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"Research Findings": Empathy is a relevant component of social interactions that can be observed from early childhood. Validated tests for young children are still scarce. This study has two goals: (1) to validate the modified two-factor version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) in Spanish children between the ages of 3 and 8; and (2) to explore the mediational role of emotion regulation in the relationship between empathy and social competence. Teachers of 118 Spanish children from 3 to 8 years old completed the IRI, the Emotion Regulation Checklist, and a scale of Social Competence. The results confirmed the two-factor structure of the modified version of the IRI and showed acceptable psychometric properties in the sample, acceptable to good reliability, and adequate construct validity. The mediational model revealed that the relationship between Empathy and Social Competence was mediated by Emotion Regulation, partially in the case of Empathic Concern and fully in the case of Perspective Taking.. "Practice or Policy": Our results highlight the relevance of emotion regulation in childhood and the need to address the multidimensional nature of empathy. This knowledge can contribute to the understanding and promotion of socio-emotional development in childhood.

El objeto de este estudio es analizar las resistencias individuales y organizacionales en procesos de cambio relacionados con la mejora de la calidad de la enseñanza superior en Educación Física en Colombia. Se efectuó un estudio de casos múltiple en tres instituciones de educación superior (IES) con programas de enseñanza superior en el campo de educación física y que se preparan, adelantan o institucionalizan cambios relacionados con la calidad de sus programas. Se parte de un modelo teórico que se contrasta luego con el análisis empírico a las tres instituciones, desde entrevistas a directivos, profesores y estudiantes pertenecientes a los programas de Licenciatura en Educación Física. Para las entrevistas se usó una guía de preguntas, diseñada a partir de la revisión de literatura, con una categoría específica de resistencias al cambio. Se aplicaron cinco entrevistas por cada caso para un total de quince. En cada caso se entrevistó un directivo (decano o director de programa), tres profesores (vinculados a tiempo completo) y un estudiante (representante estudiantil) que fueron seleccionados, en su calidad de informantes clave, por recomendación de directivos de las IES en la primera fase de la investigación. El análisis se hizo caso por caso desde la segmentación y reducción de datos en categorías y utilizando el programa Atlas.ti como estrategia de apoyo. Desde lo teórico se infiere que la inercia estructural, los factores político-culturales y la falta de información son las principales fuentes de resistencia en un proceso de cambio. Desde lo empírico, se confirma que las dos últimas son fuentes comunes de resistencia, mientras que la inercia estructural no es común en las instituciones analizadas. Se aporta una base teórica de interés para la comunidad académica y especialmente para directivos de programas de enseñanza superior, en torno a las resistencias al cambio organizativo, lo cual es útil para el diseño de planes de capacitación o formación en el interior de las unidades académicas. Futuras líneas se desprenden desde la posibilidad de desarrollar la investigación en otros campos, o complementar el alcance descriptivo que se presenta con lo explicativo.

Background: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is an inflammatory disorder where neutrophils play a key role. Excessive neutrophil activation leads to local hypoxia and tissue damage. Most research on neutrophil function has been conducted under atmospheric conditions (21% O2), which may not represent physiological or pathological conditions. This study aimed to determine the effects of hypoxia on neutrophil degranulation and cytokine production in AATD patients. Methods: Neutrophils isolated from 54 AATD patients (31 MZ; 8 SZ; 15 ZZ) and 7 controls (MM) were exposed to hypoxia (1% O2) for 4 h. Neutrophil degranulation was assessed by measuring elastase (NE), myeloperoxidase (MPO), lactoferrin, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) levels using immunoassay-based methods. Pro-inflammatory (IL-8, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokine levels were assessed by a Luminex-based method. Results: Our results indicate a significantly increased release of NE (p = 0.015), MPO (p = 0.042), lactoferrin (p = 0.015), and MMP-9 (p = 0.001) compared to controls. Pro-inflammatory cytokines show a significant rise in IL-8 (p = 0.019), a trend towards increased IL-1 beta (p = 0.3196), no change in IL-6 (p = 0.7329), and reduced TNF-alpha (p = 0.006). Anti-inflammatory cytokines show increased IL-4 (p = 0.057) and decreased IL-10 (p = 0.05703). Conclusions: Increased neutrophil degranulation and inflammatory phenotype are observed in AATD neutrophils under physiological hypoxia.

This article deals with the institutional theory and isomorphism, from the processes of organizational change in higher education institutions. In a first phase, we analyze, through a questionnaire, the situations and causes of change in higher education institutions (HEI), more precisely in the field knowledge of Physical Education in Colombia. Afterwards, through a multiple case study, we analyze both the pressures of the environment that force HEI to change and the types of isomorphism. The results show the existence of the three types of isomorphism in a process of change where the National and Institutional governments exert coercive pressures. Other HEIs in similar situations exert mimic isomorphism while Specialized groups within HEIs, exert normative isomorphism.

