A research team from the University of Granada has conducted the world’s first whole-brain study of victims of gender violence using structural magnetic resonance imaging techniques

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is held on 25 November each year

The research team of the BELIEVE project at the University of Granada (UGR) has identified the numerous changes in the brain caused by gender violence among female victims. This is the first study of its kind to be carried out worldwide using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques and a whole-brain methodology. The results of this research have been published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 

This study, carried out at the UGR’s Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), is the first of its kind to analyse the structural differences between survivors and non-victims using this methodology. Most of the neuroimaging studies previously carried out on female survivors focused on a specific area of ​​the brain linked to post-traumatic stress. The present study pursued broader research aims by analysing the brain as a whole.

Miguel Pérez and Natalia Hidalgo, researchers at the UGR, explain: “It is widely known that gender violence causes a multitude of long-term consequences for female victims, yet the changes to the brain resulting from this violence remain under-studied.”  

Sixty women between the ages of 18 and 62 participated in the study and underwent MRI scans at the CIMCYC to analyse their entire brain—that is, all of its 160 areas. Of the total sample, 28 were survivors of gender-based violence.

Reduced cerebral volume and surface area

The results of this study showed structural brain differences between women who had not suffered gender violence and those who had, in terms of area, volume, and thickness in the lateral sulcus and the temporal, frontal, occipital, parietal, and limbic areas.

The victims primarily presented reduced volume and surface area in the right and left temporal sulcus, the inferior frontal gyrus, the left anterior cingulate cortex, and the right precuneus and occipital cortices.

Morphological analysis showed a relationship between changes in these regions and different potential causal mechanisms, such as adverse experiences suffered during childhood, post-traumatic stress resulting from violence, and various traumatic situations suffered during violent relationships, such as attempted strangulation, brain trauma, and the severity of the violence itself.

“In our study, we found that a significant number of women survivors of gender violence present long-term brain injuries. We also identified a link between these changes and certain adverse experiences, such as post-traumatic stress, attempted strangulation, brain injuries caused by their partner, and traumatic childhood events. The changes we found could thus be explained by these possible causal mechanisms”, notes Hidalgo. 

One of the contributions of these results is the discovery of this complex interrelationship between different variables related to gender violence that cause a number of changes in the brain, which are not typically studied or evaluated but may have consequences for the everyday life of these women survivors.

Bibliography:

Julia C. Daugherty, Juan Verdejo-Román, Miguel Pérez-García & Natalia Hidalgo-Ruzzante (2020), ‘Structural Brain Alterations in Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–34. doi 0886260520959621.

Image captions: 

Changes to the surface area of the brain

Volumetric alterations

Changes in cortical thickness

Two of the researchers from the University of Granada who conducted this study: Miguel Pérez and Natalia A. Hidalgo

Media enquiries:

Natalia A. Hidalgo Ruzzante

Department of Evolutionary and Educational Psychology

Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), University of Granada

Tel.: +34 958 243969Email: nhidalgo@ugr.es

The journal Science recently published an open letter written by four scientists from different international universities, including the UGR, to promote critical debate on the environment

Climate change, rural neglect, and forest management have increased the virulence of wildfires and their catastrophic consequences for both nature and humans

Australia, Brazil, the United States, and Russia are just some of the countries that have headlined in the last year due to an increasingly urgent and devastating phenomenon: the growing frequency and extent of wildfires.

The debacle surrounding environmental policy has led four international researchers, including a scientist from the University of Granada (UGR), to write an open letter to Science, one of the most prestigious journals in the world scientific community. 

The purpose of the letter is to warn of the continuing devaluation of policy debates on wildfires, undermining public scientific understanding and promoting instead the often-biased opinions of politicians.

In their letter, headed Wildfire debate needs science, not politics, researcher Alexandro Leverkus (UGR) and his colleagues Simon Thorn (Universität Würzburg), David Lindenmayer (Australian National University), and Juli Pausas (CIDE-CSIC) warn that, despite the decades of research that have generated vast scientific knowledge about the origins and consequences of wildfires, politicians are not leveraging this knowledge sufficiently to inform policies that facilitate a sustainable coexistence with fire. The terrible Yellowstone wildfires of 1988, those of South Australia in 2009, and other such disasters proved a critical turning point for researchers, with numerous scientific studies having been carried out since. These have helped to understand both the important role that fire plays in the functioning of ecosystems and the causes and potentially devastating consequences of the notable increase in the frequency, extent, and severity of these events on the planet.   

