DAU - Digital Archive of URL (Ramon Llull University)
Not a member yet
5388 research outputs found
Sort by
A Tunable Soft Silicone Bioadhesive for Secure Anchoring of Diverse Medical Devices to Wet Biological Tissue
Get PDFSilicone is utilized widely in medical devices for its compatibility with tissues and bodily fluids, making it a versatile material for implants and wearables. To effectively bond silicone devices to biological tissues, a reliable adhesive is required to create a long-lasting interface. BioAdheSil, a silicone-based bioadhesive designed to provide robust adhesion on both sides of the interface is introduced here, facilitating bonding between dissimilar substrates, namely silicone devices and tissues. The adhesive's design focuses on two key aspects: wet tissue adhesion capability and tissue-infiltration-based long-term integration. BioAdheSil is formulated by mixing soft silicone oligomers with siloxane coupling agents and absorbents for bonding the hydrophobic silicone device to hydrophilic tissues. Incorporation of biodegradable absorbents eliminates surface water and controls porosity, while silane crosslinkers provide interfacial strength. Over time, BioAdheSil transitions from nonpermeable to permeable through enzyme degradation, creating a porous structure that facilitates cell migration and tissue integration, potentially enabling long-lasting adhesion. Experimental results demonstrate that BioAdheSil outperforms commercial adhesives and elicits no adverse response in rats. BioAdheSil offers practical utility for adhering silicone devices to wet tissues, including long-term implants and transcutaneous devices. Here, its functionality is demonstrated through applications such as tracheal stents and left ventricular assist device lines.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The use of simulation in nursing education programs: A cross-sectional interuniversity study
Get PDFBackground. Simulation-based education has been incorporated into nursing curricula as an educational strategy. However, its implementation has not yet been standardized in different regions. Purpose. The aim of this study is to describe simulation-based education in the nursing curricula in Catalonia and Andorra. Methods. An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 in which 16 universities participated. Results. The median dedication to clinical simulation in the nursing studies was 287.5 hours, with variations between universities (ranging from 24 to 516 hours). The dedication for the low-medium fidelity simulation was 89.4 hours (SD ± 58.3) and 26 hours (SD ± 17) for the high-fidelity simulation. All the universities had qualified teaching staff and facilities. Conclusions. There is variability in the implementation and use of simulation-based education among universities. However, there is consensus on its usefulness in nursing curricula. To integrate simulation training into the nursing curriculum, it is necessary to establish convergent simulation standards in higher education.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Introduction of nirsevimab in Catalonia, Spain: description of the incidence of bronchiolitis and respiratory syncytial virus in the 2023/2024 season
Get PDFRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes most of the cases of bronchiolitis and thousands of deaths annually, particularly in infants less than 6 months old. In Catalonia (Spain), infants born between April 2023 and March 2024 aged 0–6 months during their first RSV season have been candidates to receive nirsevimab, the novel monoclonal antibody against RSV, since October 2023. We aimed to analyse the dynamics of all-causes bronchiolitis diagnoses and RSV community infections in the current season and compare them to pre-nirsevimab epidemics. We collected epidemiological data from the Information System for Surveillance of Infections in Catalonia (SIVIC) on daily all-causes bronchiolitis clinical diagnoses and RSV-confirmed cases provided by rapid antigen tests in primary care practices. We calculated the rate ratio (RR) for the incidence of all-causes bronchiolitis for children aged 0-11 m-old with respect to 12-35 m-old between September 2014 and January 2024. We analysed the RR of the incidence of RSV-confirmed infection for 0-11 m-old and 12-35 m-old with respect to the > 35 m-old, from January 2021 to January 2024. We then computed the relative difference of the RR, designated as percentage of reduction of risk, between season 2023/2024 and former epidemics. With a global coverage recorded rate for nirsevimab of 82.2% in January 2024, the age-specific 0-11 m-old RR (95% CI) of RSV infection incidence for > 35 m-old was 1.7 (1.5–2.0) in season 2023/2024. The RR (95% CI) had been 7.4 (5.6–9.9), 8.8 (6.9–11.3), and 7.1 (5.7–8.9) in 2020/2021, 2021/2022, and 2022/2023, respectively. Regarding the incidence of all-causes bronchiolitis for the 0-11 m-old group compared to the 12-35 m-old, the pre-pandemic (2014/2015–2019/2020) and 2022/2023 RR (95% CI) were 9.4 (9.2–9.6) and 6.0 (5.7–6.2), respectively, significantly higher than the RR of 3.6 (3.4–3.8) for the most recent season, 2023/2024.