Organic acids (OAs) are employed in animal feed to regulate gastrointestinal disorders and diarrhoea thanks to their ability to modulate the gastrointestinal environment and their antimicrobial capacity. However, there is not enough evidence regarding the most adequate OA and its effectiveness in rabbit farming. Therefore, the aim of this study was to screen and evaluate the response of young rabbits to six OAs, administered via drinking water, at three different concentrations (pH levels). Organic acids (acetic, ACET; formic, FOR; propionic, PROP; lactic, LAC; citric, CIT; and butyric, BUT) were tested at three concentrations (pH 3, 4, and 5). A negative control (CON; non-acidified water) was also included. We used 240 weaned rabbits (28 days old) divided into 2 batches. In each batch, animals were randomly allocated to 1 of the 19 experimental treatments and were housed in group cages of 6 animals per cage, treatment, and batch. Among the 240 rabbits, an additional cage with 6 animals was included to determine the initial physiological state of the animals. All animals were fed with commercial pelleted feed throughout the whole experiment. The duration of the study was 7 days, until 35 days of age. At 31 and 35 days of age, in each batch, three animals per day and treatment were slaughtered. The pH of the digestive contents in the fundus, antrum, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and cecum, as well as the gastric pepsin enzyme activity, was measured. Water and feed consumption per cage and individual body weight (BW) were recorded daily. The type and dosage of OAs affected water intake. ACET 3, PROP 3, and BUT 3 reduced water intake compared to CON, negatively impacting feed intake and weight gain. FOR and CIT acids led to the highest BW and weight gain at 35 days, compared to PROP, LAC, and BUT (p < 0.05); showing ACET intermediate values. While OAs had limited effects on gastric and small intestine pH, acidified water at pH 4 and 5 lowered ileum and caecum pH (p < 0.05) compared to pH 3. Acidified water at pH 4 showed the highest (p < 0.05) pepsin activity compared to pH 3 and pH 5. Considering the limited sample size and short-term assessment period of our screening test, the OAs with the highest potential for use in post-weaning rabbits were FOR, ACET, and CIT at pH 4. The selected combinations did not exhibit any early adverse effects in young rabbits. These results should be further confirmed in a broader population of animals. It would also be advisable to extend the application of OAs over longer periods to evaluate their effects throughout the entire growing period of rabbits.

For several decades, there has been an interest in understanding how Emotion Comprehension (EC) and Theory of Mind (ToM) are related during the preschool years. In addition, the links between language and ToM and language and EC have been studied. Although prior work shows the influence of language on ToM and EC, the relationships among these three variables have not been sufficiently studied until now. The aim of this short research report is to test the relations among these three skills during a critical period of development, using a wide range of ToM, EC, and language components. To do so, the authors evaluated EC through six components of the TEC (Pons & Harris, 2000) and ToM through the seven tasks of the Wellman and Liu Theory of Mind Scale (2004). Language was evaluated by the PLON-R, a Spanish test of language development that includes four different dimensions. Results show that at four years of age, the relationship between ToM and EC is mediated by language, suggesting that language is a key process in the development of socio-emotional competence. The results suggest the need to work on EC and ToM through language from early ages. Through their discourse, adults influence the child's comprehension of mental and emotional realities and model their narrative skills. These narrative skills allow the child to construct coherent and structured explanatory frameworks, making explicit what in most cases is implicit.

Seawater has been proposed as a reservoir for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes, thus representing a risk to public health. In this study, we evaluated the presence of antibiotic resistance determinants (bacteria and genes) in 77 seawater samples collected at different points along the coast of the Gulf of Valencia (Spain). Specifically, indicators of fecal contamination bacteria, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp., were isolated, and their antibiotic resistance profiles were analyzed through the use of the Sensititre® system, followed by the detection of the main antibiotic resistance genes (blaTEM, qnrS, tetW, sulI, and ermB). The highest frequencies of resistance in the E. coli isolates were detected for ampicillin (35.1%) and ciprofloxacin (17.5%), followed by sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim (15.7%), while 23% of enterococci isolates showed resistance to a single antibiotic, 20% against tetracycline and 3% against daptomycin. Through PCR analysis, 93% of the E. coli strains showed the blaTEM and sulI resistance genes. Among the enterococci, the presence of the blaTEM gene was detected in 40% of the isolates, while the rest of the genes were present at very low rates. Among the water samples, 57% were positive for at least one of the tested genes, italic format with blaTEM being the most commonly found gene (47%), followed by the qnrS (33%) and sulI (23%) genes. These results show that seawater, in addition to being subjected to a high rate of fecal contamination, can contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Background: Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) represents a rare condition marked by an abnormal mobility pattern of cilia and flagella, resulting in impaired mucociliary clearance. This deficiency leads to recurrent infections and persistent inflammation of the airways. While previous studies have indicated heightened oxidative stress levels in the exhaled breath condensate of pediatric PCD patients, the assessment of oxidative stress within the affected respiratory tissue remains unexplored. Aims: To assess the oxidative status of human nasal epithelial cells (NECs) in PCD patients. Methods: Thirty-five PCD patients and thirty-five healthy control subjects were prospectively included in the study. Levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), glutathione (GSH), intracellular Ca2+, plasma membrane potential, and oxidative damage in lipids and proteins were measured. In addition, apoptosis and mitochondrial function were analyzed by flow cytometry in NECs. Results: NECs from PCD patients showed reduced levels of apoptosis (p = 0.004), superoxide anion (O2−, p = 0.018), peroxynitrite (ONOO−, p = 0.007), nitric oxide (NO, p = 0.007), mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide (mtH2O2, p < 0.0001), and mitochondrial superoxide anion (mtO2−, p = 0.0004) and increased mitochondrial mass (p = 0.009) compared to those from healthy individuals. No significant differences were observed in oxidized proteins (p = 0.137) and the oxidized/reduced lipid ratio (p = 0.7973). The oxidative profile of NEC cells in PCD patients, according to their ciliary motility, recurrent otitis, recurrent pneumonia, atelectasis, bronchiectasis, and situs inversus, showed no statistically significant differences in the parameters studied. Conversely, patients with chronic rhinosinusitis exhibited lower levels of ONOO− than PCD patients without this condition, with no significant differences related to other symptoms. Conclusions: Our findings strongly suggest the presence of a redox imbalance, specifically leaning toward a reductive state, in PCD patients.