However, these researchers warn that the public debate on wildfires is not taking account of these scientific discoveries. Recently, politicians from different sides in various countries have been arguing about whether it is climate change or forest management that is ‘to blame’ for wildfires (although it is always the fault of the political opponent). Such debates only simplify the complex reality of the problem, as the causes of the increase in wildfires are many, and not all are applicable in each region. It is the prevalence of such arbitrary political comments that have provoked the indignation of this group of researchers, who criticise the treatment of public policies on such a crucial issue as “superficial”.

Fire is a double-edged sword. When not overly frequent, wildfires are necessary for the proper functioning of ecosystems, for biodiversity, and for society. Conversely, the occurrence of more widespread, frequent, and severe fires, or outbreaks in ecosystems where fire does not occur naturally, also pose a risk to biodiversity and ecosystems.

Climate change has had several effects on wildfires worldwide. These include prolonging the fire season and the frequency of dry years, further extending the periods of protracted drought that magnifies fire propagation and intensity, and the spread of fires through ecosystems that were hitherto considered non-flammable. This virulent trend is also detrimental to the human species, as the production of unprecedented volumes of smoke is harmful to our health and releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases, which, in turn, exacerbates the climate change problem.

In contrast, the scientists are endeavouring to use their findings to promote public policies for a healthier coexistence with fire, as the authors of the letter explain. One such example is the use of prescribed fire to prevent uncontrolled fires and the creation of heterogeneous landscapes in restoration programmes to prevent the spread of fires via large and homogeneous masses of vegetation.

Alexandro Leverkus of the UGR’s Department of Ecology points out that “we are all actively working in research and awareness-raising to encourage policies related to the countryside and wildfires that focus on sustainable coexistence with fire.”

The publication of the open letter in Science, when the prevailing issue of the moment is the Covid-19 crisis, is an encouraging sign for UGR researcher. He takes the publication of the letter to be “a recognition of the seriousness of the global wildfire crisis and the importance of implementing management measures that are based on scientific evidence to safeguard ecosystems and protect life on the planet.”  

Bibliography:

Alexandro B. Leverkus, Simon Thorn, David B. Lindenmayer, & Juli G. Pausas (2020), ‘Wildfire debate needs science, not politics’, Science 370. Online: DOI: 10.1126/ science.abf1326

Media enquiries:

Alexandro B. Leverkus

Department of Ecology, University of Granada

Email: leverkus@ugr.es

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ₁₀) is a molecule essential for life that is synthesised in the cells of our organs and tissues, but is also acquired through diet

Scientists from the University of Granada demonstrate for the first time that a CoQ₁₀ supplement is capable of modulating hydrogen sulphide metabolism and one-carbon metabolism 

A study led by scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) has found that a supplement of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ₁₀), an essential molecule for life that is synthesised in the cells of our organs and tissues and is also acquired through diet, could constitute a valuable complementary therapeutic option in the treatment of certain mitochondrial diseases, colon cancer, thyroid carcinoma, and Crohn’s disease.

The two most well-known functions of CoQ₁₀ are its role in the process of generating useful energy for cells and its antioxidant capacity. In various pathologies and throughout the natural ageing process, there is a decline in the cellular levels of CoQ₁₀, which contributes to various clinical manifestations, with a greater or lesser degree of severity. 

CoQ₁₀ capsules have therefore been made available for purchase in pharmacies and herbalists, yet the therapeutic action attributable to these exogenous supplements cannot be entirely explained by their effects on energy-production or the reduction of oxidative stress.  This study, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, addresses this knowledge gap.

The UGR researchers have demonstrated for the first time that CoQ₁₀ supplements are capable of modulating hydrogen sulphide metabolism, which, in turn, triggers beneficial changes in other important metabolic pathways such as serine biosynthesis, the folate cycle, and nucleotide metabolism.   

In various pathologies, such as certain mitochondrial diseases, colon cancer, thyroid carcinoma, or Crohn’s disease, some of these pathways are altered, so the CoQ₁₀ supplement could be a valuable complementary therapeutic option in these diseases. 

The UGR researchers underline an important limitation of the study—namely, that a large proportion of these results were obtained in cell cultures. Therefore, further study is required to evaluate results obtained in vivo, in animal models. This would require the capacity of CoQ₁₀ to be absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract to be increased and become available throughout the tissues being targeted.  

This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and the Ageing Disorders Research Unit (UNETE).

