Basic Skills in Higher Education: An Analysis of Attributed Importance.

Today, the skills-based approach is increasingly in demand by companies due, in large part, to the fact that it favors the management of human resources by focusing on individual capabilities; which, finally, improves the job profile of a company. As a result, choosing the right candidates has become increasingly selective. Universities, therefore, need to teach skills to improve the incorporation of graduates into the workplace making it as successful as possible. For this reason, it is of special relevance to know if college students consider that the acquisition of skills is key for their incorporation into the workplace. The main objective of this study was to analyze and compare the importance assigned to the acquisition of basic skills in the university education of 694 students studying four different bachelor degrees: pedagogy, early childhood education, primary education, and psychology. For this purpose, a Likert-type questionnaire on basic skills was distributed with four possible options and the following five dimensions that grouped basic skills: organizational and planning capacity; access to information sources; analysis and synthesis of texts, situations, and people; teamwork; and problem solving. The results show that as a whole all students across different bachelor degrees gave a high score to the acquisition of basic skills, with early childhood education students giving it greater importance compared to the students from other disciplines and, more specifically, differences were observed in some dimensions depending on the bachelor degree that they have started.

Increasing access to hematopoietic cell transplantation in Latin America: results of the 2018 LABMT activity survey and trends since 2012.

A total of 5642 hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT) in 5445 patients (2196-40% allogeneic and 3249-60% autologous) were reported by 127 teams in 14 Latin American countries that answered the 2018 LABMT/WBMT Global Transplant Activity survey. The transplant rate (defined as the number of first transplants per 10 million inhabitants per year) was 85 (51 autologous and 34 allogeneic) in 2018. The main indications for allogeneic HCT were acute leukemias (60%), while plasma cell disorders and lymphomas were the most common conditions warranting autologous HCT (50 and 36%, respectively). In the allogeneic HCT, HLA-identical siblings were the main type of donor (44%) followed by related mismatched/haploidentical donors (32%). Peripheral blood stem cells were used in 98% of the autologous and in 64% of the allogeneic transplants. From 2012 to 2018, there was a 64% increase of reported HCT (54% in autologous and 80% in allogeneic). In the allogeneic setting, the most pronounced increase in donor type was observed in haploidentical relatives (from 94 procedures in 2012 up to 710 in 2018), surpassing unrelated donors as of 2017. Significant trends detected in Latin America include rising numbers of the procedures reported, a faster increase in allogeneic HCT compared with autologous HCT and a significant increase in family mismatched/haploidentical donors. The LABMT/WBMT activity survey provides useful data to understand the HCT activity and trends in Latin America.

Temporary inactivation of the supramammillary area impairs spatial working memory and spatial reference memory retrieval.

The aim of our study was to examine the supramammillary (SuM) area involvement in spatial memory. Sprague-Dawley rats with chronically implanted cannula in the supramammillary area were trained in two spatial memory tasks with different memory demands: reference and working memory. In the spatial reference memory task, the rats received microinjections in the SuM area of tetrodotoxin (TTX) (0.5 ng diluted in 0.5 microL of saline) or saline (0.5 microL). The microinjections were administered 30 min before the spatial training (day 4) (to assess the effect on acquisition) and on the following two days (days 5 and 6) the training was conducted without microinjections (to study the effect on consolidation). On the last training day (day 7), in order to assess the retrieval of spatial information, the rats received the microinjections 30 min before the spatial training. The spatial working memory used was a delayed-matching-to-position (DMTP) task. Spatial training was performed for seven days. During the first three days of the spatial training, the rats achieved a good spatial knowledge and learnt the working memory rule necessary to solve the spatial task. On days 4 and 6, the rats received microinjections to study involvement of the SuM area in working memory. The results showed that temporary inactivation of SuM area impairs both the rat's ability to solve a spatial working memory task with DMTP demands and the recovery of spatial information in a spatial reference memory task. We suggest that SuM area is involved in the rearrangement of spatial information during spatial working memory tasks with DMTP memory demands.

Supramammillary and adjacent nuclei lesions impair spatial working memory and induce anxiolitic-like behavior.

The present study assesses the involvement of the supramammillary and adjacent nuclei in spatial memory and anxiety-like behaviors. Rats with electrolytic lesions in the supramammillary nucleus were pre- and post-operatively trained in two spatial memory tasks and two anxiety tasks. Spatial memory tasks were performed in an open field with seven different goal positions containing the reward. Anxiety-like behaviors were tested in the elevated T-maze. In the spatial reference memory task, neither lesioned nor sham-lesioned groups were impaired. In the working memory task, lesioned animals were permanently impaired in their ability to solve the delayed-matching-to-position task. This working memory deficit is not related to increased proactive interference. It could be related to impairment of the rats ability to reorganize spatial stimuli. Consequently, rats were not able to achieve an optimal performance level to solve spatial tasks with continuous changes in the place location. In the elevated T-maze, lesioned rats reduced passive avoidance response but no changes in the escape response were observed. These results suggest a clear involvement of the supramammillary nucleus in working memory and behavioral inhibition but not in either spatial reference memory or in escape responses.

Expression of c-Fos protein in medial septum/diagonal band of Broca and CA3 region, associated with the temporary inactivation of the supramammillary area.

The supramammillary (SuM) area is part of the diencephalic nuclei comprising the mammillary bodies, and is a key structure in the memory and spatial learning processes. It is a critical region in the modulation/generation of hippocampal theta rhythm. In addition, many papers have recently shown a clear involvement of this structure in the processes of spatial learning and memory in animal models, although it is still not known how it modulates spatial navigation and response emotional. The aim of the present research was to study the effect of the temporary inactivation of the SuM area on synaptic plasticity of crucial structures in the formation of spatial memory and emotional response. Sprague-Dawley rats were asigned in three groups: a control group where the animals were not subjected to any treatment, and two groups where the rats received microinjections of tetrodotoxin (TTX) in the SuM area (5ng diluted in 0.5µl of saline) or saline (0.5µl). The microinjections were administered 90min before the perfusion. Later, cellular activity in medial septum/diagonal band of Broca (MS/DBB) and CA3 region of the dorsal hippocampus was assessed, by measuring the immediate early gene c-fos. The results show a clear hiperactivity cellular in medial septum/diagonal band of Broca and a clear hypoactivity cellular in the CA3 region of the hippocampus when there was a functional inactivation of the SuM area. It suggests that the SuM area seems to be part of the connection and information input pathways to CA3 region of the hippocampal formation, key for proper functioning in spatial memory and emotional response.

Experiencia de trasplante de progenitores hematopoyéticos autólogo en pacientes con esclerodermia sistémica cutánea difusa / Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation experience in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic scleroderma

Introducción: La progresión y la falta de opciones terapéuticas conlleva a un gran aumento de la morbi-mortalidad en la esclerodermia sistémica cutánea difusa. Caso Clínico: Se presentan tres pacientes con diagnóstico de Esclerodermia sistémica de rápida progresión sin compromiso cardiopulmonar o renal severo con múltiples líneas de tratamiento incluyendo altas dosis de ciclofosfamida, sometidas a trasplante autólogo (2015-2020) con acondicionamiento a base de Ciclofosfamida y Globulina Antitimocitica, como opción terapéutica. Durante el procedimiento no se observaron complicaciones infecciosas severas con un prendimiento medular en el día 10 y una recaída promedio de 9.6 meses. Conclusiones: Ante el buen perfil de toxicidad y la buena tolerancia al procedimiento se debe considerar al Trasplante Autólogo como una opción de tratamiento en pacientes sin altas dosis acumuladas de ciclofosfamida o en estadios precoces de enfermedad.

Introduction: Progression and lack of therapeutic options leads to greatly increased morbi-mortality in diffuse cutaneous systemic scleroderma. Case Report: We present three patients with a diagnosis of rapidly progressive systemic scleroderma without severe cardiopulmonary or renal involvement with multiple lines of treatment including high doses of cyclophosphamide, undergoing autologous transplantation (2015-2020) with Cyclophosphamide and Antithymocyte Globulin based conditioning, as a therapeutic option. No severe infectious complications were observed during the procedure with a medullary attachment on day 10 and a mean relapse of 9.6 months. Conclusions: Given the good toxicity profile and good tolerance to the procedure, Autologous Transplantation should be considered as a treatment option in patients without high accumulated doses of cyclophosphamide or in early stages of disease.

Experiencia de trasplante de progenitores hematopoyéticos autólogo en pacientes con esclerodermia sistémica cutánea difusa / Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation experience in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic scleroderma

Introducción: La progresión y la falta de opciones terapéuticas conlleva a un gran aumento de la morbi-mortalidad en la esclerodermia sistémica cutánea difusa. Caso Clínico: Se presentan tres pacientes con diagnóstico de Esclerodermia sistémica de rápida progresión sin compromiso cardiopulmonar o renal severo con múltiples líneas de tratamiento incluyendo altas dosis de ciclofosfamida, sometidas a trasplante autólogo(2015-2020) con acondicionamiento a base de Ciclofosfamida y Globulina Antitimocitica, como opción terapéutica. Durante el procedimiento no se observaron complicaciones infecciosas severas con un prendimiento medular en el día 10 y una recaída promedio de 9.6 meses. Conclusiones: Ante el buen perfil de toxicidad y la buena tolerancia al procedimiento se debe considerar al Trasplante Autólogo como una opción de tratamiento en pacientes sin altas dosis acumuladas de ciclofosfamida o en estadios precoces de enfermedad.

Background:The progression and lack of therapeutic options leads to a large increase in morbidity and mortality in diffuse cutaneous systemic scleroderma. Clinical Case: Three patients with a diagnosis of rapidly progressing systemic scleroderma without severe cardiopulmonary or renal involvement with multiple lines of treatment including high doses of cyclophosphamide, submitted to autologous transplant (2015-2020) with conditioning based on Cyclophosphamide and Antithymocyte Globulin are presented as a therapeutic option. During the procedure, no various infectious infections were observed with a medullary seizure on day 10 and an average relapse of 9.6 months. Conclusions: Due to the good toxicity profile and good tolerance to the procedure, Autologous Transplantation should be considered as a treatment option in patients without high accumulated doses of cyclophosphamide or in early stages of disease.