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Paula Hidalgo-Andrade, Carlos Hermosa-Bosano, Clara Paz Escuela de Psicología, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, EcuadorCorrespondence: Clara Paz Redondel del Ciclista, Antigua Vía a Nayón, Quito, 170124, EcuadorTel +593 2 398 1000 Ext. 2518Email clara.paz@udla.edu.ecPurpose: This study assessed the psychological distress, life satisfaction, and perceived stress of Ecuadorian teachers who adopted online learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aimed to qualitatively report the coping strategies used to maintain their mental health and well-being.Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from June to mid-August 2020.Results: In total, 394 teachers completed the questionnaire, and from those, 320 also completed an optional open-ended question included in the survey. More than half of the participants reported taking care of children under 11 years and/or adults over 65 years. At the time of the study, most of the participants were teaching in higher education settings. Age was significantly correlated with all the psychological variables, females presented higher levels of perceived stress, and teachers with home care responsibilities presented higher psychological distress as well as perceived stress. Teachers who had previous training and experience with online teaching presented lower levels of distress, perceived stress as well as higher levels of life satisfaction. The most used coping strategies included seeking social support, exercising, and engaging in leisure activities.Conclusion: The results provide useful information to help develop initiatives that promote teacher well-being. Future studies should consider using a more diverse sample and dedicate attention to work-family conflicts as well as social and structural inequalities that may have a toll on teachers’ mental health and performance.Keywords: education, lockdown, online teaching, psychological distress, self-care, stress

Clara Paz,1 Mari Aguilera,2 Marta Salla,3 Victoria Compañ,3 Joan C Medina,3,4 Arturo Bados,3 Eugeni García-Grau,3 Antoni Castel,5 José Cañete Crespillo,6 Adrián Montesano,7 Leticia Medeiros-Ferreira,8 Guillem Feixas3,4 1School of Psychology, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador; 2Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 3Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 4The Institute of Neurosciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 5Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XXIII, Tarragona, Spain; 6Department of Psychiatry, Hospital de Mataró, Mataró, Spain; 7Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain; 8Nou Barris Nord Adult Mental Health Centre, Barcelona, SpainCorrespondence: Clara Paz Jose Queri y Av, De Los Granados, Quito EC170125, EcuadorTel +593 2 3981000 ext. 2518Email clara.paz@udla.edu.ecBackground: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a debilitating syndrome, more prevalent in women, which is aggravated by the presence of depressive symptoms. In the last decade, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has demonstrated to reduce such depressive symptoms and pain in these patients, but there are still a considerable number of them who do not respond to interventions. The complexity of the disorder requires the consideration of the unique psychological characteristics of each patient to attain good outcomes. One approach that could accomplish this goal might be personal construct therapy (PCT), an idiographic approach that considers identity features and interpersonal meanings as their main target of intervention. Then, the aim of the study is to test the efficacy of PCT as compared to a well-established treatment in the reduction of depressive symptoms in women with fibromyalgia.Methods and Analysis: This is a multicenter randomized controlled trial. In each condition participants will attend up to eighteen 1-hr weekly therapy sessions and up to three 1-hr booster sessions during the following 3– 5 months after the end of treatment. The depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D) will be the primary outcome measure and it will be assessed at baseline, at the end of therapy, and at 6-month follow-up. Other secondary measures will be applied following the same schedule. Participants will be 18- to 70-years-old women with a diagnosis of FM, presenting depressive symptoms evinced by scores above seven in depression items of the HADS-D. Intention-to-treat and complete case analyses will be performed for the main statistical tests. Linear mixed models will be used to analyze and to compare the treatment effects of both conditions.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02711020.Keywords: psychotherapy, pain, repertory grid technique, study protocol, CBT, personal construct therapy