Conclusion: Concurring with the introduction of nirsevimab, the risk of RSV infection for infants aged 0-11 m-old compared to > 35 m-old has been reduced by 75.6% (73.4–77.5) in last season, and the risk for all-causes bronchiolitis for 12-35 m-old by 61.9% (60.9–62.9) from the pre-pandemic period and by 39.8% (39.3–40.2) from the 2022/2023 epidemic, despite high RSV community transmission, especially in older infants.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Synthesis, Magnetic, and Photocatalytic Activity of Polypyrrole-Based TiO2–Fe Catalyst for Wastewater Treatment
Get PDFThe primary aim of this study is to investigate the degradation efficacy of the Ppy/TiO2-Fe photocatalyst for MB dye in an aqueous solution. Firstly, the direct addition of TiO2 and Fe was done to prepare Ppy/TiO2-Fe photocatalyst. Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, BET surface area analysis, and magnetization tests established the formation of the Ppy/TiO2-Fe photocatalyst. The crystallite sizes of TiO2, Fe-TiO2, and Ppy/TiO2-Fe photocatalyst were estimated to be 24.99 nm, 21.94 nm, and 21.84 nm, respectively. For the synthesis confirmation, the FTIR spectrum confirmed the existence of Ti-O, Fe-O, and Ppy-related bonds. While comparing the SEM images, the impact of polypyrrole on the particle shape was observed with less aggregation and increased surface roughness. The VSM analysis revealed that incorporating polypyrrole (Ppy) into Fe-TiO2 significantly enhances its magnetic properties, with Ppy/TiO2-Fe exhibiting superparamagnetic behavior, characterized by a higher saturation magnetization (Ms) of 33.11 emu/g and a lower coercivity (Hc) of 0.160 Oe, compared to Fe-TiO2’s Ms of 1.09 emu/g and Hc of 341.39 Oe. The N2 sorption desorption, with a specific surface area of 2.25 × 102 m2/g, is beneficial for photocatalytic activity. The concentration of dye, amount of catalyst, pH, and temperature were studied to evaluate the photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized Ppy/TiO2-Fe photocatalyst under different conditions. The findings revealed a degradation efficiency of 91.92%. The degradation rate reached 91.92% under optimal conditions within 120 min and could be fitted well by first-order kinetics. The photocatalytic efficiency was also evaluated for the scavenger, and the concentration of H2O2 and the reusability of the catalyst were demonstrated. Based on the observed results, the Ppy/TiO2-Fe photocatalyst could be applied more effectively and efficiently to photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes in wastewater treatment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Parental genetically predicted liability for coronary heart disease and risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes: a cohort study
Get PDFBackground
Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO) may unmask or exacerbate a woman’s underlying risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). We estimated associations of maternal and paternal genetically predicted liability for CHD with lifelong risk of APOs. We hypothesized that associations would be found for women, but not their male partners (negative controls).
Methods
We studied up to 83,969 women (and up to 55,568 male partners) from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study or the Trøndelag Health Study with genotyping data and lifetime history of any APO in their pregnancies (1967–2019) in the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (miscarriage, stillbirth, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, small for gestational age, large for gestational age, and spontaneous preterm birth). Maternal and paternal genetic risk scores (GRS) for CHD were generated using 148 gene variants (p-value < 5 × 10−8, not in linkage disequilibrium). Associations between GRS for CHD and each APO were determined using logistic regression, adjusting for genomic principal components, in each cohort separately, and combined using fixed effects meta-analysis.
Results
One standard deviation higher GRS for CHD in women was related to increased risk of any hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05–1.10), pre-eclampsia (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.05–1.11), and small for gestational age (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.06). Imprecise associations with lower odds of large for gestational age (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96–1.00) and higher odds of stillbirth (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.98–1.11) were suggested. These findings remained consistent after adjusting for number of total pregnancies and the male partners’ GRS and restricting analyses to stable couples. Associations for other APOs were close to the null. There was weak evidence of an association of paternal genetically predicted liability for CHD with spontaneous preterm birth in female partners (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.99–1.05), but not with other APOs.
Conclusions
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, small for gestational age, and stillbirth may unmask women with a genetically predicted propensity for CHD. The association of paternal genetically predicted CHD risk with spontaneous preterm birth in female partners needs further exploration.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Catholic Ecology Mindset amongst Youth: Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum’s Impact in Higher Education
Get PDFThe climate crisis is widely regarded as the most significant challenge facing humanity in the 21st century In light of these concerns, Pope Francis announced the encyclical Laudato Si’ in 2015, which conveyed both concern and hope in the fight to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This is further reinforced by the publication in 2023 of the encyclical Laudate Deum, which once again emphasises the relationship between religion and ecology. In this regard, an educational intervention was conducted to ascertain the extent of knowledge and acceptance of these texts and their premises among first-year high-school students. The action comprised an initial classroom analysis of the encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum, during which various passages were read and commented on. This was followed by a second phase, in the form of a focus group, during which the students, in groups of five, were invited to share their perspectives on the relationship between faith and environmental stewardship. The preliminary study was conducted with a sample of 90 students in the second year of Baccalaureate from a secondary school in Barcelona, Spain.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the teaching-learning process of university assignments
Get PDFLa inteligencia artificial (IA) puede ser utilizada para apoyar la creación de los trabajos de las asignaturas. El uso de esta tecnología va a ser indispensable para la vida profesional de los estudiantes y, por lo tanto, la Universidad debe incorporar herramientas como el ChatGPT a lo largo de su formación. La investigación está basada en el uso de la IA para resolver ejercicios universitarios. Metodología:La metodología se basa en la observación y análisis del uso de IA que han llevado a cabo un grupo de estudiantes para resolver un ejercicio universitario y en qué medida el resultado final está influenciado por las propuestas que el ChatGPT les hace. Resultados:No todos los estudiantes se han sentido cómodos con los resultados de la IA y han optado por un uso más o menos intensivo de los textos propuestos por esta. La mayoría de las personas que se han basado fundamentalmente en el resultado de la IA han suspendido la actividad. Conclusiones:La IA puede ayudar a la construcción de textos para trabajos en la Universidad, pero necesita que el estudiante domine el contenido que solicite el ejercicio para perfeccionar bastante la propuesta inicial de la IA.Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to support the creation of course work. The use of this technology is going to be essential for the professional lives of students and, therefore, the University must incorporate tools such as ChatGPT throughout their training. The research is based on the use of AI to solve university exercises. Methodology: The methodology is based on the observation and analysis of the use of AI that a group of students have carried out to solve a university exercise and to what extent the final result is influenced by the proposals that ChatGPT makes to them. Results:Not all students have felt comfortable with the results of AI and have opted for more or less intensive use of the texts proposed by it. Most people who have relied primarily on the result of AI have failed the activity evaluation. Conclusions:AI can help in the construction of texts for university work, but the student needs to know a lot about the content requested by the exercise in order to greatly refine the initial AI proposal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Enhancing Liquid State Machine Classification Through Reservoir Separability Optimization Using Swarm Intelligence and Multitask Learning
