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A quantitative study was carried out with the aim of analyzing the perspective of the students in relation to the factors that have influenced quality teaching during the confinement period resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. To do this, an ad hoc questionnaire was designed and conducted in the months of June–July 2020. The sample consisted of 893 people who were studying at various Spanish universities. The results show little diversity in teaching methodologies; virtual teaching was carried out with the same parameters as face-to-face teaching. The role of the student body was one of passivity, consisting of little interaction with the teachers. Although it is true that there were no difficulties in following the course, there was limited attention paid to the emotional well-being of the students. Amongst the conclusions garnered significant, we point out the need to develop the adaptability of university teaching staff to unforeseen situations, as well as a continuing reflection on the model used in the teaching process mediated by digital technologies and the importance of promoting greater autonomy and self-regulation during learning.

The effects of chronic ethanol treatment on intravenous glucose tolerance and insulin response in non-pregnant and pregnant rats were studied. Basal circulating glucose, insulin, and ketone bodies levels were also determined during the treatment. Basal blood glucose concentration did not change during the ethanol treatment whereas plasma insulin levels were lower at the beginning of gestation and at the 15 and 18 days of pregnancy in ethanol-treated rats. Blood beta-OH-butyrate levels were higher and acetoacetate concentrations unchanged during the ethanol treatment, resulting in augmented beta-OH-butyrate/acetoacetate ratio. Intravenous glucose tolerance was not modified in ethanol-treated rats whilst the associated insulin response was lower in both non-pregnant and pregnant ethanol-treated rats. Data show that ethanol treatment during pregnancy alters glucose-insulin relationships despite being associated with unchanged maternal glycemia.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the third cause of cancer-related death. Despite therapeutic advances, the overall survival of patients with HCC has not significantly improved in the last two decades. In the majority of the cases there is underlying cirrhosis, so the prognosis of HCC depends on not only tumor stage but also liver function. There is not a widely accepted HCC staging system. In our group we have developed a new staging classification that stratifies HCC patients into four major categories and simultaneously links staging with treatment. Patients at an early stage are those who present with an asymptomatic single HCC with a maximum diameter of 5 cm or up to three nodules each less than 3 cm. They will benefit from curative therapies, including resection, liver transplantation (LT), and percutaneous ablation. Patients exceeding these limits, but who are free of cancer-related symptoms and vascular invasion or extrahepatic spread fit into the intermediate stage and may benefit from palliation with chemoembolization. The patients with mild cancer-related symptoms and/or vascular invasion or extrahepatic spread are included in the advanced stage. In this stage there is not effective therapy, and these patients may profit from new therapies in the setting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Finally, the patients with severe cancer-related symptoms or great tumor burden belong to the terminal stage and only benefit from symptomatic treatment. © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The analysis of microbial phenolic metabolites in fecal samples from in vivo studies is crucial to understanding the potential modulatory effects derived from polyphenol consumption and its overall health effects, particularly at the gut level. In this study, the composition of microbial phenolic metabolites in human feces collected after regular consumption of either red wine, dealcoholized red wine, or gin was analyzed by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Red wine interventions produce a change in the content of eight phenolic acids, which are probably derived from the catabolism of flavan-3-ols and anthocyanins, the main flavonoids in red wine. Moreover, alcohol seemed not to influence the formation of phenolic metabolites by the gut microbiota. A principal component analysis revealed large interindividual differences in the formation of microbial metabolites after each red wine polyphenol intervention, but not after the gin intervention, indicating differences in the gut microbial composition among subjects.

Background:Chronic alcoholism in pregnant animals and humans lead to general growth impairment in their offspring, which show multiple birth defects and delayed grown (fetal alcohol syndrome). Here we study the maturation of the intestine under the effect of chronic exposure to ethanol in utero together with associated malnutrition.Methods:Lactase, acid β‐galactosidase, maltase, and alkaline phosphatase activity profiles were monitored in 18‐, 19‐, 20‐, and 21‐day‐old fetuses from rats kept under three nutritional treatments before and during gestation: alcohol‐treated (25% ethanol in drinking water), fiber‐treated (50% cellulose‐diluted diet) as a control of the malnutrition associated with chronic alcoholism, and control or normal diet. Serum corticosterone determination and lactase immunolocalization were carried out. To detect possible direct effects of ethanol during the period of mucosa development, intestinal explants from 18‐, 19‐, and 20‐day‐old control fetuses were cultured either in the basal medium alone or in a medium containing 25 mM ethanol for 72, 48, and 24 h of incubation, respectively.Results:Following chronic ethanol exposure in utero, intestinal weight and brush‐border protein content and the specific activities of lactase, acid β‐galactosidase, maltase, and alkaline phosphatase were significantly lower than those of nutritional controls. Organ culture results, under the assay conditions stated, did not show a direct effect of ethanol 25 mM on prenatal mucosal functionality.Conclusions:All these results suggest that maternal malnutrition is not primarily responsible for the impaired intestinal maturation in rat fetuses from alcohol‐treated mothers; indirect effects of ethanol and/or its derivatives throughout embryo‐fetal development could be necessary to promote this intestinal delay.

Sirtuin (SIRT1) is a NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase that regulates hepatic lipid metabolism by modifying histones and transcription factors. Ethanol exposure disrupts SIRT1 activity and contributes to alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in rodents, but the exact pathogenic mechanism is not clear. We compared mice with liver-specific deletion of Sirt1 (Sirt1LKO) mice with their LOX littermates (controls).

In this paper we follow the tradition of applied general equilibrium modelling of the Walrasian static variety to study the empirical viability of a double dividend (green, welfare, and employment) in the Spanish economy. We consider a counterfactual scenario in which an ecotax is levied on the intermediate and final use of energy goods. Under a revenue neutral assumption, we evaluate the real income and employment impact of lowering payroll taxes. To appraise to what extent the model structure and behavioural assumptions may influence the results, we perform simulations under a range of alternative model and policy scenarios. We conclude that a double dividend –better environmental quality, as measured by reduced CO2 emissions, and improved levels of employment– may be an achievable goal of economic policy.