Schoolchildren who exercise are smarter and perform better academically

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The ActiveBrains study, led by the University of Granada, analyzes the effects of a 5-month aerobic and resistance exercise program, performed 3 times a week, in children with overweight/obesity.

The researchers/as have observed that the schoolchildren who performed exercise, compared to a control group, improved their intelligence in a prominent way, and also their cognitive flexibility and academic performance.

Is it possible to make humans smarter? There has been a traditional belief that intelligence is a human being characteristic predominantly stable, that is, a person is born intelligent and is intelligent throughout his/her life and/or the opposite. However, in recent years this conception has begun to change, starting to consider that intelligence can be more modifiable than previously thought. There are well-known benefits of regular physical exercise on physical, mental and cognitive health in people at any age, but to date there was no conclusive evidence confirming whether regular physical exercise could improve people’s intelligence.

Now, a study was led by researchers from the Department of Physical Education and Sports of the University of Granada, in collaboration with Psychology researchers from the same university and with national and international external collaborators, has demonstrated that schoolchildren who perform physical exercise are more intelligent and perform better academically.

This work, that the prestigious journal JAMA Network Open publishes this week, has demonstrated that in a stage of growth and cognitive and brain development, childhood, physical exercise practiced regularly for almost half a year improve total intelligence, and especially, crystallized intelligence, which is the kind of intelligence associated with verbal vocabulary and wisdom acquired throughout life in a school context and beyond.

In addition, the exercise program significantly improved cognitive flexibility, which is a person’s mental ability to adapt to changing tasks or rules, maintain multiple concepts simultaneously and shift attention between different tasks/rules. It is important to note that the exercise program also improved overall academic performance, with mathematics and problem solving being the most benefited capacities.

“From these findings, we extract an important take-home message for mothers and fathers: if your children do not perform well academically, do not punish them by not playing out or exercising, or withdraw them from an after-school sports activity, do just the opposite”, Francisco Ortega says, Professor at the University of Granada and principal investigator for the study.

60 minutes per day of exercise

“We need to try to ensure a minimum of daily physical exercise, ideally 60 minutes per day of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, including at least 3 days a week of high-intensity physical activity and also activities that stimulates muscle and bone strengthening as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)”, says the UGR Professor, who participated in the development of these physical activity recommendations from the WHO in 2020.

It is important to understand that overweight and obesity are a major health problem in the developed and developing world, being especially worrying in Spain, one of the leading countries in the ranking of overweight/obesity levels in Europe with 1 in 3 children presenting this condition. Obesity has negative effects on general health and, more recently, it has also been observed that it has effects at the cognitive and brain level.

“The present study has important implications for this population exposed to increased risks”, José Mora says, Associate Professor from the Department of Physical Education and Sports of the University of Granada, since “This study shows that physical exercise is an effective tool to counteract the negative effects of obesity at a cognitive and academic level”.

Finally, the researchers from the UGR says that the type of physical exercise performed in this study is transferable to the school environment. The exercise program was based on group games, without advanced equipment, which involved running on an outdoor court and strength work with their own body weight or their partners’ body weight. All this was performed at a relatively high intensity, with the average intensity of the full session being around 70% of the maximum heart rate of the children, who exercised an average of 3 sessions per week of 90 minutes each, which would add 4.5 hours of exercise weekly.

“If we could increase the number of hours of physical education up to 1h daily, as is already done in other European countries and is being demanded in Spain, we could improve the physical and mental health of children and, as this study demonstrates, also the intelligence, cognitive and academic performance”, concludes Francisco Ortega.

Results from this investigation were presented this week by the Professor of the UGR at the European Congress of Sports Science, the most important Congress of Sport Sciences in Europe, which is held in Sevilla.

Reference:

Ortega FB, Mora-Gonzalez J, Cadenas-Sanchez C, Solis-Urra P, Verdejo-Román J, Rodriguez-Ayllon M, Molina-Garcia P, Ruiz JR; Martinez-Vizcaino V, Hillman CH, Erickson KI, Kramer AF, Labayen I, Catena A. Effects of an Exercise Program on Brain Health Outcomes for Children With Overweight or Obesity: The Active Brains Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(8):e2227893.

To access the full article:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2795759

The UGR research team that has carried out this work.
escolares haciendo deporte
A moment of intervention with schoolchildren.


Contact:

Francisco B. Ortega
Professor at the Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, and co-director of the PROFITH research group: http://profith.ugr.es/
Email: ortegaf@ugr.es


José Rafael Mora González
Assistant Professor at the Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada.
E-mail: jmorag@ugr.es

Men with prostate cancer have lower levels of melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone, than the cancer-free population

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A study led by the University of Granada has found that men with prostate cancer have lower levels of melatonin compared to those without this illness, regardless of their urinary symptoms and the extent and aggressiveness of the tumour

This hormone regulates circadian cycles, is produced in the absence of light, and is linked to the light–dark cycle

A study led by researchers from the Biohealth Research Institute in Granada (ibs.GRANADA) of the University of Granada (UGR) has revealed that men with prostate cancer have lower levels of melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone, than men who are not suffering this illness, regardless of their urinary symptoms and the extent and aggressiveness of the tumour in question.

This work is part of the CAPLIFE (prostate cancer and lifestyles) Study (principal investigator: Rocío Olmedo Requena of the UGR’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health) and has been published in the Journal of Urology. The work forms part of the results of the doctoral thesis conducted by Macarena Lozano Lorca and supervised by José Juan Jiménez Moleón and Rocío Olmedo Requena.

As Olmedo explains, “circadian cycles regulate many of our bodily functions; they last approximately 24 hours and are regulated by melatonin levels. This hormone is produced in the absence of light and is linked to the light–dark cycle”.

The level of melatonin in the body reaches its peak at night, although its production is affected by age (dropping as we get older) and can be influenced by the seasons (lower during the months of spring–summer). Light pollution can also affect melatonin levels, for example from using electronic devices at night. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies night-work as a probable carcinogen, and melatonin may be one of the factors that underlie this link.

Despite the fact that we spend a third of our lives sleeping, to date, little attention has been paid to this important habit and its relationship to health. Sleep studies can be carried out from multiple approaches (sleep duration and quality; shift-work, including night shifts or rotating shifts; level of light pollution, etc.), although the most objective measurement is through analysis of the circadian rhythm based on melatonin levels at different times of day.

To undertake the first-ever analysis of the link between melatonin levels and prostate cancer, in this study, six saliva samples per participant were collected over a 24-hour period, among 40 male subjects recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and 41 men without this pathology. This enabled the researchers to measure the variations in the level of this hormone over the course of the 24 hours, its amplitude (defined by the maximum peak of melatonin production), and the acrophase (time of maximum melatonin peak).

A lower melatonin spike

The scientists observed that, in those subjects with prostate cancer, melatonin levels were systematically lower than in those without this pathology, regardless of age, season of the year, symptoms associated with prostate cancer, and the degree of progression of the disease. In addition, the time of day at which it was produced was later. They concluded that, in the sample under study, melatonin levels in men with prostate cancer—regardless of urinary symptoms, tumour extension, and tumour aggressiveness—were always lower than those of men without this pathology.

This study was carried out at the ibs.GRANADA Institute thanks to collaboration between researchers from the UGR, the International Institute of Melatonin, the Urology Services of the ‘Virgen de las Nieves’ and the ‘Clínico San Cecilio’ Teaching Hospitals, the Andalusian School of Public Health, and the Granada-Metropolitan Health District. In addition, some of the authors of this article are members of CIBERFES and CIBERESP (the Biomedical Research Networking Centres for Fragility and Healthy Aging, and Epidemiology and Public Health, respectively).

Bibliography:

Lozano-Lorca M, Olmedo-Requena R, Rodríguez-Barranco M, Redondo-Sánchez D, Jiménez-Pacheco A, Vázquez-Alonso F, Arana-Asensio E, Sánchez MJ, Fernández-Martínez J, Acuña-Castroviejo D, & Jiménez-Moleón JJ (2022), ‘Salivary Melatonin Rhythm and Prostate Cancer: CAPLIFE Study’, 207 Journal of Urology, 565–572.

DOI: 10.1097/JU.0000000000002294. PMID: 34694161

Image caption:

The research team that conducted this study.

Media enquiries:

Rocío Olmedo Requena
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
School of Medicine, University of Granada
Tel.: +34 958 243543
Email: rocioolmedo@ugr.es

A new method designed at the UGR enables the state of dependency of elderly people to be assessed using artificial intelligence techniques

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A recent study has shown how the degree of dependency among the elderly can automatically be measured in a non-intrusive way, using only a smart wristband, while they carry out their everyday activities

This solution can save time for health professionals and healthcare systems thanks to the early detection of dependency and other diseases or impairments

Researchers from the Departments of Software Engineering and Physiotherapy of the University of Granada (UGR) have developed a new method of assessing the state of dependency of people over the age of 65, based on artificial intelligence (AI).

The study, published in the International Journal of Medical Informatics,confirms that it is possible to automatically measure the degree of dependency among elderly people in a non-intrusive way, using only a smart wristband, while they perform their day-to-day activities. This solution can save time for health professionals and healthcare systems thanks to the early detection of dependency and other diseases or impairments.

Traditionally, the dependency status of people over 65 years of age is assessed with tests or questionnaires that are self-reported or administered by others—such as the Lawton & Brody questionnaire. In this approach, elderly people are asked to perform tasks relating to 8 ‘domains of function’—known as Instrumental Activities of Daily Living or IADLs—while a health professional observes whether they perform them adequately or if they have any difficulties.

These activities include the ability to use the telephone, do the shopping, prepare food, wash their clothes, etc. In general, these types of observation-based evaluations require considerable time and, in addition, present a subjective dimension. Therefore, they are often not carried out because they are resource-intensive.

In a bid to overcome these drawbacks, the authors of this UGR-based study used wearable devices such as smartwatches and wristbands to collect physiological data (objective data on vital signs) from the elderly subjects during a complex and highly comprehensive IADL, such as supermarket shopping.

After analysing the data, combined with machine learning techniques, the researchers successfully validated a model capable of distinguishing between dependent and independent people—accurately, non-intrusively, and inexpensively.

Bibliography:

M. Garcia-Moreno, M. Bermudez-Edo, E. Rodríguez-García, J. M. Pérez-Mármol, J. L.

Garrido, & M. J. Rodríguez-Fórtiz (2022), ‘A machine learning approach for semi-automatic assessment of IADL dependence in older adults with wearable sensors’, 157 International Journal of Medical Informatics,  104625. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104625

Media enquiries:


Francisco M. García Moreno

Department of Software Engineering, University of Granada

Email: fmgarmor@ugr.es

Website: https://frangam.com

Scientists discover the ‘camouflage’ used by tumour cells in the bloodstream to avoid being detected

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This ground-breaking finding, published in the scientific journal Theranostics, may represent a great advance in the prevention of the development of metastases in cancer patients

The Liquid Biopsy and Cancer Interception research group—part of the Biohealth Research Institute in Granada (ibs.GRANADA), in which researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) participate—has discovered that tumour cells pass themselves off as platelets to go undetected in the bloodstream.

This finding constitutes a paradigm shift in terms of how the metastatic process unfolds, and may contribute not only to a better understanding of the tumour process but also to the development of treatments for intercepting the process of tumour dissemination and, ultimately, the appearance of metastasis.

Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related death, due to the release of tumour cells from a primary tumour into the bloodstream, where they can travel to another organ and create a secondary tumour. These cells are known as Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) and, despite being known for their prognostic and predictive value as cancer biomarkers, little is known about their biology. CTCs are capable not only of detaching from the tumour mass but also of withstanding attacks from the immune system and colonising distant organs.

This team of scientists from ibs.GRANADA , the UGR, GENyO, and the ‘Virgen de las Nieves’ Teaching Hospital in Granada have demonstrated for the first time that platelets are capable of transferring biomolecules such as lipids, proteins, and ribonucleic acid to the CTCs, which helps them to go unnoticed in the bloodstream. In other words, tumour cells acquire part of the configuration of platelets to ‘trick’ the body into believing they are platelets, enabling them to take over other organs.

