Scaffolding of Practical Learning in Bioprocess Engineering and its Contribution to Soft and Specific Skills

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes in learning methodologies at all educational levels, including higher education. Under these circumstances, one of the most difficult challenges to face is to approach practical and laboratory learning at university when students' attendance to the physical laboratory space is restricted. The future graduates of Bachelor's Degree in Biotechnology are appealed to master many instrumental techniques related to this field. The article describes the scaffolding actions carried out to successfully adapt onsite laboratory sessions to virtual ones and evaluate the students' perception about the contribution of the online methodologies to the practical skills of bioprocess engineering. Two voluntary groups of students were formed, one to attend the practical lessons on site and the other online. The suggested scaffolding was structured in four different types of materials and resources: screencasts, pedagogical articles, calculation sheet templates and online assessment tests. Students' perception was collected by means of an e-questionnaire. About 70% of students thought the online platform allowed them to follow the practical tasks in a way equivalent to face-to-face teaching and 62.1% found that online model presents more advantages than disadvantages than the onsite model. 85.7% of students considered that practical tasks highly contributed to their capacity of solving complex problems and master mathematical tools, while 65.7% of them associated the practical task with their availability to understand the principles of bioengineering. However, 40% of them thought that the online model satisfactorily contributes to the acquisition of these specific skills.

The Medium-Term Changes in Health-Related Behaviours among Spanish Older People Lifestyles during Covid-19 Lockdown.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to evaluate general changes and investigate the association between diet quality, physical activity (PA), and sedentary time (ST) during COVID-19 lockdown and the subsequent 7-month changes in health-related behaviours and lifestyles in older people. PARTICIPANTS: 1092 participants (67-97y) from two Spanish cohorts were included. DESIGN: Telephone-based questionaries were used to evaluate health-related behaviours and lifestyle. Multinomial logistic regression analyses with diet quality, PA, and ST during lockdown as predictors for health-related behaviours changes post-lockdown were applied. RESULTS: Diet quality, PA, and ST significantly improved post-lockdown, while physical component score of the SF-12 worsened. Participants with a low diet quality during lockdown had higher worsening of post-lockdown ST and anxiety; whereas those with high diet quality showed less likelihood of remaining abstainers, worsening weight, and improving PA. Lower ST was associated with a higher likelihood of remaining abstainers, and worsening weight and improving social contact; nevertheless, higher ST was linked to improvement in sleep quality. Lower PA was more likely to decrease alcohol consumption, while higher PA showed the opposite. However, PA was more likely to be associated to remain abstainers. CONCLUSIONS: Despite improvements in lifestyle after lockdown, it had health consequences for older people. Particularly, lower ST during lockdown seemed to provide the most medium-term remarkable lifestyle improvements.

Anxiety and cancerophobia in patients with small gastrointestinal subepithelial lesions and tumours: Baseline results of a prospective study (quali-banding-set)

Introduction: Small subepithelial gastrointestinal lesions (SEL), often defined as submucosal tumours, or subepithelial tumours (SET) confirmed once characterized by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), could generate anxiety and fear of cancer. Aims & Methods: The main aim was to assess the anxiety burden and cancerophobia in patients with a small-sized SEL diagnosis or SET in periodic EUS surveillance. Secondary aims: to evaluate possible factors or patients characteristics influencing on anxiety or fear of cancer degree. Methods: Observational prospective study. Consecutive inclusion of all patients with a small-sized SEL diagnosis (requiring an EUS performance), or patients with a previously catalogued SET under echoendoscopy surveillance. Evaluation of the anxiety-distress degree and fear of cancer using two specific designed and validated instruments-questionnaires: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), anxiety and depression subscales [0-7 points normal;8-10 borderline;11-21 pathologic], and global-distress scale [0-10 points normal;11-17 borderline;18-42 pathologic];and Cancer Worry Scale (CWS) [6-10 points low;11-15 moderate;16-20 high;21- 24 very high]. ClinicalTrials.gov register: NCT04316000. Due to SARS-CoV2 (Covid-19) pandemia and its implications for outcomes bias, the study was prematurely suspended. Results: Two participating centres, 40 patients (inclusion period: September 2019-February 2020). Mean HADS-anxiety: 7.2 (+/- 4.3) [= borderline anxiety];HADS-distress: 11.4 (+/- 7.7) [= borderline distress];CWS: 11.0 (+/- 4.1) [= moderate concern]. Belief on probability of having GI cancer now: 20.7% (+/- 23.6);belief on probability of getting GI cancer in 10 years: 28.6% (+/- 24.3). Impact on quality of life: Yes 40% (16/40). Female sex (n- 26) vs. male (n-14) subanalysis: HADS-anxiety 8.0 vs. 5.9;HADS-distress 12.7 vs. 9.0;CWS 11.5 vs. 9.9. Family history of cancer YES (n-29) vs. NO (n- 11) subanalysis: HADS-anxiety 8.1 vs. 5.0;HADS-distress 12.7 vs. 8.0;CWS 11.7 vs. 9.1. Conclusion: Patients with SEL diagnosis or SET under EUS surveillance present a moderate anxiety-distress degree and a moderate concern about having cancer, partially affecting their quality of life. Family history of cancer and female gender are factors that can increase anxiety and cancerophobia degree. Modifying the submucosal tumour term use for subepithelial lesion in conventional endoscopy reports, and suggesting the SETs removal in case of significant anxiety-cancerophobia, could be measures to be adopted, providing a transversal approach to patients' health.

Open-care telemedicine in ophthalmology during the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study. / Telemedicina en oftalmología durante la pandemia de COVID-19: una experiencia piloto.

BACKGROUND: To report a pilot experience of telemedicine in ophthalmology in open-care modality (i.e. direct video call), in a confinement period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Descriptive study of the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients attended in a 10-week confinement period. Reported satisfaction of the participating patients and doctors was evaluated through an online survey. RESULTS: In the 10-week period, 291 ophthalmologic telemedicine consultations were performed. The main reasons for consultation were inflammatory conditions of the ocular surface and eyelids (79.4%), followed by administrative requirements (6.5%), non-inflammatory conditions of the ocular surface (5.2%), strabismus suspicion (3.4%) and vitreo-retinal symptoms (3.1%). According to previously defined criteria, 22 patients (7.5%) were referred to immediate face-to-face consultation. The level of satisfaction was high, both in doctors (100%) and in patients (93.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Open-care modality of telemedicine in ophthalmology during the pandemic period is a useful instrument to filter potential face-to-face consultations, either elective or emergency, and potentially reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection.