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Unlike other fields of knowledge in which research is synonymous of progress, in the educational field, research is not seen as a pillar to improve teaching practice. Taking this problem as a starting point, open responses of 264 Spanish teachers from all educational stages were analysed on the reasons why teachers do not give importance to educational research, as well as the possible proposals to improve this situation. After an inductive analysis, the findings suggest that there was a total of 19 reasons why teachers do not give importance to educational research, and 15 proposals to improve their involvement, being these categories accepted unanimously regardless the educational stage of the teachers. On the one hand, the main reasons why educational research does not impact on teaching practice were 4: lack of training, lack of time, teachers’ comfort zone and difficulty of transference of the results to the classroom. On the other hand, the main proposals to improve this situation were also 4: training throughout the university degree and throughout working life, changing the distribution of time (fewer hours of teaching and more hours of research), distribution of incentives (economic, merits ...), and proposal of practical and real topics of what the teachers need in class.

En los últimos años estamos asistiendo a un cambio de paradigma en el que el emprendimiento ha dejado de ser un fenómeno exclusivamente empresarial para convertirse en un fenómeno también educativo. El docente emprendedor se caracteriza por ser una persona creativa, innovadora, flexible, capaz de asumir riesgos y orientar su práctica hacia la mejora educativa. En esta investigación se plantea la hipótesis de que tener una alta percepción de importancia, implicación y competencia en la investigación educativa puede contribuir significativamente al desarrollo de competencias docentes emprendedoras, al proporcionarles los conocimientos y herramientas suficientes para orientar su práctica y permitirles tomar las mejores decisiones. Para probar esta hipótesis participaron en este estudio 397 docentes mediante la cumplimentación de la Escala de Percepción hacia la Investigación Educativa y la Escala de competencias emprendedoras. Los resultados de un análisis de moderación revelaron una serie de beneficios potenciales para los profesores universitarios y no universitarios. En concreto, se valoró cómo tener una mayor implicación en la investigación educativa y tener una mayor competencia en la investigación educativa contribuía a mejorar la autoeficacia y la proactividad; y la capacidad de afrontar riesgos y dificultades; ambas, dimensiones relacionadas con la enseñanza del emprendimiento.

Understanding how excitatory (E) and inhibitory (I) inputs are integrated by neurons requires monitoring their subthreshold behavior. We probed the subthreshold dynamics using optogenetic depolarizing pulses in hippocampal neuronal assemblies in freely moving mice. Excitability decreased during sharp-wave ripples coupled with increased I. In contrast to this “negative gain,” optogenetic probing showed increased within-field excitability in place cells by weakening I and unmasked stable place fields in initially non–place cells. Neuronal assemblies active during sharp-wave ripples in the home cage predicted spatial overlap and sequences of place fields of both place cells and unmasked preexisting place fields of non–place cells during track running. Thus, indirect probing of subthreshold dynamics in neuronal populations permits the disclosing of preexisting assemblies and modes of neuronal operations.

Interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) are transient abnormal electrophysiological events commonly observed in epilepsy patients but are also present in other neurological disease, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Understanding the role IEDs have on the hippocampal circuit is important for our understanding of the cognitive deficits seen in epilepsy and AD. We characterize and compare the IEDs of human epilepsy patients from microwire hippocampal recording with those of AD transgenic mice with implanted multi-layer hippocampal silicon probes. Both the local field potential features and firing patterns of pyramidal cells and interneurons were similar in mouse and human. We found that as IEDs emerged from the CA3-1 circuits, they recruited pyramidal cells and silenced interneurons, followed by post-IED suppression. IEDs suppressed the incidence and altered the properties of physiological sharp-wave ripples (SPW-Rs), altered their physiological properties, and interfered with the replay of place field sequences in a maze. In addition, IEDs in AD mice inversely correlated with daily memory performance. Together, our work implicates that IEDs may present a common and epilepsy-independent phenomenon in neurodegenerative diseases that perturbs hippocampal-cortical communication and interferes with memory.Significant StatementPrevalence of neurodegenerative diseases and the number of people with dementia is increasing steadily. Therefore, novel treatment strategies for learning and memory disorders are urgently necessary. IEDs, apart from being a surrogate for epileptic brain regions, have also been linked to cognitive decline. Here we report that IEDs in human epilepsy patients and AD mouse models have similar local field potential characteristics and associated firing patterns of pyramidal cells and interneurons. Mice with more IEDs displayed fewer hippocampal SPW-Rs, poorer replay of spatial trajectories, and decreased memory performance. IED suppression is an unexplored target to treat cognitive dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases.

This research aims to identify and reflect on the reasons behind the choice of an alternative education centre for the stage of Early Childhood Education in Spain. For this purpose, it is used a biographical-narrative methodology based on a multiple case study made up of 24 families. That way, four major motivational categories are identified: promotion of the integral development of the person, opposition to the traditional school, search for happiness in childhood and trust in the principles pedagogical. Analysed families especially value a comprehensive education beyond its instrumental purpose, they consider public school as the extreme opposite to the principles and values defended from alternative projects. It concludes by pointing out how these motivations, in addition to having a pedagogical sense, respond to a broader strategy to reproduce their identity and lifestyles.

Robots applied to education can offer us many advantages in the learning of students from the early educational stages, from the childhood stage. In addition to entertaining, they are a very powerful tool to motivate students and learn. Educational robotics in Early Childhood Education involves the initiation of computational thinking and support for the development of basic spatial notions (front, back, left, and right). In this paper, different activities are presented to develop spatial reasoning effectively. For the activities proposed we use the blue-bot robot as the application of educational robotics in a teaching and learning context. It is a small, very intuitive robot that draws the attention of children due to its attractive and transparent design. With this robot, programming languages consist only of five movement commands. With blue-bot robot in a playful way as a tool for the effective development of space rationing. This investigation is a qualitative research work, the application of robotic activities has been carried out with a sample of 21 children aged between 6-7 years. Five sessions were held, and participant observation was used in each session. After the application and considering the results and motivation of the young students, we can affirm that the activities and workshops were very beneficial to introduce basic spatial notions using educational robotics. Children showed connections between content learnings with valuable social practices through experiencing.

Pyramidal cells and GABAergic interneurons fire together in balanced cortical networks. In contrast to this general rule, we describe a distinct neuron type in mice and rats whose spiking activity is anti-correlated with all principal cells and interneurons in all brain states but, most prevalently, during the down state of non-REM (NREM) sleep. We identify these down state-active (DSA) neurons as deep-layer neocortical neurogliaform cells that express ID2 and Nkx2.1 and are weakly immunoreactive to neuronal nitric oxide synthase. DSA neurons are weakly excited by deep-layer pyramidal cells and strongly inhibited by several other GABAergic cell types. Spiking of DSA neurons modified the sequential firing order of other neurons at down–up transitions. Optogenetic activation of ID2(+)Nkx2.1(+) interneurons in the posterior parietal cortex during NREM sleep, but not during waking, interfered with consolidation of cue discrimination memory. Despite their sparsity, DSA neurons perform critical physiological functions.

Background Cyanoacrylate (CYA) injection can be performed using a standard upper endoscopy technique or under endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guidance alone or in combination with coils. There is little information available on the economic impact of these treatment methods. Aim To compare the cost-effectiveness of treating gastric varices by CYA injection via upper endoscopy vs coils plus CYA guided by EUS. Methods This was an observational, descriptive, and retrospective study. Patients were allocated into two groups: A CYA group and coils plus CYA group. The baseline characteristics were compared, and a cost analysis was performed. Results Overall, 36 patients were included (19 in the CYA group and 17 in the coils + CYA group). All patients in the CYA group had acute bleeding. They underwent a higher mean number of procedures (1.47 vs 1, P = 0.025), and the mean volume of glue used was 2.15 vs 1.65 mL, P = 0.133. The coils + CYA group showed a higher technical success rate (100% vs 84.2%), with a complication rate similar to the CYA group. The majority of CYA patients required hospitalization, and although the mean total per procedure cost was lower (United States $ 1350.29 vs United States $ 2978), the mean total treatment cost was significantly different (United States $ 11060.89 for CYA vs United States $ 3007.13 for coils + CYA, P = 0.03). Conclusion The use of EUS-guided coils plus cyanoacrylate is more cost-effective than cyanoacrylate injection when the total costs are evaluated. Larger, randomized trials are needed to validate the cost-effectiveness of the EUS-guided approach to treat gastric varices.