Therefore, this study reveals how platelets can phenotypically, genetically, and functionally modify tumour cells, indicating which ones could play a crucial role in metastasis by interacting with and modifying CTCs.

This research was led by Dr. María José Serrano, researcher on the ‘Nicolás Monardes’ programme at the GENyO Center and in the ‘Virgen de las Nieves’ Teaching Hospital. The study was the result of collaboration with Dr. Pedro Real of the UGR, renowned oncologist Dr. Christian Rolfo of the Center for Thoracic Oncology at the Tisch Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai, member of the external advisory committee of ibs.GRANADA, and Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

About the research group

The Liquid Biopsy and Cancer Interception research group of ibs.GRANADA is led by Dr. José Expósito Hernández and Dr. María José Serrano. It is an active research group with multiple ongoing collaborations with other groups at regional, national, and international levels. It aims to bring clinical and basic knowledge together in a practical, useful approach for patients and to support the evaluation of healthcare services.

For more information about the group, see:

Liquid Biopsy & Cancer interception

Bibliography:

Rodríguez-Martínez A, Simon-Saez I, Perales S, Garrido-Navas C, Russo A, de Miguel-Pérez D, Puche-Sanz I, Alaminos C, Ceron J, Lorente JA, Molina MP, González C, Cristofanilli M, Ortigosa-Palomo A, Real PJ, Rolfo C, & Serrano MJ (2022), ‘Exchange of cellular components between platelets and tumor cells: Impact on tumor cells behavior’, Theranostics 12(5):2150-2161.

doi:10.7150/thno.64ilable from https://www.thno.org/v12p2150.htm

Media enquiries:

María José Serrano Fernández

Department of Anatomical Pathology and History of Science, University of Granada

Email: mjose.serrano@genyo.es

Pedro José Real Luna

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, University of Granada

Tel.: +34 958 243252

Email: pedroreal@ugr.es

Understanding the client’s level of concern regarding COVID-19 helps hotels make their offer more appealing

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In light of COVID-19 concerns, research led by the UGR’s Francisco Peco Torres proposes that hotel firms should segment their communication and marketing plans according to clients’ resilience and risk perception of the pandemic

The perception of physical and emotional risk caused by COVID-19 among hotel clients influences their decision-making when it comes to deciding whether to stay in this type of establishment. Hence, hotel firms that base the design of their marketing and communication campaigns on this variable will find it helps make their offer appealing.

This is demonstrated by a study led by Francisco Peco-Torres of the Department of Marketing and Market Research at the University of Granada, together with Ana Isabel Polo-Peña and Professor Dolores María Frías-Jamilena.

The study also seeks to determine how resilience—the individual’s ability to readily recover from stressful situations and adapt to contexts characterised by uncertainty—can help consumers adjust to the ‘new normal’ caused by COVID-19 in the hotel sector.

A quantitative empirical study was conducted among Spanish hotel clients. The analysis showed that, when the client perceives physical and emotional risk attached to staying at a hotel due to COVID-19, this reduces their intention to resume their consumption of hotel accommodation in the wake of the pandemic while the virus is still present in the population. Physical risk is the degree to which the consumer perceives that it is possible to contract the virus at a hotel, while emotional risk is the concern that, due to the situation caused by the pandemic, the hotel experience will not prove satisfactory and may cause extreme mental overwhelm. In this scenario, according to Peco Torres, “consumer resilience helps reduce perceived physical and emotional risk”.

The results show that the more resilient the consumer, the better he or she will adapt to the new situation and the less risk they will perceive. In turn, the less risk they perceive, the greater their intention to return to staying in hotels again, even with COVID-19 still present.

Adapting hotel marketing and communications

The research has highlighted the role of resilience in consumer decision-making, showing that hotel firms must take this individual capacity into account when designing their marketing and communication plans. “One way of incorporating consumer resilience into these plans would be to segment consumers based on their degree of resilience, distinguishing between two types of consumers”, explains Francisco Peco.

