Pyrrole Plasma Polymer-Coated Fibrillar Scaffold Implant: Pilot Study in Rat Spinal Cord Transection with MRI.

Despite extensive research on spinal cord injury (SCI) therapies for the recovery of motor, sensory and autonomic function, currently there are no effective treatments to completely restore tissue structure and function. In this work, a polylactic acid (PLA) fibrillar scaffold coated with pyrrole plasma polymer doped with iodine (pPPy/I), was studied as therapeutic strategy in a SCI transection model. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to evaluate tissue response to the implant. Behavioral analysis using the BBB open-field testing was conducted to evaluate functional response. MRI analysis showed the SCI model completely disrupted tissue continuity, and diffusion indices were altered at the injury site. The animals had completely paralyzed hindlimbs and bladder control loss after injury. After 8 weeks of treatment, in contrast to control and PLA-implanted animals, PLA+pPPy/I-implanted animal had regained bladder control autonomy and frequent to consistent weight supported plantar steps and occasional coordination between forelimbs and hindlimbs. These results suggest fibrillar scaffolds coated with pPPy/I constitute a promising therapy for SCI.

Validación y examen de la estructura factorial del Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) en español con una muestra colombiana de estudiantes universitarios / Validation and examination of the factor structure of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) in Spanish with a colombian sample of university students

RESUMEN Objetivo: El Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) fue desarrollado originalmente en inglés por Schraw & Dennison en 1994 para medir las habilidades metacognitivas. Desde su validación inicial, el MAI ha sido considerado como el instrumento más utilizado en el mundo para evaluar las habilidades metacognitivas de autoinforme de las personas, razón por la que ha sido traducido y empleado en varios idiomas, demostrándose así, en diferentes investigaciones sobre la estructura psicométrica de la prueba una alta confiabilidad de consistencia interna y una validez de constructo adecuada. Sin embargo, ningún estudio hasta la fecha había examinado si el instrumento en su forma original, cuando se usa en el idioma español, mantiene una estructura factorial consistente con lo informado por Schraw & Dennison (1994). Así mismo, en el presente trabajo se buscó proporcionar evidencia empírica del uso práctico de este instrumento en poblaciones de estudiantes universitarios de habla hispana. Método: El presente estudio buscó establecer la estructura factorial del MAI en español en una muestra sólida de estudiantes universitarios colombianos de nivel de pregrado (N=528). En cuanto a la edad y el género, 315 estudiantes se identificaron como mujeres y 213 como hombres, con edades comprendidas entre los 20 y 30 años (M=23,90; Mediana=23). En el estudio primero se emplearon análisis factoriales exploratorios (AFE) con extracción de factores comunes (factorización del eje principal) y una rotación oblicua (promax), seguidos posteriormente, de análisis factoriales confirmatorios (AFC; estándar y de orden superior). En la fase de los AFE, se compararon tres modelos, una solución inicial de diez factores, seguida de una con ocho y finalmente otra con dos factores. En la fase de los AFC, se evaluaron dos modelos competidores, un modelo de orden superior de diez factores y un modelo de dos factores. Resultados: Se encontró que en la fase de los AFE, la solución de dos factores produjo el mejor ajuste en comparación con los otros dos. En la fase de los AFC, al igual que el estudio de validación original de Schraw & Dennison (1994), la solución de ocho factores compuesta por cada componente individual no se ajustaba a los datos; sin embargo, una solución de dos factores (conocimiento de la cognición y regulación de la cognición) mostró un ajuste superior a los datos y fue un modelo significativamente mejor en comparación con la solución de ocho factores, consistente con los resultados del estudio de validación de 1994. Conclusiones: En esta versión en español del MAI que se propone en el presente estudio, se establecieron métricas apropiadas de confiabilidad de consistencia interna y validez de constructo. Por lo tanto, los investigadores y los profesionales en campos como la psicología y las ciencias del aprendizaje pueden emplear con seguridad la medida para examinar la conciencia metacognitiva de estudiantes universitarios colombianos y de habla hispana.

ABSTRACT Objective: The Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) was originally developed in English by Schraw and Dennison in 1994 to measure metacognitive skills. Since its initial validation, the MAI has been employed countless times in various languages -mainly English- to assess individuals' self-report metacognitive skills, with the instrument consistently reporting high internal consistency reliability and adequate construct validity. However, no research to date has examined whether the instrument, when used in languages other than English, maintains a consistent factor structure to that reported by Schraw and Dennison. Further, the present study sought to provide empirical evidence of the practical use of this instrument in Spanish-speaking populations. Method: Thus, the present study investigated the factor structure of the MAI in Spanish in a robust sample of Colombian undergraduate students (N=528). Regarding age and gender, 315 identified themselves as female and 213 as male, between 20 and 30 years old (M=23,90; Median=23). First, exploratory factor analyses (EFA) with common factor extraction (principal axis factoring) and an oblique rotation (promax) were employed, followed by confirmatory factor analyses (CFA; standard and higher-order). In the EFA phase, three models were compared, an initial solution of 10 factors followed by one with eight and one with two factors. In the CFA phase, two competing models were evaluated, a 10-factor higher-order model and a two-factor model. Results: Findings revealed that, in the EFA phase, the two-factor solution yielded the best fit compared to the other two. In the CFA phase, like the original 1994 validation study, the eight-factor solution comprised of each individual component was ill fitting to the data; however, a two-factor solution (knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition) exhibited superior fit to the data and was a significantly better model compared to the eight-factor solution, which mirrors the findings of the 1994 validation study. Conclusions: This Spanish version of the MAI demonstrates appropriate internal consistency reliability and construct validity metrics. Thus, researchers and practitioners can employ the measure to examine metacognitive awareness in Spanish-speaking samples.

Profiling of Nutritional and Health-Related Compounds in Oat Varieties.

The use of oats in the human diet has decreased over the past 70 years. This is an unfortunate development from the perspective of human health because oats have a high nutritional value and contain many compounds, including ß-glucan, polyphenols, vitamins, and unsaturated fatty acids that are able to maintain or may even improve consumer's health. In addition, oats fit into a gluten-free diet of celiac disease patients because they lack the T-cell stimulating epitopes from wheat, rye, and barley. We focused on the presence of health-related compounds in oats and how their levels vary among varieties in response to the type of soil. Ten oat varieties were grown in the Netherlands in sandy and clay soil and were analyzed for the presence and concentration of healthy compounds (ß-glucan, fatty acids, vitamin E, and antioxidant activity), avenin composition, total protein and starch content, and agronomical characteristics. Principal component analysis showed that genetic background influenced the levels of all analyzed components. Protein, starch, ß-glucan, and antioxidants were also affected by the type of soil. The obtained results showed that this kind of analysis can be used to profile oat varieties in general and enables the selection of specific varieties with specific compound characteristics.