Introducción: El ser cuidador primario informal de un paciente con indicación médica de trasplante de células progenitoras hematopoyéticas puede tener consecuencias negativas en su salud mental y calidad de vida. Objetivo: Describir las intervenciones psicológicas disponibles para el cuidador primario de pacientes sometidos a trasplante de células hematopoyéticas. Metodología: Se realizó una búsqueda sistematizada de los últimos 10 años con los términos MeSH: psychotherapy AND caregive AND stem cell transplantation en las principales bases de datos médicas y de psicología, para su análisis se empleó la estrategia: Problema, Intervención, Comparación y Outcomes (PICO). Resultados: Se identificaron 122 artículos, de ellos diez cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Las intervenciones provenían de profesionales de enfermería o trabajo social; el 50% incluyó diadas (paciente y cuidador primario), mostraron una tendencia de duración corta, enfocada al periodo posterior al trasplante. Se basan en el entrenamiento en solución de problemas, manejo de estrés, atención plena y expresión emocional. Las intervenciones lograron la disminución de la depresión, ansiedad y estrés en el cuidador; pero no alcanzaron permanencia en la significancia estadística de dichos restablecimientos. Discusión: De acuerdo con lo observado en las publicaciones y por su impacto positivo en la salud mental, se recomienda la implementación de intervenciones psicológicas en cuidadores de pacientes con trasplante de células progenitoras hematopoyéticas. Conclusión: El apoyo psicológico brindado al cuidador generalmente es de profesionales de la salud que no pertenecen al área de la psicología, con resultados clínicos favorables en las etapas más críticas de su estado mental.

BACKGROUND Accurate detection of gastric infection by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and premalignant lesions are important for effective provision of treatment, preventing the development of gastric neoplasia. Optical enhancement systems with optical magnification improved the identification of mucosal superficial and vascular patterns in patients with dyspepsia. AIM To evaluate an optical enhancement system with high-definition magnification, for diagnosis of normal gastric mucosa, H. pylori-associated gastritis, and gastric atrophy. METHODS A cross-sectional, nonrandomized study from November 2015 to April 2016 performed in a single-tertiary academic center from Ecuador. Seventy-two consecutive patients with functional dyspepsia according to the Rome III criteria, were tested for H. pylori using a stool antigen test and were assigned to an Hp+ group or an Hp− control group. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy with high-definition optical magnification and digital chromoendoscopy was performed, and patients were classified into 4 groups, in accordance to the microvascular-architecture pattern of the mucosa. Interobserver and intraobserver agreement among operators were calculated. RESULTS Of the 72 participants, 35 were Hp+ and 37 were Hp−. Among 10 patients with normal mucosal histology in biopsy samples, 90% had a Type I pattern of microvascular architecture by endoscopy. Among participants with type IIa and type IIb patterns, significantly more were Hp+ than Hp− (32 vs 8), and most (31 out of 40) had histological diagnoses of chronic active gastritis. Two of the three participants with a histological diagnosis of atrophy had a type III microvascular pattern. The type I pattern predicted normal mucosa, type IIa–IIb predicted H. pylori infection, and type III predicted atrophy with sensitivities of 90.0%, 91.4%, and 66.7%, respectively. The intraobserver and interobserver agreements had kappa values of 0.91 and 0.89, respectively. CONCLUSION High-definition optical magnification with digital chromoendoscopy is useful for diagnosis of normal gastric mucosa and H. pylori-associated gastritis with high accuracy, but further studies are needed to determine whether endoscopic diagnosis of gastric atrophy is feasible.

This article aims to design and validate a scale of perception towards educational research. The instrument, which was applied to a sample of 324 university and non-university teachers, is made up of three dimensions: Value towards educational research, Involvement with educational research, and Competence in educational research. The results revealed excellent goodness-of-fit and reliability values, making its use relevant for the academic and educational field. In addition, statistically significant differences were found in the three dimensions of the instrument in favour of university teachers. These results provide important theoretical and practical implications. El presente artículo tiene como objetivo diseñar y validar una escala de percepción hacia la investigación educativa. El instrumento, que se aplicó con una muestra de 324 profesores universitarios y no universitarios, está formado por tres dimensiones: Valor hacia la investigación educativa, Implicación con la investigación educativa y Competencia en investigación educativa. Los resultados arrojaron unos valores de bondad de ajuste y fiabilidad excelentes, haciendo que su uso sea pertinente para el ámbito académico y educativo. Asimismo, se hallaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las tres dimensiones del instrumento a favor del profesorado universitario. Estos resultados aportan implicaciones teóricas y prácticas relevantes.

Hippocampal place cells receive a disparate collection of excitatory and inhibitory currents that endow them with spatially selective discharges and rhythmic activity. Using a combination of in vivo intracellular and extracellular recordings with opto/chemogenetic manipulations and computational modeling, we investigate the influence of inhibitory and excitatory inputs on CA1 pyramidal cell responses. At the cell bodies, inhibition leads and is stronger than excitation across the entire theta cycle. Pyramidal neurons fire on the ascending phase of theta when released from inhibition. Computational models equipped with the observed conductances reproduce these dynamics. In these models, place field properties are favored when the increased excitation is coupled with a reduction of inhibition within the field. As predicted by our simulations, firing rate within place fields and phase locking to theta are impaired by DREADDs activation of interneurons. Our results indicate that decreased inhibitory conductance is critical for place field expression., We would like to thank T. Hainmueller, N. Nitzan, A. Fernandez-Ruiz, I. Zutshi, E. Cid, and the rest of the members of the Buzsáki and de la Prida laboratories for helpful comments on the project. This work was supported by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) postdoctoral fellowship (EMBO ALTF 1161–2017) and Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) postdoctoral fellowship (LT0000717/2018) to M.V., NIH grants (R01MH122391, U19NS104590, and U19NS107616) to G.B., and a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation CIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 “ERDF A way of making Europe” (RTI2018–098581-B-I00) to L.M.P. A.N.O. is supported by a PhD fellowship (FPU17/03268) and by a short-term visit fellowship (EST19/00828) from the Spanish Ministry of Education.

Persimmon byproduct upcycling was performed by solvent-assisted extraction (SAE) to obtain dietary fiber (DF). The effect of SAE on DF modulation was studied on specific beneficial and pathogenic strains before and after the in vitro digestion process. Overall, digested DF samples extracted using acetone as a solvent (dCET) showed higher (p < 0.05) prebiotic activity scores (PASs) in beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactococcus lactis, and Streptococcus salivarius. Moreover, dCET reduced the tested pathogenic strain populations. Initial cell attachment (ICA) inhibitory activity on biofilm formation by Pseudomonas putida, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subitilis was observed for dCET, as well as inhibition of preformed (PFB) S. aureus biofilms. dCET combined with the antibiotics kanamycin (K) or gentamycin (G) exhibited synergistic effects against all tested pathogens, displaying bactericidal effects against S. aureus. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD) analysis showed that after hydrolysis, the released gallic acid could have been responsible for the antimicrobial properties registered in DF from the persimmon byproduct. The obtained results provided information about the potential of upcycled persimmon fiber fractions as possible prebiotics, although further research must be performed with complex microbial populations and in vivo studies., This research was financed by Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities through the funded project ‘Industrial symbiosis in the integral use of persimmon (Diospyros kaki); Bioeconomy example '(CTM2017-88978-R). The authors gratefully acknowledge Miss Laura Agulló and Mitra Sol Technologies S.L. for the given technical assistance.

Persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) fruits are a remarkable source of carotenoids, which have shown protective effects against UV radiation in bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants. The aim of this study was to analyze the photoprotection provided by an acetone extract, rich in carotenoids and obtained from byproducts derived from the persimmon juice industry, against UV-induced cell death in the keratinocyte HaCaT cell line. For this purpose, the cytotoxicity and phototoxicity of carotenoid extract, as well as its intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and anti-adhesive activities towards HaCaT cells, were evaluated. The in vitro permeation test provided information about the permeability of the carotenoid extract. Persimmon extracts, rich in carotenoids (PEC), were absorbed by HaCaT keratinocyte cells, which reduced the UV-induced intracellular ROS production in treated cells. Thus, PEC exerted a photoprotective and regenerative effect on UV-irradiated HaCaT cells, and this protection was UV dose-dependent. No cytotoxic effect was observed in HaCaT cultures at the concentration tested. PEC treatment also stimulated the adhesion capacity of skin microbiome to HaCaT cells, while exhibiting a significant anti-adhesive activity against all tested pathogens. In conclusion, PEC showed potential for use as a functional ingredient in skin-care products.

La escuela, como institución, se encuentra en tela de juicio por parte de algunos sectores críticos de la sociedad que, desde el marco explicativo que ofrecen las denominadas teorías de la desescolarización, son capaces de organizarse y crear redes ciudadanas para proveer de forma privada la educación de sus hijos/as desde unos determinados modelos organizativos y pedagógicos. El propósito de este trabajo es el de identificar, mediante el análisis de un estudio de caso, el modelo organizativo (definido por su misión, visión y valores) utilizado en un proyecto de educación alternativa para la etapa de educación infantil con el objetivo de reflexionar sus implicaciones pedagógicas y organizativas. Concluimos señalando cómo se confía en exceso en el potencial educativo del contexto en base a los intereses y motivaciones de los educados, se minusvalora la capacidad de innovación pedagógica y organizativa del sistema estatal de educación, existe la necesidad de establecer mecanismos capaces de mejorar la participación y se constata la pretensión, quizás irreal, de mantener cierta neutralidad ideológica en el proyecto. Nowadays the institution of the School is being questioned by some critical sectors of society who, by drawing on the explanatory framework put forward by the socalled deschooling theories, are able to organize themselves and create citizen networks in order to provide privately for the education of their children within specific organizational and pedagogical models. The purpose of this case study is to identify the organizational model (defined by its mission, vision and values) used in an alternative education project for preprimary school education with the aim of reflecting on its pedagogical and organizational implications. We conclude by pointing out that there exists an excessive amount of confidence in the context’s educational potential based on the interests and motivations of the learners. In addition, the capacity for pedagogical and organizational innovation of the State education system is underestimated. There is, furthermore, a need to establish mechanisms capable of improving participation. Finally, the claim, perhaps unrealistic, of maintaining a certain ideological neutrality in the project is also observed.

Theta oscillations play a major role in temporarily defining the hippocampal rate code by translating behavioral sequences into neuronal representations. However, mechanisms constraining phase timing and cell-type-specific phase preference are unknown. Here, we employ computational models tuned with evolutionary algorithms to evaluate phase preference of individual CA1 pyramidal cells recorded in mice and rats not engaged in any particular memory task. We applied unbiased and hypothesis-free approaches to identify effects of intrinsic and synaptic factors, as well as cell morphology, in determining phase preference. We found that perisomatic inhibition delivered by complementary populations of basket cells interacts with input pathways to shape phase-locked specificity of deep and superficial pyramidal cells. Somatodendritic integration of fluctuating glutamatergic inputs defined cycle-by-cycle by unsupervised methods demonstrated that firing selection is tuneable across sublayers. Our data identify different mechanisms of phase-locking selectivity that are instrumental for flexible dynamical representations of theta sequences., This study was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (BFU2015-66887-R and RTI2018-098581-B-I00) to L.M.P. R.G.A acknowledges support by the Hungarian National Office for Research and Technology GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00018 to Gábor Tamás. We thank Euisik Yoon and John Seymour for introducing us to the integrated micro-LED optoelectrode technology. The micro-LED optoelectrodes were initially provided by the NSF-funded NeuroNex Hub MINT (Multimodal Integrated Neural Technologies) at the University of Michigan under NSF 1707316. A.C.N.O. is supported by an PhD Fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU17/03268).

Hippocampal sclerosis, the major neuropathological hallmark of temporal lobe epilepsy, is characterized by different patterns of neuronal loss. The mechanisms of cell-type-specific vulnerability and their progression and histopathological classification remain controversial. Using single-cell electrophysiology in vivo and immediate-early gene expression, we reveal that superficial CA1 pyramidal neurons are overactive in epileptic rodents. Bulk tissue and single-nucleus expression profiling disclose sublayer-specific transcriptomic signatures and robust microglial pro-inflammatory responses. Transcripts regulating neuronal processes such as voltage channels, synaptic signaling, and cell adhesion are deregulated differently by epilepsy across sublayers, whereas neurodegenerative signatures primarily involve superficial cells. Pseudotime analysis of gene expression in single nuclei and in situ validation reveal separated trajectories from health to epilepsy across cell types and identify a subset of superficial cells undergoing a later stage in neurodegeneration. Our findings indicate that sublayer- and cell-type-specific changes associated with selective CA1 neuronal damage contribute to progression of hippocampal sclerosis., This work was supported by grants from MICINN (RTI2018-098581-B-I00 to L.M.P.), Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzman el Bueno, and the SynCogDis Network (SAF2014-52624-REDT and SAF2017- 90664-REDT to L.M.P. and A. Bayes). Collaboration between L.M.d.l.P. and Y.H. was supported by Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) grant RGP0022/2013. J.P.L.-A. was supported by grants from MICIU co-financed by ERDF (RYC-2015-18056 and RTI2018-102260-B-I00) and Severo Ochoa grant SEV-2017-0723. R.R.-V. and A. Bayes were supported by MINECO BFU2015-69717-P and RTI2018-097037-B-100 and a Marie Curie career integration grant (ref. 304111). A.V.M. was supported by MICINN (SAF2017- 85717-R) and Fundación Alicia Koplowitz. A. Barco was supported by grants SAF2017-87928-R from MICINN co-financed by ERDF and RGP0039/2017 from the Human Frontiers Science Program Organization. The Instituto de Neurociencias is a ‘‘Centre of Excellence Severo Ochoa.’’ D.G.-D. and C.M.N. hold PhD fellowships from MICINN (BES-2013-064171 and BES2016-076281, respectively).

The aim of this study was the use and revalorization of two persimmon by-products A and B generated in the juice production process. The by-product B resulting from a pectinase enzymatic treatment of peels and pulp to optimize juice extraction was especially suitable for recovery of valuable bioactive carotenoids. The extraction solvents and solvent combinations used were: ethanol, acetone, ethanol/acetone (50:50 v/v) and ethanol/acetone/hexane (25:25:50 v/v/v). HPLC-DAD analysis detected and identified a total of nine individual carotenoids namely violaxanthin, neoxanthin, antheraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin 5,6-epoxide, β-cryptoxanthin, α-carotene, and β-carotene. β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene represented 49.2% and 13.2% of the total carotenoid content (TCC) in the acetone extract from by-product B. TCC contributed greatly to antioxidant activity of acetone extract derived from this by-product. Pectinase enzymatic treatment of persimmon peels and pulp followed by absolute acetone extraction of carotenoids could be an efficient method to obtain a rich extract in these compounds that could be used as nutraceutical ingredient., This study was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades through the funded project ‘Simbiosis industrial en el aprovechamiento integral del caqui (Diospyros kaki); Ejemplo de bioeconomía’ (CTM2017-88978-R). Sara Gea-Botella thanks the Agencia Estatal de Investigación la Ayuda para la Formación de Doctores en Empresas “Doctorados Industriales“ (DI-16-08465) through the R+D+i project entitled ‘Evaluación in vitro e in vivo de un extracto procedente de subproductos de la industrialización del caqui’. The authors wish to thank Mitra Sol Technologies S.L. the given technical assistance.

GABA interneurons play a critical role in higher brain functions. Astrocytic glial cells interact with synapses throughout the whole brain and are recognized as regulatory elements of excitatory synaptic transmission. However, it is largely unknown how GABAergic interneurons and astrocytes interact and contribute to stable performance of complex behaviors. Here, we found that genetic ablation of GABA receptors in medial prefrontal cortex astrocytes altered low-gamma oscillations and firing properties of cortical neurons, which affected goal-directed behaviors. Remarkably, working memory deficits were restored by optogenetic stimulation of astrocytes with melanopsin. Furthermore, melanopsin-activated astrocytes in wild-type mice enhanced the firing rate of cortical neurons and gamma oscillations, as well as improved cognition. Therefore, our work identifies astrocytes as a hub for controlling inhibition in cortical circuits, providing a novel pathway for the behaviorally relevant midrange time-scale regulation of cortical information processing and consistent goal-directed behaviors., We thank the T. Korotkova Lab, C. González-Arias and C. Heikenfeld for technical support; the Molecular and Cellular Biology Unit from the Cajal Institute for technical assistance; B. Bettler, A. Araque, M. Navarrete, E. D. Martín and A. Fernández-Ruiz for critical review of the manuscript; and Buzsáki Lab members for valuable suggestions. This work was supported by the MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE (BES-2014-067594) to S.M.; a European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) postdoctoral fellowship (EMBO ALTF 1161-2017) and a Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) postdoctoral fellowship (LT0000717/2018) to M.V.; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG: SPP1665, 1799/1-2 and Heisenberg Program 1799/2-1 and 1799/3-1) to A.P.; the MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE (BFU2016-75107-P), and MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE (PID2019- 106579RB-I00), 202020E073 from the CSIC, and the Cajal Blue Brain Project (C080020- 09; the Spanish partner of the Blue Brain Project initiat.

The effects of the pandemic have affected and continue to affect education methods every day. The education methods are not immune to the pandemic periods we are facing, so teachers must know how to adapt their methods in such a way that teaching, and its quality, is not negatively affected. This study provides an overview of different types of teaching methodology before, during, and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study describes the different types of teaching (e.g., presence learning, blended learning, and distance education) used in two Spanish Universities (i.e., one private and one public) during the pandemic. A new teaching methodology is proposed. The purpose of this study report is to share what we learned about the response to COVID-19. Results provide a basis for reflection about the pros and cons of teaching and learning modalities in higher education. The current situation demands that we continue to rethink what is the best methodology for teaching so that the education of students is not affected in any way. This study is useful for learning about different teaching methods that exist and which ones may suit us best depending on the context, situation, and needs of our students.

