and some of the variables studied related to patient characteristics and tumour biology. Moreover, MMP‐9 and TIMP‐3 levels could be predictive of RT toxicity. For this reason, MMP‐3, MMP‐9, TIMP‐3 and TIMP‐4 could be used as potential prognostic and predictive biomarkers for BC patients treated with RT.FUNDACIÓN PROGRESO Y SALUD, Grant/Award Number: PI‐730; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Grant/Award Number: PIE16‐00045; Oncología Básica y Clínica, Grant/Award Number: CTS‐20

miRNAs as radio-response biomarkers for breast cancer stem cells

In breast cancer (BC), the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been related to relapse, metastasis, and radioresistance. Radiotherapy (RT) is an extended BC treatment, but is not always effective. CSCs have several mechanisms of radioresistance in place, and some miRNAs are involved in the cellular response to ionizing radiation (IR). Here, we studied how IR affects the expression of miRNAs related to stemness in different molecular BC subtypes. Exposition of BC cells to radiation doses of 2, 4, or 6 Gy affected their phenotype, functional characteristics, pluripotency gene expression, and in vivo tumorigenic capacity. This held true for various molecular subtypes of BC cells (classified by ER, PR and HER-2 status), and for BC cells either plated in monolayer, or being in suspension as mammospheres. However, the effect of IR on the expression of eight stemness- and radioresistance-related miRNAs (miR-210, miR-10b, miR-182, miR-142, miR-221, miR-21, miR-93, miR-15b) varied, depending on cell line subpopulation and clinicopathological features of BC patients. Therefore, clinicopathological features and, potentially also, chemotherapy regimen should be both taken into consideration, for determining a potential miRNA signature by liquid biopsy in BC patients treated with RT. Personalized and precision RT dosage regimes could improve the prognosis, treatment, and survival of BC patients.This work has been partially funded by the Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad de la Junta de Andalucía and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ref. SOMM17/6109/ UGR, and with grants from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FEDER funds, projects no. PIE16/00045) and from the Chair ‘Doctors Galera- Requena in cancer stem cell research’ (CMC-CTS963)

A Comprehensive Analysis of 21 Actionable Pharmacogenes in the Spanish Population: From Genetic Characterisation to Clinical Impact

The implementation of pharmacogenetics (PGx) is a main milestones of precision medicine nowadays in order to achieve safer and more effective therapies. Nevertheless, the implementation of PGx diagnostics is extremely slow and unequal worldwide, in part due to a lack of ethnic PGx information. We analysed genetic data from 3006 Spanish individuals obtained by different high-throughput (HT) techniques. Allele frequencies were determined in our population for the main 21 actionable PGx genes associated with therapeutical changes. We found that 98% of the Spanish population harbours at least one allele associated with a therapeutical change and, thus, there would be a need for a therapeutical change in a mean of 3.31 of the 64 associated drugs. We also identified 326 putative deleterious variants that were not previously related with PGx in 18 out of the 21 main PGx genes evaluated and a total of 7122 putative deleterious variants for the 1045 PGx genes described. Additionally, we performed a comparison of the main HT diagnostic techniques, revealing that after whole genome sequencing, genotyping with the PGx HT array is the most suitable solution for PGx diagnostics. Finally, all this information was integrated in the Collaborative Spanish Variant Server to be available to and updated by the scientific community.CEGEN is part of the initiative IMPaCT-GENóMICA (IMP/00009) co-funded by ISCIII and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Additional funding was obtained from the ISCIII Project PI18/01242, within the Health Strategic Action, which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).Peer reviewe

A Large Case-Control Study Performed in Spanish Population Suggests That RECQL5 Is the Only RECQ Helicase Involved in Breast Cancer Susceptibility.

Around 50% of the familial breast cancer (BC) cases are estimated to be caused by germline variants in known low-, moderate-, and high-risk susceptibility genes, while the other half is of unknown genetic origin. In the present study, we wanted to evaluate the role of the RECQ helicases, some of which have been studied in the past as candidates, with unclear results about their role in the disease. Using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, we analyzed the whole coding sequence of BLM, RECQL1, RECQL4, RECQL5, and WRN in almost 2000 index cases from BC Spanish families that had previously tested negative for the known BC susceptibility genes (BRCAX) and compared the results with the controls extracted from gnomAD. Our results suggest that BLM, RECQL1, RECQL4, and WRN do not play a major role in BC susceptibility. However, in the combined analysis, joining the present results with those previously reported in a series of 1334 BC Spanish patients and controls, we found a statistically significant association between Loss of Function (LoF) variants in RECQL5 and BC risk, with an OR of 2.56 (p = 0.009; 95% CI, 1.18-4.98). Our findings support our previous work and places the RECQL5 gene as a new moderate-risk BC gene.A.O. is partially funded by FIS PI19/00640 supported by FEDER funds and the Spanish Network on Rare Diseases (CIBERER). M.d.l.H. is partially funded by FIS PI20/00110 supported by FEDER funds.S

mHealth intervention to improve quality of life in patients with chronic diseases during the COVID-19 crisis in Paraguay: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Patients with chronic disease represent an at-risk group in the face of the COVID-19 crisis as they need to regularly monitor their lifestyle and emotional management. Coping with the illness becomes a challenge due to supply problems and lack of access to health care facilities. It is expected these limitations, along with lockdown and social distancing measures, have affected the routine disease management of these patients, being more pronounced in low- and middle-income countries with a flawed health care system. Objectives The purpose of this study is to describe a protocol for a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the Adhera® MejoraCare Digital Program, an mHealth intervention aimed at improving the quality of life of patients with chronic diseases during the COVID-19 outbreak in Paraguay. Method A two-arm randomized controlled trial will be carried out, with repeated measures (baseline, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month) under two conditions: Adhera® MejoraCare Digital Program or waiting list. The primary outcome is a change in the quality of life on the EuroQol 5-Dimensions 3-Levels Questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L). Other secondary outcomes, as the effect on anxiety and health empowerment, will be considered. All participants must be 18 years of age or older and meet the criteria for chronic disease. A total of 96 participants will be recruited (48 per arm). Conclusions It is expected that the Adhera® MejoraCare Digital Program will show significant improvements in quality of life and emotional distress compared to the waiting list condition. Additionally, it is hypothesized that this intervention will be positively evaluated by the participants in terms of usability and satisfaction. The findings will provide new insights into the viability and efficacy of mHealth solutions for chronic disease management in developing countries and in times of pandemic