Bibliography:

‘Coenzyme Q10 modulates sulfide metabolism and links the mitochondrial respiratory chain to pathways associated to one carbon metabolism’. Human Molecular Genetics. Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddaa214

Image of the authors who led the study

Graphic overview of the research

Media enquiries:

Pilar González García

Biomedical Research Centre (CIBM) and Department of Physiology (Faculty of Medicine), University of Granada

Email: pgonzalez@ugr.es 

Agustín Hidalgo Gutiérrez

Biomedical Research Centre (CIBM) and Department of Physiology (Faculty of Medicine), University of Granada

Email: ahg@ugr.es 

Uveal melanoma is a rare cancer that develops in the eye and leads to metastasis in 50% of patients, with an incidence of 2–8 cases per million inhabitants in Europe

Scientists from the University of Granada and GENYO have published their results in the journal Cancers 

Scientists from the University of Granada and GENYO (Pfizer-University of Granada-Andalusian Government Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research), in a study led by Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Manzaneque, have demonstrated the significant role of a protein called ADAMTS1 in uveal melanoma, one of the rarest and most aggressive cancers that exist, which develops in the eye.

Tumours are composed not only of a mass of cells that grow uncontrollably but also of the environment they create during their growth—together creating what is known as the ‘tumour microenvironment’. Within this environment, there are proteins that remodel it, known as extracellular proteases, which are capable of inhibiting or contributing to tumour growth and metastasis. They do this by modifying non-cellular elements of the tumour microenvironment that form the so-called extracellular matrix.

In this study, published in the journal Cancers, the researchers studied the role that one of these proteases, ADAMTS1, plays in the development of a rare and highly-aggressive subtype of melanoma: uveal melanoma. Uveal melanoma develops in the eye, although 50% of patients develop metastasis, and it has an incidence of 2–8 cases per million inhabitants in Europe 

“In this research, we demonstrated that the ADAMTS1 protease is necessary for cancer cells to mimic endothelial cells (responsible for forming blood vessels), which is related to more aggressive tumours and a worse clinical prognosis,” explains Carlos Peris Torres, the main author of the work.  

To do this, the researchers inhibited the ADAMTS1 protease using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. This is a molecular tool used to ‘edit’ or ‘correct’ the genome of any cell (its developers, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna, having won this year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry). The researchers then verified the outcomes of their intervention on the protease in in vitro models with cell lines, and in vivo with different mouse models.     

Bioinformatic tools

In addition, using advanced bioinformatic tools and publicly-available data on uveal melanomas (from the Cancer Genome Atlas Project, developed by the US National Cancer Institute, which holds data on more than 20,000 samples of 33 different types of cancer), the UGR and GENYO scientists found new genes whose expression affects the clinical prognosis of this tumour type. 

“These include several members of the ADAMTS family and endothelial genes such as CDH5 and KDR. A more detailed analysis also revealed a high expression of ADAMTS1 in the initial stages of uveal melanoma, which confirmed its contribution to the initiation of tumour development and corroborated the results obtained experimentally”, adds Peris Torres.     

In light of these results, the researchers have concluded that ADAMTS1 is necessary for the development of uveal melanoma. This study is also the first to support the development of therapeutic targets aimed at the extracellular matrix to combat uveal melanoma.

Bibliography:

Peris-Torres, C., Plaza-Calonge, M.C., López-Domínguez, R., Domínguez-García, S., Barrientos-Durán, A., Carmona-Sáez, P., and Rodríguez-Manzaneque, J.C. (2020) ‘Extracellular Protease ADAMTS1 is Required at Early Stages of Human Uveal Melanoma Development by Inducing Stemness and Endothelial-Like Features on Tumor Cells’, Cancers 12, 801. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12040801

Media enquiries:

Carlos Peris Torres

Pfizer-University of Granada-Andalusian Government Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research (GENYO), Area of ​​Genomic Oncology

Email: carpeto@correo.ugr.es

Scientists from the University of Granada and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile have demonstrated that thermal tolerance varies quantifiably in line with body size in ectotherms—that is, animals whose body temperature depends mainly on environmental temperature (most animals)

Scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile have succeeded in explaining why ectotherms (animals whose body temperature depends mainly on environmental temperature—that is, most animals) are reducing in size as a result of global warming. Their study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, offers the first plausible physiological explanation for the general reduction in organism size that has been observed, as a consequence of global warming. Rising temperatures lead to metabolic restrictions which restrict growth—in other words, the animals cannot develop to achieve larger sizes.