How do firing patterns in a cortical circuit change when inhibitory neurons are excited? We virally expressed an excitatory designer receptor exclusively activated by a designer drug (Gq-DREADD) in all inhibitory interneuron types of the CA1 region of the hippocampus in the rat. While clozapine N-oxide (CNO) activation of interneurons suppressed firing of pyramidal cells, unexpectedly the majority of interneurons also decreased their activity. CNO-induced inhibition decreased over repeated sessions, which we attribute to long-term synaptic plasticity between interneurons and pyramidal cells. Individual interneurons did not display sustained firing but instead transiently enhanced their activity, interleaved with suppression of others. The power of the local fields in the theta band was unaffected, while power at higher frequencies was attenuated, likely reflecting reduced pyramidal neuron spiking. The incidence of sharp wave ripples decreased but the surviving ripples were associated with stronger population firing compared with the control condition. These findings demonstrate that DREADD activation of interneurons brings about both short-term and long-term circuit reorganization, which should be taken into account in the interpretation of chemogenic effects on behavior.

Photoplethysmography is an extensively-used, portable, and noninvasive technique for measuring vital parameters such as heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure. The deployment of this technology in veterinary medicine has been hindered by the challenges in effective transmission of light presented by the thick layer of skin and fur of the animal. We propose an injectable capsule system to circumvent these limitations by accessing the subcutaneous tissue to enable reliable signal acquisition even with lower light brightness. In addition to the reduction of power usage, the injection of the capsule offers a less invasive alternative to surgical implantation. Our current prototype combines two application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) with a microcontroller and interfaces with a commercial light emitting diode (LED) and photodetector pair. These ASICs implement a signal-conditioning analog front end circuit and a frequency-shift keying (FSK) transmitter respectively. The small footprint of the ASICs is the key in the integration of the complete system inside a 40-mm long glass tube with an inner diameter of 4 mm, which enables its injection using a custom syringe similar to the ones used with microchip implants for animal identification. The recorded data is transferred wirelessly to a computer for post-processing by means of the integrated FSK transmitter and a software-defined radio. Our optimized LED duty cycle of 0.4% at a sampling rate of 200 Hz minimizes the contribution of the LED driver (only 0.8 mW including the front-end circuitry) to the total power consumption of the system. This will allow longer recording periods between the charging cycles of the batteries, which is critical given the very limited space inside the capsule. In this work, we demonstrate the wireless operation of the injectable system with a human subject holding the sensor between the fingers and the in vivo functionality of the subcutaneous sensing on a pilot study performed on anesthetized rat subjects.

Understanding brain operation demands linking basic behavioral traits to cell-type specific dynamics of different brain-wide subcircuits. This requires a system to classify the basic operational modes of neurons and circuits. Single-cell phenotyping of firing behavior during ongoing oscillations in vivo has provided a large body of evidence on entorhinal–hippocampal function, but data are dispersed and diverse. Here, we mined literature to search for information regarding the phase-timing dynamics of over 100 hippocampal/entorhinal neuron types defined in Hippocampome.org. We identified missing and unresolved pieces of knowledge (e.g., the preferred theta phase for a specific neuron type) and complemented the dataset with our own new data. By confronting the effect of brain state and recording methods, we highlight the equivalences and differences across conditions and offer a number of novel observations. We show how a heuristic approach based on oscillatory features of morphologically identified neurons can aid in classifying extracellular recordings of single cells and discuss future opportunities and challenges towards integrating single-cell phenotypes with circuit function., The authors received funding from the following sources: 1: National Institutes of Health (https://www.nih.gov/grants-funding) (R01NS39600 and U01MH114829) [GAA] 2: Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) (https://portal.mineco.gob.es/en-us/ Pages/default.aspx) (RTI2018-098581-B-I00 and FJCI-2017-32719) [LMP and ASA] 3: Academy of Finland (https://www.aka.fi/en/) (grant nr. 275954) [MSN] 4: European Molecular Biology Organization (https://www.embo.org/funding-awards/ fellowships) (EMBO ALTF 1161-2017) [MV] 5: Human Frontiers Science Program (https://www.hfsp.org/funding/hfsp-funding/) (LT0000717/2018) [MV].