On the one hand, less resilient individuals will perceive a higher degree of risk and present a low intention to resume their consumption of hotel accommodation. According to this study, firms wanting to target this segment in their communications should emphasize the anti-COVID-19 safety measures being taken by the hotel, in order to demonstrate that protecting their clients is their top priority. It would also be useful to emphasize the emotional cost of unnecessarily missing out on safe tourism experiences.

On the other hand, consumers with more personal resilience will perceive hotels to present a lower degree of risk and will show a higher level of intention to return to staying in them. Communication aimed at this segment should adopt a more commercial approach that motivates consumers to return to enjoying touristic experiences. It would also be appropriate to take a social approach to communications targeted at this profile of consumer, to convey how important their custom and their trust are for the survival of the hotel sector and all the employment it generates.

Bibliography:

Francisco Peco-Torres, Ana I. Polo-Peña, Dolores M. Frías-Jamilena, ‘The effect of COVID-19 on tourists’ intention to resume hotel consumption: The role of resilience, International’, 99 Journal of Hospitality Management, 2021.

103075, ISSN 0278-4319 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.103075]

Media enquiries:
Francisco Torres
Department of Marketing and Market Research
Faculty of Economics and Business
University of Granada
Email: fpeco@ugr.es

Men with periodontitis and erectile dysfunction are more likely to suffer a major cardiovascular event in the next four years

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  • A study led by the UGR reveals that men with periodontitis who are also diagnosed with erectile dysfunction are almost four times more likely to suffer a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE)
  • The onset of erectile dysfunction among men with periodontitis could be a warning sign of potentially much more serious (cardiovascular) conditions and events in the near future, such as cerebral infarction, non-fatal myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome (stable and unstable angina), coronary artery bypass grafting, or percutaneous coronary intervention

A team of researchers led by the University of Granada (UGR) has shown in a prospective study that men with periodontitis who are also diagnosed with erectile dysfunction are almost four times more likely to suffer a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE).

These pathologies refer specifically to cerebral infarction, non-fatal myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome (stable and unstable angina), coronary artery bypass grafting, or percutaneous coronary intervention. They were found to occur, on average, four years after the sexual dysfunction was diagnosed.

This study, published in the prestigious Journal of Periodontology (the official publication of the American Academy of Periodontology), was conducted by the ‘CTS 583’ research group, led by the UGR’s Francisco Mesa (from the Department of Stomatology), in collaboration with the Urology Service of the ‘Clínico San Cecilio’ Teaching Hospital in Granada. The Director of the Service is Miguel Arrabal of the Department of Surgery and Surgical Specialties at the UGR.

Epidemiological study

These results are of particular importance, given that MACEs are life-threatening in middle-aged men. Thanks to its longitudinal design, this epidemiological association-study provides the greatest volume of scientific evidence among studies of its kind, to date.

Although it was not the aim of the research to identify the cause of this link, the authors attribute it to an accelerated atherosclerotic process triggered by periodontitis—first, in the small vessels of the corpus cavernosum of the penis, and, later, in the rest of the arterioles of other vital organs. Therefore, in the case of men with periodontitis, the onset of erectile dysfunction could be a warning sign of potentially much more serious (cardiovascular) conditions and events in the near future. This line of research was initiated by the authors in 2017 in a case–control (observational) study, in which they demonstrated that men with periodontitis were 2.17 times more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.

References:

Francisco Mesa, Miguel Ángel Arrabal-Polo, Antonio Magán-Fernández, Miguel Arrabal, Amada Martin, Ricardo Muñoz, Alejandro Rodríguez-Agurto, & Manuel Bravo (December 2021), ‘Patients with periodontitis and erectile dysfunction suffer a greater incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events: A prospective study in a Spanish Population’, Journal of Periodontology. 

https://doi.org/10.1002/JPER.21-0477

Image captions:

Investigadores periodontitis

The UGR researchers who conducted this study. From left to right: Miguel Ángel Arrabal, Miguel Arrabal, Francisco Mesa, Antonio Magán, and Alejandro Rodríguez

Contact:

Francisco Mesa Aguado

Department of Stomatology

Faculty of Dentistry, University of Granada.

