Main challenges to international student mobility in the European arena.

This study analyses international student mobility (ISM) in Europe since the 1999 Bologna Declaration. International mobility of higher education students is both a driver and a consequence of the Bologna Process and emerges as a relevant issue in a wide range of research areas. This literature review develops a qualitative content analysis of the set of high-performance articles published between 2000 and 2018 and identified through a wide range of bibliometric tools: direct (first generation) citation counts; indirect or accumulated impact; early influence; adjusted impact with respect to year of publication, type of document, and discipline; and alternative metrics that measure interactions in the internet and social media. The content analysis focuses on the pending achievements and main challenges to ISM, among them: attracting non-European students to whole degree programs, the need for actual and further convergence in programs and systems to ensure real compatibility, the impact of HE ISM on the promotion of the European citizenship and consciousness, the sharp imbalance between credit and degree mobility, the need to strengthen the link between ISM and employability, the existing social selectivity in European ISM, the frequent social segregation problems faced by international students.

How does early maternal separation and chronic stress in adult rats affect the immunoreactivity of serotonergic neurons within the dorsal raphe nucleus?

Vulnerability to emotional disorders like depression derives from interactions between early and late environments, including stressful conditions. The serotonin (5HT) system is strongly affected by stress and chronic unpredictable stress can alter the 5HT system. We evaluated the distribution of active serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DR) through immunohistochemistry in maternally separated and chronically stressed rats treated with an antidepressant, tianeptine, whose mechanism of action is still under review. Male Wistar rats were subjected to daily maternal separation (MS) for 4.5 h between postnatal days (PND) 1-21, or to animal facility rearing (AFR). Between (PND) days 50-74, rats were exposed to chronic unpredictable stress and were treated daily with tianeptine (10 mg/kg) or vehicle. We found an interaction between the effects of MS and chronic unpredictable stress on Fos-5HT immunoreactive cells at mid-caudal level of the DR. MS-chronically stressed rats showed an increase of Fos-5HT immunoreactive cells compared with AFR-chronically stressed rats. The ventrolateral (DRL/VLPAG) and dorsal (DRD) subdivisions of the DR were significantly more active than the ventral part (DRV). At the rostral level of the DR, tianeptine decreased the number of Fos-5HT cells in DR in the AFR groups, both unstressed and stressed. Overall, our results support the idea of a match in phenotype exhibited when the early and the adult environment correspond.

Differential effects of tianeptine on the dorsal hippocampal volume of rats submitted to maternal separation followed by chronic unpredictable stress in adulthood.

Early maternal separation (MS) may produce lasting effects in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) that can change its response to chronic stress in adulthood. Chronic stress affects DH morphology and function, but tianeptine (an anti-depressant) can reverse the stress-induced morphological impairments. Morphologic alterations of hippocampus can affect contextual memory. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of tianeptine in MS and chronically stressed rats on: 1) volume of the DH and its areas using stereology and 2) hippocampal-dependent memory using a fear conditioning test. Male Wistar rats were subjected to daily MS for 4.5 h between postnatal days (PND) 1-21, or to animal facility rearing (AFR). Between (PND) days 50 and 74, rats were exposed to chronic unpredictable stress and were treated daily with tianeptine (10 mg/kg) or vehicle, providing eight groups: AFR-unstressed/vehicle (n = 5 for stereology, n = 18 for fear conditioning test); AFR unstressed/tianeptine (n = 6 and n = 10); AFR-chronic stress/vehicle (n = 6 and n = 14); AFR-chronic stress/tianeptine (n = 6 and n = 10), MS-unstressed/vehicle (n = 5 and n = 19), MS-unstressed/tianeptine (n = 6 and n = 10), MS-chronic stress/vehicle (n = 6 and n = 18), and MS-chronic stress/tianeptine (n = 6 and n = 10). MS-chronic stress/tianeptine rats showed a diminished CA1 area than the corresponding MS-unstressed/tianeptine rats. The combination of stressors produced a freezing response similar to those of the control group during postconditioning. During retrieval, MS led to a diminished freezing response compared to the AFR-unstressed groups. Tianeptine had no effect on freezing behavior. Our results show that tianeptine can affect the CA1 area volume differently depending on the nature and quantity of stressors but cannot alter freezing to context.

Maternal separation in early life modifies anxious behavior and Fos and glucocorticoid receptor expression in limbic neurons after chronic stress in rats: effects of tianeptine.