Background and study aims Assessment of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)-elastography of the liver and spleen may identify patients with portal hypertension secondary to chronic liver disease. We aimed to evaluate use of EUS-elastography of the liver and spleen in identification of portal hypertension in patients with chronic liver disease. Patients and methods This was a single-center, diagnostic cohort study. Consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension underwent EUS-elastography of the liver and spleen. Patients without a history of liver disease were enrolled as controls. The primary outcome was diagnostic yield of liver and spleen stiffness measurement via EUS-elastography in prediction of portal hypertension secondary to chronic liver cirrhosis. Cutoff values were defined through Youden’s index. Overall accuracy was calculated for parameters with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve ≥ 80 %. Results Among the 61 patients included, 32 had cirrhosis of the liver. Liver and spleen stiffness was measured by the strain ratio and strain histogram, with sensitivity/(1 − specificity) AUROC values ≥ 80 %. For identification of patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension, the liver strain ratio (SR) had a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 84.3 %, 82.8 %, 84.4 %, and 82.8 %, respectively; the liver strain histogram (SH) had values of 87.5 %, 69.0 %, 75.7 %, and 83.3 %, respectively. EUS elastography of the spleen via the SR reached a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 87.5 %, 69.0 %, 75.7 %, and 83.3 %, respectively, whereas the values of SH were 56.3 %, 89.7 %, 85.7 %, and 65.0 %, respectively. Conclusion Endoscopic ultrasonographic elastography of the liver and spleen is useful for diagnosis of portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis.

Background and study aims Digital, per-oral cholangioscopy (POCS) allows diagnosis of biliary ducts disorders and treatment for complicated stones. We aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of digital POCS systems for stricture lesions and the factors precluding complete biliary stone clearance. Patients and methods We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospective database of 265 consecutive patients referred for POCS between December 2016 and July 2018. We first analyzed the diagnostic accuracy of digital POCS for malignant and benign stricture lesions in 147 patients. Then, we analyzed the factors associated with complete or partial biliary stone clearance achieved with electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL) delivered via POCS in 118 patients. Results In the diagnostic group, digital POCS achieved 91 % visual-impression sensitivity, 99 % specificity, 99 % positive and 91 % negative predictive values, and 63.64 positive and 0.09 negative likelihood ratios for malignancy diagnosis. In the therapeutic group, complete biliary stone clearance was achieved by EHL in 94.9 % patients; the mean stone size was 20 mm (10–40 mm). In multivariable analyses, a stone size > 20 mm (OR: 1.020, P Conclusions Digital POCS has excellent diagnostic efficacy for biliary lesions. EHL via POCS is effective for complicated biliary stone clearance. Stone size (> 20 mm) and the number of stones (≥ 3) are associated with partial biliary stone clearance.

Background and aims Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is considered to be a functional disease, but recent data indicate measurable organic alterations. We aimed to determine the presence of colorectal mucosa microinflammation in vivo via probe-confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) and histological evaluation in IBS patients. Methods This was a prospective, controlled, nonrandomized single-blind diagnostic trial performed in a tertiary institution. pCLE images and targeted biopsy of each colon segment obtained during colonoscopies of IBS patients and controls were analyzed for inflammatory changes. Biopsies were classified using the Geboes scale, and the odds ratio and overall diagnostic accuracy were calculated. Results During the 15-month study period, 37 patients were allocated to each group. The mean age was 53.1 ± 14.3 years; 64.9 % were female. Signs of colonic mucosa inflammation were evident on 65.8 % of pCLE images from IBS patients compared to 23.4 % of images from controls (OR 6.28; 4.14–9.52; P 0 was attributed to 60.8 % of biopsies from patients in the IBS group compared to 27.5 % of biopsies from the control group. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, observed and interrater agreement of pCLE-detected inflammatory changes in IBS using histology as gold standard were 76 %, 91 %, 76 %, 91 %, 86.5 %, and 66.8 %, respectively. Conclusions Patients with IBS have a six-fold higher prevalence of colorectal mucosa microinflammation than healthy controls. pCLE might be a reliable method to detect colorectal mucosa microinflammation in IBS patients.

In understanding circuit operations, a key problem is the extent to which neuronal spiking reflects local computation or responses to upstream inputs. We addressed this issue in the hippocampus by performing combined optogenetic and pharmacogenetic local and upstream inactivation. Silencing the medial entorhinal cortex (mEC) largely abolished extracellular theta and gamma currents in CA1 while only moderately affecting firing rates. In contrast, CA3 and local CA1 silencing strongly decreased firing of CA1 neurons without affecting theta currents. Each perturbation reconfigured the CA1 spatial map. However, the ability of the CA1 circuit to support place field activity persisted, maintaining the same fraction of spatially tuned place fields and reliable assembly expression as in the intact mouse. Thus, the CA1 network can induce and maintain coordinated cell assemblies with minimal reliance on its inputs, but these inputs can effectively reconfigure and assist in maintaining stability of the CA1 map.