Tel.: +34 958 240654

Email: fmesa@ugr.es

Experts design a ‘smart’ FFP2 facemask that sends a mobile alert when CO2 limits are exceeded

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Wearing FFP2-type facemasks for any length of time produces a concentration of CO2 between the face and the mask that is higher than the normal atmospheric concentration, due to the gas we exhale when breathing. CO2 rebreathing can cause adverse health effects, even in healthy people, such as general malaise, headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, increased heart rate, muscle weakness, and drowsiness

Now, a new mask, designed at the UGR, sends an alert to the wearer via their smartphone when the recommended healthy CO2 limits inside the facemask are exceeded

Scientists and engineers from the University of Granada (UGR) have developed and tested a ‘smart’ FFP2 facemask that notifies the user via their smartphone when the permitted carbon dioxide (CO2) limits inside the mask are exceeded.

This important scientific advance addresses a problem that has been particularly spotlighted since the COVID-19 pandemic began: that of the CO2 that we rebreathe inside our facemasks. Wearing FFP2-type facemasks for any length of time produces a concentration of CO2 between the face and the mask that is higher than the normal atmospheric concentration (~0.04%), due to the gas we exhale when breathing. CO2 rebreathing can cause adverse health effects, even in healthy people, such as general malaise, headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, increased heart rate, muscle weakness, and drowsiness

Furthermore, these negative effects are known to be linked to both the duration of exposure and the concentration of the gas itself. For example, some health regulations recommend a maximum value of 0.5% CO2 in the working environment (averaged over an 8-hour day), or that a 30-minute exposure to 4% CO2 be considered very harmful to health.

“Since the global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization due to the spread of COVID-19, the universal use of facemasks has been recommended or imposed among the general population, in a bid to prevent the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2. Notwithstanding the generalized evidence in favour of facemasks to reduce transmission throughout the population, there is also broad agreement on the possible adverse effects caused by their prolonged use, mainly as a consequence of the increase in respiratory resistance and the re-inhalation of the CO2 that accumulates inside the mask”, explain the authors of this research.

The new FFP2 facemask designed at the UGR makes it possible to ascertain the level of CO2 rebreathed in real time, using a smartphone application. This method—a wearable gas-monitoring system that is characterized by its low cost, scalability, reliability, and convenience—represents a significant advance with important health benefits.

This study, published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, was conducted by the “ECsens” multidisciplinary research team pertaining to the Departments of Analytical Chemistry and Electronics and Computer Technology of the UGR. Together, they developed this wireless, real-time, portable gas-detection system that monitors CO2 levels inside the FFP2 facemask.

Sensors that measure specific parameters of interest

While standard facemasks simply act as air filters for the nasal and/or mouth passage, the inclusion of sensors to measure specific parameters of interest provides added value that improves their use and effectiveness, creating a new paradigm of ‘smart’ facemasks.

“The system we propose is based on inserting a flexible ‘tag’ into a standard FFP2 mask. This tag comprises an innovative, custom-developed opto-chemical CO2 sensor, together with the necessary signal-processing electronics. Both the sensor and the circuitry are fabricated onto a lightweight, flexible polymeric substrate, forming the so-called ‘sensing tag’, which causes no discomfort to the wearer”, note the authors. The tag does not require batteries as it is powered wirelessly by the near-field communication (NFC) link—similar to that used for making wireless payments, for example—of a smartphone, using an Android app. This custom-developed app is also used for data processing, alert management, and display and sharing of results.

The UGR scientists have conducted preliminary tests of this ‘smart facemask’ on both subjects conducting sedentary activity and those performing physical exercise. “Our results, which are in line with previous clinical trials, present CO2 values of between 2% during low-work-rate (sedentary) activities and a peak value of almost 5% during high-intensity physical exercise. These values are significantly higher than the typical range of 0.04%–0.1% of CO2 found in atmospheric air or in typical work environments that are considered healthy. Although the performance tests we carried out do not constitute a formal clinical trial, they are intended to give an indication of the potential of this system in the field of wearable sensors for non-invasive health monitoring”, the authors explain.

The scientists emphasize that this facemask is 100% environmentally friendly, as it does not require batteries, relying instead on standard wireless smartphone technology.