Get PDFThe Liquid State Machine (LSM) framework addresses supervised learning tasks involving spatio-temporal data streams. It relies on a randomly created, untrained Spiking Recurrent Neural Network (SRNN), called the “liquid,” to map inputs into task-independent representations. A simple readout layer then uses these representations to solve specific tasks. LSM’s computational power arises from two properties: the Separation Property (related to the liquid) and the Approximation Property (related to the readout). This research aims to enhance the liquid’s separation property to improve classification performance and enable multitask learning through swarm intelligence. The study develops a two-phase approach: first, using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to optimize the liquid for distinguishing data streams of different classes in single tasks; and second, extending this optimization to multitask learning with Original Multi-Objective PSO (OMOPSO). Results from experiments on four artificial problems (one of frequency recognition and three of pattern recognition) demonstrate that optimized liquids improve separability and maintain regularized firing behaviors, even with a simple softmax readout layer. On average, the experiments show that our approach outperforms baseline methods across all four artificial datasets when using PSO and achieves superior results on three pattern recognition datasets when employing OMOPSO.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Acute Paraoxon-Induced Neurotoxicity in a Mouse Survival Model: Oxidative Stress, Dopaminergic System Alterations and Memory Deficits
Get PDFThe secondary neurotoxicity induced by severe organophosphorus (OP) poisoning, including paraoxon (POX), is associated with cognitive impairments in survivors, who, despite receiving appropriate emergency treatments, may still experience lasting neurological deficits. Thus, the present study provides a survival mouse model of acute and severe POX poisoning to examine secondary neurotoxicity. Swiss CD-1 male mice were injected with POX (4 mg/kg, s.c.) followed by atropine (4 mg/kg, i.p.), pralidoxime (2-PAM; Pyridine-2-aldoxime methochloride) (25 mg/kg, i.p., twice, 1 h apart) and diazepam (5 mg/kg, i.p.), resulting in a survival rate >90% and Racine score of 5–6. Our results demonstrated that the model showed increased lipid peroxidation, downregulation of antioxidant enzymes and astrogliosis in the mouse hippocampus (HP) and prefrontal cortex (PFC), brain areas involved in cognitive functions. Moreover, dopamine (DA) levels were reduced in the hp, but increased in the PFC. Furthermore, the survival mouse model of acute POX intoxication did not exhibit phenotypic manifestations of depression, anxiety or motor incoordination. However, our results demonstrated long-term recognition memory impairments, which are in accordance with the molecular and neurochemical effects observed. In conclusion, this mouse model can aid in researching POX exposure’s effects on memory and developing potential countermeasures against the secondary neurotoxicity induced by severe OP poisoning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Face-brain correlates as potential sex-specific biomarkers for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Get PDFGiven the shared ectodermal origin and integrated development of the face and the brain, facial biomarkers emerge as potential candidates to assess vulnerability for disorders in which neurodevelopment is compromised, such as schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD).
The sample comprised 188 individuals (67 SZ patients, 46 BD patients and 75 healthy controls (HC)). Using a landmark-based approach on 3D facial reconstructions, we quantified global and local facial shape differences between SZ/BD patients and HC using geometric morphometrics. We also assessed correlations between facial and brain cortical measures. All analyses were performed separately by sex.
Diagnosis explained 4.1 % - 5.9 % of global facial shape variance in males and females with SZ, and 4.5 % - 4.1 % in BD. Regarding local facial shape, we detected 43.2 % of significantly different distances in males and 47.4 % in females with SZ as compared to HC, whereas in BD the percentages decreased to 35.8 % and 26.8 %, respectively. We detected that brain area and volume significantly explained 2.2 % and 2 % of facial shape variance in the male SZ - HC sample.
Our results support facial shape as a neurodevelopmental marker for SZ and BD and reveal sex-specific pathophysiological mechanisms modulating the interplay between the brain and the face.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio