Vocal Problems and Burnout Syndrome in Nonuniversity Teachers in Galicia, Spain.

INTRODUCTION: Voice disorders and burnout syndrome are common among teachers. This study aimed to explore the relationship among vocal problems, burnout syndrome, and some personal work factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study enrolled 90 nonuniversity teachers who completed the Multidimensional Vocal Scale for Teachers (EVM-D) to evaluate vocal problems and an adapted Spanish version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) to detect burnout syndrome. RESULTS: Overall, 16% of teachers expressed symptoms compatible with burnout, and 60% of them were in the interval above the 75th percentile of the EVM-D, i.e., they had a high risk of vocal problems. An association between burnout and more vocal problems was established among teachers, particularly between the vocal symptoms and vocal abuse dimensions with the emotional exhaustion subscale of the MBI-ES. A history of anxiety/depression and fewer years of professional experience were associated with more vocal problems. The burnout group perceived more "loss of vocal power," "vocal fatigue," "vocal effort," and "hoarseness." Vocal abuse items received the highest scores of EVM-D. However, only "shouting" in the classroom was significantly different between the groups with and without burnout. CONCLUSION: Emotional exhaustion of burnout syndrome, history of anxiety/depression, and a shorter professional experience were associated with vocal problems, which could limit the performance of teachers. Reducing classroom noise, establishing strategies to avoid shouting, or strengthening personal accomplishments in teachers could be useful in breaking the cycle of vocal problems and emotional exhaustion, particularly at the beginning of their professional experience.

[Relationship among sleep quality, sleep habits and school adjustment in adolescents from an urban district of Galicia.] / Interrelacion entre calidad, hábitos de sueño y ajuste escolar en adolescentes de un distrito urbano de Galicia.

OBJECTIVE: The duration and the sleep quality are related to the emotional status and the academic performance in adolescents. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of sleep in a group of adolescents, and to explore its relationship with school adjustment and performance. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was made with 56 adolescents aged 13-17 years from a high school institute in an urban district of La Coruña city was performed during the scholar´s year 2016-2017. The participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (ICSP) and the Brief School Adjustment Scale, and a brief questionnaire about their sleep habits and school scores. Descriptive analysis and different comparative parametric or not parametric statistical tests were applied according to type of variable; statistical significant value was considerate for p<0.10. RESULTS: The 35.7% of sample was poor sleepers and sleepiness was the most altered variable in ICSP. The female participants tended to sleep less than the male participants, and all of them went to sleep 100 minutes later on the weekend. Being a good or bad sleeper did not affect academic performance. Globally the school adjustment was satisfactory. Diurnal dysfunction was related to a worse adolescent-teacher and adolescent-classmate relationship. Diurnal dysfunction was also related to a poor motivation to perform academic tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Sleepiness is the most relevant problem in poor sleepers. Sleepiness has a negative influence on school adjustment and motivation for school activities of all adolescents; it is frequent and underestimated in most of the cases.

OBJETIVO: La duración y calidad del sueño están relacionadas en los adolescentes con su estado emocional y rendimiento académico. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar la calidad del sueño en un grupo de jóvenes y explorar su relación con el ajuste y rendimiento escolar. METODOS: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo-transversal, con 56 adolescentes entre 13 y 17 años de un instituto de educación secundaria de un distrito de La Coruña, durante el curso 2016-2017. Los participantes cumplimentaron el Índice de Calidad del Sueño de Pittsburgh (ICSP), la Escala Breve de Ajuste Escolar y un breve cuestionario sobre hábitos de sueño y calificaciones académicas. Realizamos el análisis descriptivo y diferentes pruebas comparativas o de asociación estadística por métodos paramétricos o no paramétricos según cada variable, considerándose significativos valores de p<0,10. RESULTADOS: El 35,7% de la muestra se clasificó como mala durmiente y la somnolencia fue la variable más alterada del ICSP. Las mujeres dormían significativamente menos que los varones, aunque ambos retrasaban 100 minutos el sueño durante el fin de semana. Ser buen o mal durmiente no afectó al rendimiento académico. El ajuste escolar fue satisfactorio globalmente. Las variables que expresaron desajuste en la interacción con los profesores y compañeros de clase, así como la realización de tareas escolares, se relacionaron con la disfunción diurna. CONCLUSIONES: La somnolencia es el problema más relevante en el grupo de malos durmientes. Esta puede influir negativamente en el ajuste escolar y en la motivación para las actividades escolares de todos los adolescentes, siendo frecuente y subestimada en la mayoría de los casos.

Vocal Hyperfunction in Parents of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of habits and symptoms of vocal hyperfunction in the parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: Parents of 24 children with ADHD and 30 children of a control group completed a specific questionnaire to detect the hyperfunctional use of the voice (excessive talking, excessive loudness, talking too fast, and shouting), hoarseness, vocal fatigue, mental and physical fatigue, and the degree of parental concern for the vocal health of their child. RESULTS: Parents of children with ADHD spoke more often, faster, and stronger than the parents of the control group; in addition, they also used a louder volume than they usually used when they spoke to their children. The parents manifested more vocal, mental, and physical fatigue than the parents of the control group. There was a significant correlation between the "concern" for the vocal health of their children with respect to vocal symptoms of the children, the habits of vocal hyperfunctioning, and the symptoms suffered by the parents. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the parents of children with ADHD change their vocal attitude when communicating with their children. Most likely, the increased concern of parents with ADHD children and their respective level of stress lead to hyperfunctional vocal usage. This subsequently leads to symptoms of vocal, physical, and mental fatigue at the end of the day.

Clinical and acoustic vocal profile in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of etiologic factors, symptoms, and vocal acoustic alterations related to vocal hyperfunction in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: In 23 children with ADHD and 28 control children, vocal acoustic exploration was performed to analyze the F0, jitter %, and voice turbulence index for the sustained vowels /a/ and /i/ and the average tone and intensity and tonal modulation in tests of continuous speech. The children's parents completed a specific questionnaire aimed at detecting etiologic factors and vocal symptoms. RESULTS: Children with ADHD displayed more vocal symptoms (hoarseness, neck strain, and shortness of breath while talking) and more etiologic factors (they shouted more, spoke louder and faster, and became angry more easily) than did children in the Control group. Likewise, children in the ADHD group exhibited a greater % jitter and a lower average intensity in the continuous speech tests. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that children with ADHD display greater vocal hyperfunction as compared with children in the Control group and suggest a higher risk of developing dysphonia. The results of this study could be useful for designing vocal programs focusing on vocal education and hygiene to prevent and decrease vocal risks and on promoting vocal health in children with ADHD.

Human DAF on pig cells protects against human and non-human primate sera cytotoxicity mediated by exogenous or endogenous complement, as determined by flow cytometry.

Expression of human complement regulatory proteins (CRP) in pig cells through transgenesis was proposed to prevent complement activation and the ensuing rejection of pig tissues and organs following pig-to-primate transplantation. Transplantation in non-human primates of organs from transgenic pigs for human decay accelerating factor (hDAF) did not undergo hyperacute rejection, but hDAF could not prevent humoral xenograft rejection (AHXR). A possible explanation for the lack of efficacy of the expression of human complement regulatory proteins in pig cells to prevent AHXR may be interspecies differences between human and non-human complement regulatory system. We assayed the efficacy of transgenic hDAF expressed on porcine cells to inhibit the in vitro complement activity of primate sera. The individual cytotoxicity of sera from seven untreated baboons and of pools of normal human and baboon sera was assayed with endogenous and exogenous complement using a flow-cytometry complement-mediated cytotoxicity assay (FCCA) against peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from hDAF and non-transgenic pigs. We also analyzed the anti-Galalpha1-3Gal (alphaGal) antibody titre of the baboon sera by ELISA and the expression of hDAF on the PBL surface by immunofluorescence. Transgenic hDAF expression was capable of protecting pig cells against injury produced by both baboon and human serum. Cellular expression of hDAF reduced cytotoxicity mediated by endogenous and exogenous complement, although the former was slightly higher. Humoral cytotoxicity was not related to a particular antibody but was inversely related to hDAF expression. The presence of hDAF protected pig cells against lysis by NHS more effectively than against NBS. These results confirm in vitro the protective role of hDAF in pig cells to heterologous complement mediated damage, but they also suggest that the extent of hDAF protection decreases, however, if cells express low levels of hDAF.

Factores etiopatogénicos y moleculares en la génesis del cáncer / Etiopathogenic and molecular factors in the genesis of cancer

El surgimiento y desarrollo del cáncer son fenómenos complejos explicados de diferentes formas a lo largo de la evolución del conocimiento científico. Varias teorías han sido surgeridas al respecto, y los aspectos epidemiológicos, bioquímicos, genéticos y moleculares se combinan para dar respuesta al problema. Revisamos algunas de estas teorías y ofrecemos de forma resumida la idea compartida actualmente de la carcinogénesis como un proceso de "pasos múltiples", donde las alteraciones de índole molecular, y en especial las relacionadas con el ciclo celular, son cada vez más importantes