All of the aforementioned characteristics underline the potential multiple applications of this low-cost device in the fields of non-invasive health monitoring, pre-clinical research, and diagnostics using portable electronic devices. Other sensors can also be included, to detect other gases of interest.

Bibliography

Escobedo, P., Fernández-Ramos, M.D., López-Ruiz, N. et al. (2022) ‘Smart facemask for wireless CO2 monitoring’, Nat. Commun. 13, 72.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27733-3

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27733-3

Nature Portfolio—Behind the Paper: https://engineeringcommunity.nature.com/posts/smart-facemask-for-wireless-carbon-dioxide-monitoring

Image captions:

Overview of the NFC-based smart FFP2 facemask communicating with the smartphone

The flexible sensing tag, inside and outside the FFP2 facemask

The UGR researcher Pablo Escobedo Araque, one of the authors of this work

The researchers insert the sensing tag into a standard FFP2 mask, which requires no batteries as it is powered by wireless technology via smartphone

The team that conducted this research, at the entrance to the Research Centre for Information and Communications Technologies (CITIC-UGR)

Information video about this new device, produced by the UGR’s Communications Management Office:

Media enquiries:

Pablo Escobedo Araque
“Juan de La Cierva” Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CITIC-UGR, Department of Electronics and Computer Technology, University of Granada
Email: pabloescobedo@ugr.es

Luis Fermín Capitán-Vallvey
Professor, Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Granada
Email: lcapitan@ugr.es

Alberto J. Palma
Professor, Department of Electronics and Computer Technology, CITIC-UGR, IMUDS, University of Granada
Email: ajpalma@ugr.es
Tel.: +34 958 242300
ECsens research group website: http://wpd.ugr.es/~ecsens/
Twitter: @ECsens_UGR

The Granada ‘IFMIF-DONES’ project plays a critical role in the development of fusion power: New video shows how this will be achieved

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Fusion power is safe, clean, and practically unlimited—but is also one of humanity’s greatest challenges

The ‘IFMIF-DONES’ project is set to play a critical role in the journey toward fusion power

A new video showing how this will be achieved is now available:

In this video, the IFMIF-DONES Consortium explains the major role that the project is set to play in the journey toward fusion power, which derives from energy produced at the centre of the sun and the stars. Tapping into this clean and unlimited energy-source is one of humanity’s greatest challenges.

Europe and the entire international community have set their sights on producing energy from fusion by the mid-21st Century. The roadmap they have set out in order to achieve this goal features two key projects: ITER and DEMO. However, among others, there is one particular intermediate project that is also in the spotlight as it will play an essential part, positioning Europe and Spain at the forefront of scientific and technological powers in the field. Its name: IFMIF-DONES.

IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility DEMO Oriented Neutron Source) constitutes the vital link, prior to building the DEMO reactor, which is scheduled for the year 2050. The project will be the precursor to the commercial production of fusion and its consolidation as a viable energy-source. More specifically, the facility at Escúzar in the province of Granada will enable the irradiation conditions inside future fusion reactors to be simulated.

On a 100,000 m² site, IFMIF-DONES will house a range of facilities that are the only ones of their kind in the world. The construction of this facility alone is expected to take 10 years, at which point it will begin its operational phase for at least 20 years, working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Various scientific campaigns implemented throughout that period will bring us much closer to the long-awaited arrival of fusion power by the middle of the 21st Century.

In the global context, fusion power will be an essential factor in overcoming the global energy crisis by replacing existing sources that deplete the planet’s resources. This move constitutes one of the primary strategies among the Sustainable Development Goals proposed under the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

Link to the video: (The partial or total media use of this video is allowed, citing the IFMIF-DONES Consortium as the author.)

IFMIF-DONES PROJECT

Media enquiries:

Scientific Culture Unit (UCC)

Communications Management Office, University of Granada

Tel.: +34 958 244278 | Email: centeno@ugr.es

Temporary transfer tattoos, often used by children, can disrupt the skin’s protective barrier function

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Temporary transfer tattoos should be used with caution, according to a study by the University of Granada (UGR), especially among patients suffering from skin damage, such as those affected by psoriasis or atopic dermatitis

Temporary transfer tattoos, particularly popular among children, can damage the skin’s protective barrier. This is the finding of a study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine by UGR researchers José Pablo Serrano, Trinidad Montero, Agustín Buendía, and Salvador Arias.