Recently, interest in converting bio‐derived fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) into added‐value products has significantly increased. The selectivity of ketonization reaction in the conversion of the FAMEs has significantly hampered the efficiency of this process. Herein, this work reports the preparation of catalysts with different levels of oxygen vacancies while the crystal phase remained unchanged. The catalyst with the highest level of oxygen vacancy exhibited the maximum selectivity. The density functional theory (DFT) simulation showed an increase in interatomic distances leading to the formation of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) upon the creation of oxygen vacancies. The surface measurements, type and density of acid sites of the catalysts, showed that the Lewis acid sites enhanced the selectivity for ketone production; while Bronsted acid sites increased the formation of by‐products. Moreover, the ketone formation rate was directly proportional to acid density. The findings of this research provide a different approach for catalyst design, based on defects engineering and their effect on the surface activity, which could be used for enhancing the catalytic performance of novel metal oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used a preclinical mouse model to investigate the use of mesenchymal stromal cells for treatment of radiation induced xerostomia. Based on data from spatial transcriptomics identifying alterations in immune biology in irradiated salivary glands, we have used immunodepletion strategies to better define the role of immune cells in radiation induced salivary gland damage. Our ultimate goal is to develop effective cellular therapy approaches to improve salivary function after radiation therapy. B cells were depleted using antiCD20 antibody and macrophages were depleted using clodronate liposomes with appropriate controls. Depletion was validated using flow cytometry of spleens and peripheral blood. Salivary glands of C57 Bl/6 mice are given 15 Gy in a single fraction using a small animal image-guided irradiator after confirmation of cellular depletion. Submandibular gland tissue was harvested 3, 7 and 60-days after radiation. Saliva was collected at the same timepoints. Tissue was assessed for fibrosis (masons trichrome stain), mucin (alcian blue), amylase (α-amylase), and for salivary gland stem cell markers (MIST1, SCA, Sox2, and c-Kit) and immune microenvironment (CD19, CD3, and F4/80) by immunohistochemistry. Radiation results in a significant decrease in salivary production compared to nonirradiated controls (p-value = 0.03). Histological evaluation of tissues showed an increase in glandular structure disorganization over time, with a decrease in the size and distribution of the acinar compartments throughout the gland (mean area stained: No RT=25.81% vs RT=19.98%, p-value=0.005). Immune depletion with anti-CD20 and clodronate resulted in significant decreases in B-cells and macrophages, respectively. Radiation results in significant decreases in salivary production. B cell depletion results in a smaller decrease in saliva production 3 days after radiation. Macrophage depletion results in a larger drop in saliva production suggesting a role for macrophages in protection against radiation induced damage. Consistent with this, in fully immune competent animals, there is an increase in macrophages seen within 7 days following radiation that resolves by the late (60 day) timepoint. The results implicate macrophage alterations in radiation-induced salivary gland damage and provide valuable mechanistic insight guiding potential approaches to intervene in radiation induced xerostomia. We are pursuing cell therapy-based approaches to prevent and repair damage caused by radiation to improve the lives of our patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate factors associated with the prevalence and incidence of gallstone disease (GSD) in women and men of the MAUCO population-based prospective cohort.Design 8948 MAUCO participants (aged 38–74 years) underwent abdominal ultrasound at baseline (2015–2019); 4385 received follow-up ultrasound at years 2 or 4. Factors associated with prevalent GSD were assessed using Poisson multiple regression and with incident GSD using Cox regression models.Results GSD prevalence was 40.4% in women (13.1% gallstones, 27.3% cholecystectomies) and 17.1% in men (8.9% gallstones, 8.2% cholecystectomies). In men, GSD prevalence rate ratio (PRR) by age in >64 years was 3.85 (95% CI 3.00 to 4.94), doubling that of women’s PRR 1.78 (95% CI 1.57 to 2.01). In women, waist circumference and diabetes were stronger GSD factors; a higher number of children and worse metabolic and socioeconomic conditions were also highlighted. GSD men had higher cardiovascular disease and a family history of GSD and gallbladder cancer. 198 GSD cases developed during follow-up, with incidence increasing by 2% (95% CI 1.005% to 1.03%) per each centimetre above the ideal waist circumference, statistically significant only in women. In men, age was the strongest factor for incidence, followed by a family history of GSD and low high-density lipoprotein increased incidence risk.Conclusions GSD burden was high in this population; a third of women had their gallbladder removed, which may pose them at risk of other health problems. Abdominal obesity was the only preventable GSD risk factor, highlighting the need for effective public health policies promoting obesity reduction.