Ignacio Peralta-Maraver, the lead author of the work, has recently joined the Department of Ecology at the University of Granada as a “Juan de la Cierva” Research Fellow and will develop his research within the ‘Modelling Nature’ Unit of Excellence. He explains: “Ectotherms, a group that includes the vast majority of animals, more or less depend on the ambient temperature to regulate their metabolism. For this reason, the enormous range of body sizes they present is surprising (about 12 orders of magnitude, from micrograms to tonnes), relative to the temperature range in which life develops (mostly between 0° and 40° C). Given that metabolism increases proportionally with size, how are animals of such disparate scales going to cope with global warming?”

After nearly three years spent investigating hundreds of scientific papers and museum collections, the researchers have collected a total of 637 empirical measurements of thermal tolerance and size among different species including annelids, molluscs, arthropods, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Using these data, and taking into account both the intensity and the duration of the thermal stress to which the organisms were subjected, the researchers have formulated an equation that enables the thermal tolerance of ectotherms to be quantified.

“This equation reveals that large and small animals respond differently to thermal stress as a result of the interaction between size and thermal sensitivity,” says Peralta-Maraver. Thus, smaller animals have a greater tolerance to extreme heat than larger ones, but their survival rate declines sharply, the longer their exposure to heat, which reduces the differences in endurance over long periods of exposure”. 

This discovery has major ecological implications, as it helps in understanding how ectotherms will respond to global warming. Furthermore, using the coefficients of their equation, the authors have corrected the thermal tolerance limits that were previously calculated for natural populations around the globe, warning of a huge overestimation produced by traditional forecasting methods.

Furthermore, by combining this new analytical framework with well-established equations from metabolic theory, the UGR researcher, together with the Chilean researcher Enrico L. Rezende, has mathematically demonstrated that metabolic limits also scale with size. With increasing size, death due to thermal stress occurs at a lower metabolic rate compared to rest at a non-stressful temperature. “This means that relatively large animals will see their development and growth capacity compromised due to the effects of climate warming”, the authors conclude.

The equation proposed by the researchers predicts that smaller animals have a greater tolerance to rapid temperature rises, which they can sustain for a short time. By contrast, large animals, which have less tolerance to extreme increases in temperature, survive longer

Ignacio Peralta-Maraver, researcher, from the Department of Ecology of the University of Granada

Small ectotherms will outnumber larger ones in a global warming scenario (illustration: Ignacio Peralta)

Bibliography:

Peralta-Maraver, I. & Rezende, E.L. (2020) ‘Heat tolerance in ectotherms scales predictably with body size’, Nature Climate Change, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00938-y

Media enquiries:

Ignacio Peralta-Maraver
Department of Ecology, University of Granada
Mobile: +34 645474803
Email: nperalta@correo.ugr.es

During last Spring’s COVID-19 lockdown, researchers from the UGR ran Emotional Intelligence workshops that helped university students manage their adaptive processes and regulate their emotions more effectively 

The participants experienced less academic burnout and were more committed to their academic activities as a result of these workshops.

A study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) and published in the journal Pharmacy has demonstrated that the application of various concepts from Emotional Intelligence (EQ) taught in workshops for university students during the COVID-19 lockdown period last spring helped participants manage their adaptive processes more appropriately and regulate their emotions more effectively. The students reported feeling less academic burnout and were more committed to their academic activities than before these workshops.

The sudden outbreak and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 demanded unprecedented measures to control the pandemic. In the case of Spain, the government declared a state of emergency and a strict national lockdown, leading the university system to have to rapidly transform its course delivery into a virtual (online) format. Taking into account the setbacks this caused—among other reasons, due to the emotional difficulties and uncertainty generated by the pandemic—a team of UGR researchers decided to draw on the concepts and tools of EQ as one of the most powerful teaching resources for achieving greater involvement among students and heightened commitment to their academic studies. Ultimately, this approach helped many of the participants overcome any deficiencies they were experiencing.

The research came about when lecturers from the UGR’s Department of Physiology, together with others from the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Educational Psychology Office, sought to improve teaching and learning under lockdown conditions. This led them to propose the study, which aimed to establish the effect of lockdown on teaching–learning processes and academic performance and the impact of applying EQ concepts among university students to improve their performance.

Javier Díaz Castro of the Department of Physiology is the principal author of this work. He explains that COVID-19 put teachers and students in a situation of uncertainty, constant challenges, and frustration: “We cannot continue teaching like we did before, as circumstances have changed. We need to reinvent ourselves to maintain quality teaching and attract the interest of our students. Since the key to learning lies in the emotions, not reason, and a positive environment is the first step toward achieving meaningful learning, it is clear that to achieve a high-quality experience for students, it is essential to take into account their emotions, needs, motivations, interests, and objectives.”

