Percepción del ambiente educacional en dos escuelas de medicina con currículo tradicional: Estudio longitudinal / Longitudinal perception of the educational environment in two medical schools with traditional curricula in Chile and Spain

Background: To establish an educational environment that ensures the quality of the teaching-learning process is a challenge for any educational institution. The questionnaire DREEM (Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure) is used to identify strengths and weaknesses of an educational environment and to compare different medical schools. Aim: To evaluate the changes in the perception of educational environment by students of the Schools of Medicine of the University of Zaragoza, UZar (Spain) and the University of Chile, UCh (Chile) at two points in their curricula. Material and Methods: DREEM questionnaire was answered by 90 students from the UZar and 87 students of the UCh, when they were in the first year (2009) and in the fourth year of their career (2012). Results: At both universities the overall mean scores of DREAM were significantly higher in students in their first year than those obtained in the fourth year (137.5/118.3 for UZar and 128.6/118.8 for UCh). Items with worse perception in the fourth year were observed in subscales Learning Perception and Atmosphere Perception. Items with good evaluation (≥ 3.0) were the subscales Perception of teachers, academic self-perception, perception of Environment and Social Self-perception. Conclusions: The perception of Chilean and Spanish students about their educational environments indicates that the stage of their medical training is more important than the geographical context or educational institution.

[Longitudinal perception of the educational environment in two medical schools with traditional curricula in Chile and Spain]. / Percepción del ambiente educacional en dos escuelas de medicina con currículo tradicional: Estudio longitudinal.

BACKGROUND: To establish an educational environment that ensures the quality of the teaching-learning process is a challenge for any educational institution. The questionnaire DREEM (Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure) is used to identify strengths and weaknesses of an educational environment and to compare different medical schools. AIM: To evaluate the changes in the perception of educational environment by students of the Schools of Medicine of the University of Zaragoza, UZar (Spain) and the University of Chile, UCh (Chile) at two points in their curricula. MATERIAL AND METHODS: DREEM questionnaire was answered by 90 students from the UZar and 87 students of the UCh, when they were in the first year (2009) and in the fourth year of their career (2012). RESULTS: At both universities the overall mean scores of DREAM were significantly higher in students in their first year than those obtained in the fourth year (137.5/118.3 for UZar and 128.6/118.8 for UCh). Items with worse perception in the fourth year were observed in subscales Learning Perception and Atmosphere Perception. Items with good evaluation (≥ 3.0) were the subscales Perception of teachers, academic self-perception, perception of Environment and Social Self-perception. CONCLUSIONS: The perception of Chilean and Spanish students about their educational environments indicates that the stage of their medical training is more important than the geographical context or educational institution.

Plasma levels of trace elements and exercise induced stress hormones in well-trained athletes.

This study analyzed the variation and relationship of several trace elements, metabolic substrates and stress hormones activated by exercise during incremental exercise. Seventeen well-trained endurance athletes performed a cycle ergometer test: after a warm-up of 10 min at 2.0 W kg(-1), the workload was increased by 0.5 W kg(-1) every 10 min until exhaustion. Prior diet, activity patterns, and levels of exercise training were controlled, and tests timed to minimize variations due to the circadian rhythm. Oxygen uptake, blood lactate concentration, plasma ions (Zn, Se, Mn and Co), serum glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) and several hormones were measured at rest, at the end of each stage and 3, 5 and 7 min post-exercise. Urine specific gravity was measured before and after the test, and participants drank water ad libitum. Significant differences were found in plasma Zn and Se levels as a function of exercise intensity. Zn was significantly correlated with epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol (r = 0.884, P < 0.01; r = 0.871, P < 0.01; and r = 0.808, P = 0.05); and Se showed significant positive correlations whit epinephrine and cortisol (r = 0.743, P < 0.05; and r = 0.776, P < 0.05). Neither Zn nor Se levels were associated with insulin or glucagon, and neither Mn nor Co levels were associated with any of the hormones or substrate metabolites studied. Further, while Zn levels were found to be associated only with lactate, plasma Se was significantly correlated with lactate and glucose (respectively for Zn: r = 0.891, P < 0.01; and for Se: r = 0.743, P < 0.05; r = 0.831, P < 0.05). In conclusion, our data suggest that there is a positive correlation between the increases in plasma Zn or Se and stress hormones variations induced by exercise along different submaximal intensities in well-hydrated well-trained endurance athletes.

Effect of sulphurous mineral water in haematological and biochemical markers of muscle damage after an endurance exercise in well-trained athletes.

To investigate the effects of sulphurous mineral water (SMW) after a hydroponic treatment on muscle damage, antioxidant activity and peripheral blood changes induced by submaximal exercise. Thirty well-trained male triathletes were supplemented with SMW or placebo: 3 weeks of placebo, 30 days of wash out and 3 weeks of SMW. After both periods, participants ran for 2 h at 70% maximal aerobic speed. Antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant capacity and blood cell markers were compared between placebo and SMW at pre-exercise (T0), immediately post-exercise (T1), 24 h post-exercise (T2) and 48 h post-exercise (T3). Total thiols decreased until T3 vs. T0 for both placebo and SMW; transient red blood cells, haemoglobin and haematocrit increased were shown at T1 vs. T0 and for leucocytes until T2 vs. T0, only for placebo group. Total thiols increased significantly in SMW vs. placebo at T0; Thiobarbituric acid reactive species was significantly higher at T0, T1, T2 and T3; catalase increased significantly at T1; creatine phosphokinase decreased significantly at T1, T2 and T3, although no significant differences were found at T0. Furthermore, red blood cells, haemoglobin and haematocrit were significantly higher and leucocytes were significantly lower at T0 and T1 in SMW group vs. placebo group. This study suggests that three weeks of SMW supplementation may protect from exercise-induced muscle damage.

Oral iron treatment has a positive effect on iron metabolism in elite soccer players.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of oral iron supplementation on hematological and iron metabolism in elite soccer players. Thirty-five members of the Real Zaragoza SAD soccer team took part in this study: group A (GA, n = 24; Spanish Premier League) took an oral iron supplement of 80 mg day(-1) for 3 weeks, and group B (GB, n = 11; Spanish Third Division League) did not receive any supplementation. In GA, the parameters were measured before and after giving the iron supplements, while in GB, measurements were only made at the time of collecting the second set of data from GA. After supplementation, GA showed an increase in serum iron (SI) (P < 0.05), serum ferritin (Ftn) (P < 0.01), and transferrin saturation (Sat) (P < 0.01) with respect to the basal values. In addition, GA showed higher values of hematocrit (P < 0.01), mean corpuscular volume (P < 0.01), Ftn (P < 0.01), and Sat (P < 0.01) than GB. No significant differences were found in any other parameters. More specifically, a higher percentage of players had Ftn levels above upper limits in GA vs. GB (P < 0.05), and GB had a higher incidence of Ftn below lower limits with respect to subjects in GA (P < 0.01). Further, after treatment, 58.3% of GA had >800 mg of SI, while all players in GB presented levels below the lower limits. In conclusion, iron supplementation with 80 mg·day(-1) for 3 weeks, before the start of the soccer season, can be recommended for elite soccer players.