Early-life adversity can lead to long-term consequence persisting into adulthood. Here, we assess the implications of an adverse early environment on vulnerability to stress during adulthood. We hypothesized that the interplay between early and late stress would result in a differential phenotype regarding the number of neurons immunoreactive for glucocorticoid receptor (GR-ir) and neuronal activity as assessed by Fos immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) in brain areas related to stress responses and anxiety-like behavior. We also expected that the antidepressant tianeptine could correct some of the alterations induced in our model. Male Wistar rats were subjected to daily maternal separation (MS) for 4.5 h during the first 3 weeks of life. As adults, the rats were exposed to chronic stress for 24 d and they were treated daily with tianeptine (10 mg/kg intraperitoneal) or vehicle (isotonic saline). Fos-ir was increased by MS in all structures analyzed. Chronic stress reduced Fos-ir in the hippocampus, but increased it in the paraventricular nucleus. Furthermore, chronic stress increased GR-ir in hippocampus (CA1) and amygdala in control non-MS rats. By contrast, when MS and chronic stress were combined, GR-ir was decreased in these structures. Additionally, whereas tianeptine did not affect Fos-ir, it regulated GR-ir in a region-dependent manner, in hippocampus and amygdala opposing in some cases the stress or MS effects. Furthermore, tianeptine reversed the MS- or stress-induced anxious behavior. The interplay between MS and chronic stress observed indicates that MS rats have a modified phenotype, which is expressed when they are challenged by stress in later life.

A double-hit model of stress dysregulation in rats: implications for limbic corticosteroid receptors and anxious behavior under amitriptyline treatment.

Adversity during early life can lead to diverging endocrine and behavioral responses to stress in adulthood. In our laboratory, we evaluated the long-term effects of early life adversity and its interaction with chronic stress during adulthood. We propose this as a model of vulnerability to dysregulation of the stress response. We hypothesized that rats subjected to both protocols would show differential expression of corticosteroid receptors measured as number of neurons immunoreactive for glucocorticoid receptors (GR) or mineralocorticoid receptors (MR), in limbic areas related to the control of anxiety-like behavior. We also evaluated the effect of amitriptyline expecting to prevent the outcomes of the model. Male Wistar rats were separated from the mother (MS) for 4.5 h every day for the first 3 weeks of life. From postnatal day 50, rats were subjected to chronic variable stress (CVS) during 24 d (five types of stressor at different times of day). During the stress protocol, the rats were administered amitriptyline (10 mg/kg i.p.) daily. MS evoked lower MR expression in the central amygdaloid nucleus and this was reversed by amitriptyline. Furthermore, CVS increased MR immunoreactivity in the hippocampal area CA2 and increased anxious behavior; both effects were prevented by the antidepressant. When MS was combined with CVS during adulthood, there was a reduction of locomotor activity, with no corrective effect of amitriptyline. The differential effects among groups could mean that MS would promote an alternative phenotype that is expressed when facing CVS (a double hit) later in life.

Amitriptyline treatment under chronic stress conditions: effect on circulating catecholamines and anxiety in early maternally separated rats.

The aim of this work was to determine the effect of amitriptyline (AMI) on peripheral outcomes such as plasma epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) concentration and anxiety-like behavior displayed in the plus maze test in adult male Wistar rats under variable chronic stress and daily oral administration of AMI (5 mg/kg). Animals were previously isolated from the mother for 4.5 hr every day for the first 3 weeks of life. Administration of the antidepressant AMI reduced anxiety-like behavior in animals submitted only to chronic stress but not in early maternally separated (MS) subjects or in animals subjected to the two types of stresses.

Estimación de la incidencia y mortalidad por cáncer laboral en España, 2002 / Estimate of the incidence and mortality of occupational cancer in Spain, 2002

Objetivo: Revisar la información disponible sobre cáncer laboral y estimar el número de casos y muertes por cáncer enEspaña que se pueden atribuir a exposiciones en el lugar de trabajo en el año 2002.Métodos: Hemos combinado información procedente de las estimaciones realizadas por Doll y Peto, Universidad deHarvard, Steenland y cols., Dreyer y cols., Nurminen y Karjailainen y Kogevinas y cols. para distintas poblaciones (EstadosUnidos, países nórdicos, Finlandia y Unión Europea). Hemos aplicado estas estimaciones al número de muertes por cánceren España del año 2002 (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) y al número de casos nuevos de cáncer (GLOBOCAN-IARC)en la población española.Resultados: El número anual estimado de muertes por cáncer (y número de casos nuevos de cáncer) en la poblaciónespañola en ambos sexos varía de menos de 2.000 muertes (3.000 casos incidentes), siguiendo las estimaciones de los paísesnórdicos, a aproximadamente 4.000 (6.500 casos incidentes) siguiendo las estimaciones de Doll y Peto, y más de 9.000(15.000 casos incidentes) siguiendo las fi nlandesas. Las localizaciones tumorales con mayor número de casos atribuidos aexposiciones laborales son el cáncer de pulmón y el cáncer de vejiga urinaria. Otros tipos de cáncer laboral importantes sonel mesotelioma, el cáncer de fosas nasales y las leucemias y linfomas.Conclusiones: El número estimado de casos de cáncer, incluso con las estimaciones más conservadoras, contrasta extraordinariamentecon los 14 casos de cáncer laboral ofi cialmente declarados en España en 2002 y en general con el nulo ocasi nulo número de casos incidentes y muertes por esta causa reconocidos cada año. Ello difi culta la adopción de medidasespecífi cas para la prevención del cáncer laboral en nuestro país (AU)

Objective: To review the available information on occupational cancer and to estimate the number of cases and deathsof cancer in Spain attributable to occupational exposures in the workplace during 2002. Methods: We used estimates from Doll and Peto, Harvard University, Steenland et al., Dreyer et al., Nurminen yKarjailainen and Kogevinas et al., for different populations (USA population, Nordic countries, Finnish population and specific countries in the European Union). We applied these estimates to the number of cancer deaths in Spain in 2002 (NationalInstitute of Statistics) and to the number of new cancer cases (GLOBOCAN-IARC) in the Spanish population.Results: The annual estimated number of deaths (number of new cases) in the Spanish population in both genders variedfrom less than 2,000 deaths (3,000 incident cases), using the estimations from Nordic countries, to approximately 4,000(6,500 incident cases) using Doll and Peto estimates, and more than 9,000 (15,000 incident cases) using the Finnish ones.The largest number of cases attributed to occupational exposures were for lung and bladder cancers. Other important occupationalcancers were mesotheliomas, nasal cancers, leukaemias and lymphomas.Conclusions: The estimated number of cancer cases, using the most conservative estimates, contrast sharply with the14 cases of occupational cancer offi cially declared in Spain in 2002, as well as with the generally few to no incident casesand deaths for this cause recognised each year. This makes it very diffi cult to introduce specifi c measures and actions to preventoccupational cancer in our country (AU)

Sexual dimorphism in rats: effects of early maternal separation and variable chronic stress on pituitary-adrenal axis and behavior.

The pituitary-adrenal axis response is gender-dependent, showing lower activity in male rats. Furthermore, males showed low emotional behavior and females high emotionality when exposed to such chronic stress situations. The gender of an animal is a relevant factor in the development of responses to stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of early maternal separation on the pituitary-adrenal activity and emotional behavior of adult male and female rats subjected to chronic variable stress. Male and female Wistar rats were isolated 4.5 h daily, during the three first weeks of life. At 48 days of age, the rats were exposed to variable chronic stress (five different stressors during 24 days). Non-maternally separated and maternally separated males showed lower levels of ACTH compared to females (p<0.01). In male rats exposed to variable chronic stress, the maternally separated animals showed a diminution in the levels of ACTH and Corticosterone (p<0.05) compared to non-maternally separated rats. In the Open Field test, the maternally separated and non-maternally separated-stressed males showed lower emotional reactivity compared with female rats. This was indicated by increase in ambulation (p<0.05) and decrease in defecation (p<0.05). Male rats subjected to variable chronic stress presented low emotional behavior seen in their lower defecation (p<0.05). Stressed females displayed decreased ambulation (p<0.05) and increased defecation (p<0.05), showing high emotional reactivity after exposure to chronic stress. Maternally separated males showed higher emotionality after the exposure to chronic variable stress. This was indicated by decrease in ambulation (p<0.05), decrease in rearing (p<0.05) and increase in defecation (p<0.05). Thus, maternal separation and variable chronic stress caused long-term gender-dependent alterations in pituitary-adrenal activity and emotional behavior.

Behavioral and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to anterodorsal thalami nuclei lesions and variable chronic stress in maternally separated rats.

In maternally separated rats, variable chronic stress decreased the emotional reactivity and provoked a state of hypoactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system at 3 months old but increased its activity after the open field test. The anterodorsal thalami nuclei control of the endocrine response under stress conditions was not manifested however its seems activate grooming behavior. The development of behavioral and endocrine response to stress is influenced by early postnatal environment. On the other hand, the anterodorsal thalami nuclei exert an inhibitory influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system under basal and stressful conditions. The aim of this work is to determine the magnitude of behavioral and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to variable chronic stress in adult female rats with anterodorsal thalami nuclei lesions, previously isolated for 4.5 h daily during the first 3 weeks of life. The groups were: non-maternally separated sham and lesioned, maternally separated sham and lesioned with variable chronic stress with and without open field test. At 3 months old, under variable chronic stress, maternal separation provoked an increase in ambulation in sham and lesioned animals (P<0.01) but this parameter was not modified by lesion in either non-maternally separated or maternally separated groups. Neither the lesion nor the maternal separation changed the defecation and rearing parameter. Grooming behavior was lower in maternally separated lesioned rats (P<0.05). Under variable chronic stress maternal separation decreased adrenocorticotrophin hormone in comparison with non-maternally separated (P<0.001) and the lesion did not alter this response. Regarding corticosterone concentrations, maternal separation did not affect this hormone under variable chronic stress conditions and after the open field test there was an increase of this in both non-maternally separated and maternally separated sham and lesioned (P<0.001).

Peso corporal y funcion adrenal en ratas con madres adoptivas desde el momento de su nacimiento / Body weigth and adrenal function in rats with foster mothers from the moment of their births

Se estudió, en ratas, el efecto de la separación de su madre sobre el peso corporal y los niveles de hormonas adrenales, corticosterona adrenal y plasmática y catecolaminas adrenales. Las crías se agruparon en lotes: a) mantenidad con su madre biológica y b) con madres intercambiada inmediatamente después del nacimiento (madrea adoptiva). Todas las ratas madres amamantaban. En el lote b, el peso corporal fue inferior (p < 0.001) al de los controles, grupo a, desde los 14 a los 28 días de edad; a partir de entonces se recupera. La concentración de corticosterona adrenal es superior (p < 0.01) en el grupo b, no así los de corticosterona plasmática que se asemejan a los del grupo control, a. Con respecto a las catecolaminas, en las ratas criadas con "madre adoptiva" los valores de noradrenalina son superiores (p < 0.001), mientras que los de adrenalina son inferiores (p < 0.01) a los de los controles (AU)

Peso corporal y funcion adrenal en ratas con madres adoptivas desde el momento de su nacimiento / Body weigth and adrenal function in rats with foster mothers from the moment of their births

Se estudió, en ratas, el efecto de la separación de su madre sobre el peso corporal y los niveles de hormonas adrenales, corticosterona adrenal y plasmática y catecolaminas adrenales. Las crías se agruparon en lotes: a) mantenidad con su madre biológica y b) con madres intercambiada inmediatamente después del nacimiento (madrea adoptiva). Todas las ratas madres amamantaban. En el lote b, el peso corporal fue inferior (p < 0.001) al de los controles, grupo a, desde los 14 a los 28 días de edad; a partir de entonces se recupera. La concentración de corticosterona adrenal es superior (p < 0.01) en el grupo b, no así los de corticosterona plasmática que se asemejan a los del grupo control, a. Con respecto a las catecolaminas, en las ratas criadas con "madre adoptiva" los valores de noradrenalina son superiores (p < 0.001), mientras que los de adrenalina son inferiores (p < 0.01) a los de los controles

Effects of anterodorsalis thalami nucleus lesion on adrenal function in rats

La lesión bilateral de los núcleos anterodorsales talámicos produjo un aumento significativo en la concentración de corticosterona adrenal y plasmatica, mientras que las catecolaminas adrenales disminuyeron en respuesta a la lesión de los núcleos

Effects of anterodorsalis thalami nucleus lesion on adrenal function in rats

La lesión bilateral de los núcleos anterodorsales talámicos produjo un aumento significativo en la concentración de corticosterona adrenal y plasmatica, mientras que las catecolaminas adrenales disminuyeron en respuesta a la lesión de los núcleos (AU)