The reason–emotion binary is inseparable and synergistic, he continues. “We must motivate, excite, and inspire so that learning leaves an indelible mark on the student. We will only know, remember, and learn what interests, motivates, and inspires us. The acquisition of knowledge, curiosity, attention, or memory requires positive emotions. Emotion is the most powerful teaching tool that exists.”

Volunteer students from the Faculty of Pharmacy took part in the study. Two timeframes were established: one at the beginning of the lockdown and the other after various concepts of EQ had been taught online for two months. The Spanish versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Students (UWES-S) were used to evaluate the intervention.

In total, 63.5% of the students presented academic burnout during the lockdown, prior to the intervention. After the EQ workshops and seminars, only 31.1% presented academic burnout. Similarly, prior to the online input on EQ, 44.6% experienced exhaustion and 60.3% felt they were ineffective in their academic performance. After the input, only 29.1% of the students reported experiencing burnout and just 28.8% felt they were ineffective in their academic life. In fact, the scores obtained after studying the EQ in Physiology seminars led to improved results in all the variables studied.

The students managed their adaptive processes more appropriately and regulated their emotions better, since they felt less academic exhaustion and were more committed to their academic activities.

Some of the authors of this work. From left to right, Inmaculada López Aliaga, Jorge Moreno Fernández, Javier Díaz Castro, and Julio J. Ochoa Herrera

Bibliography:

Jorge Moreno Fernández, Julio J. Ochoa, Inmaculada López Aliaga, Mª José M. Alférez, Manuel Gómez Guzmán, Sagrario López Ortega & Javier Díaz Castro (2020), ‘Lockdown, emotional intelligence and academic performance in pharmacy students during the quarantine’, Pharmacy 8, 194; doi:10.3390/pharmacy8040194

Media enquiries:

Javier Diaz Castro

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Granada

Tel.: +34 958 243879Email: javierdc@ugr.es

A statistical study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) and the Complutense University of Madrid predicts a recovery of the Spanish labour market and a decrease in unemployment, except in agriculture, despite the general economic trend and the chaos caused by COVID-19 

A statistical study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) and the Complutense University of Madrid predicts a recovery of the Spanish labour market and a decrease in unemployment, except in agriculture, despite the general economic trend and the chaos caused by COVID-19. 

José Aureliano Martín, a researcher and lecturer in Economics and Business at the University of Granada, and César Pérez, a lecturer at Complutense and Head of the Statistical Unit of Spain’s Institute of Fiscal Studies, are conducting on-going research to forecast the trajectory of unemployment during the pandemic.

Martín explains that the initial phase of the study was carried out during the first wave of COVID-19, when the need was identified to source the most accurate statistical system to make forecasts about the impact of the pandemic on employment. Such a system needed to have the capacity to differentiate between economic trends and the influence of the virus.

“We opted for the ARIMA model, with an intervention function, which can offer significant stability because it makes predictions based on the historical evolution of a single variable while taking into account the extraordinary and unknown phenomena that can occur at any moment in time,” explains Martín, a member of the UGR’s Innovation, Sustainability, and Business Development Research Group (ISDE).

The researcher defends this choice of statistical model, explaining that it is quite distinct from classical approaches, which would be bound to fail as there are no parallels with which to compare. “There has never been a pandemic like this one—not even in the crisis of ’29,” he observes.

In the first phase of the study, this predictive model dealing with the impact of the pandemic on the labour market successfully outlined a scenario in which agriculture and the primary sector acted as ‘protective dykes’ against the unemployment figures. When generating the forecasts, the two researchers incorporated February (pre-COVID) data into the historical employment data, to differentiate between the trend that the economy would have followed without the pandemic and the effect of the coronavirus.

“When we added the data differentiated by sector, the forecasts proved correct, albeit always with a slight margin of error,” says Martín. Having now incorporated the unemployment figures for October 2020 into this system, Martín maintains that the labour market is showing stability, confidence, and an upward trend toward recovery: “There are already some predictions that the economy is beginning to show signs of recovery, despite the gravity of the situation.” Martín insists that the data from Spain’s Public Employment Service (SEPE) for October indicate that “employment is sustaining its recovery despite the pandemic.”

According to the model, based on national data, in the coming months, the country will see a general trend toward a “sustained decrease in unemployment” in almost all sectors, except for agriculture—and that will be the case even in the service sector, despite restrictions and closures in some parts of Spain.

Media enquiries:

José Aureliano Martín Segura

Department of Business Organisation II

Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Granada

Tel.: +34 956 526157Email: aurelianomartin@ugr.es