Their study analysed the dermatological effects of permanent tattoos, produced using needles that penetrate the skin, and those of temporary transfer tattoos. The latter, explains José Pablo Serrano, are the most damaging: “The results showed that skin to which transfer tattoos had been applied presented lower temperatures, poorer hydration of the stratum corneum (epidermis), and worse overall antioxidant capacity, compared to non-tattooed skin controls.”

The levels of transepidermal water loss were higher in the case of transfer tattoos compared to non-tattooed skin, which may indicate that there is a certain degree of damage to the skin’s epidermal protective barrier.

These specialists warn that temporary transfer tattoos should be used with caution, especially in the case of patients suffering from some kind of skin damage, such as those affected by psoriasis or atopic dermatitis.

The study adds a new component to the scientific literature, since most of the adverse reactions related to tattoos that have been described are associated with permanent ones and are usually due to problems such as infections, granulomas, or allergic reactions caused by the pigments used or the tattooing procedure itself. In addition, other types of temporary tattoos, such as henna-based, which were not analysed in this study, have been associated with a large number of adverse allergic reactions.

Impact of permanent tattoos

So what are the effects of permanent tattoos? Serrano points to the “traumatic process of tattooing” that is capable of causing “adverse skin reactions”. However, according to this study, permanently tattooed skin does not differ significantly from non-tattooed skin. “We concluded that permanent tattoos do not seem to significantly affect the function of the epidermal barrier, something that transfer tattoos do,” explains Serrano.

Dermatologist recommendations

Given that, in general, the tattooing process is “traumatic and not without its complications”, as the specialists explain, they recommend exercising caution before deciding to get a tattoo. It is essential to read all the available information about the possible risks of infection or allergy, and also to choose professional parlours that offer quality standards and first-rate hygiene that help minimise these risks. “It would also be helpful to know which type of pigments they intend to use for your tattoos and any allergenic potential that these might have”, Serrano advises.

The experts conclude that anyone thinking about getting a tattoo and wanting advice on the possible dermatological effects should always consult a dermatologist first.

Bibliography

Serrano-Serra, J.-P.; Montero-Vilchez, T.; Buendia-Eisman, A.; and Arias-Santiago, S. (2021) “Epidermal Barrier Function and Skin Homeostasis in Skin with Permanent and Adhesive Tattoos: A Cross-Sectional Study”, J. Clin. Med. 10, 888. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10040888

Media enquiries:

Jose Pablo Serrano
Department of Dermatology
School of Medicine, University of Granada
Email: joserranoserra@correo.ugr.es

A study reveals the multiple benefits of the Mediterranean diet for patients with lupus, an autoimmune disease

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Scientists from the UGR have demonstrated that patients with lupus who follow a Mediterranean diet experience improvements in the clinical evolution of the disease, have a lower incidence of being overweight or obese, and present a lower cardiovascular risk

Scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) have demonstrated the multiple benefits of the Mediterranean diet for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), one of the most common systemic autoimmune diseases.

Their study, published in the journal Rheumatology, has revealed that lupus patients who follow a Mediterranean diet have a lower incidence of being overweight or obese, present a lower cardiovascular risk, and experience improvements in the clinical evolution of the disease (that is, lower disease activity rates and organ damage accrual).

The researchers also observed that the consumption of certain foods is beneficial for these patients. The combination of consuming anti-inflammatory foods characteristic of the Mediterranean diet (such as olive oil, fruits, vegetables, fish, and homemade vegetarian sautés) and avoiding foods outside of that diet pattern (such as processed meat products, high-sugar foods, and factory-baked pastries) was strongly associated with lower disease activity and organ damage among lupus patients.

Cardiovascular problems

Doctor Gabriela Pocovi Gerardino, dietician–nutritionist and first author of this work, explains: “The exact cause of lupus is still unknown, but we do know that it stems from the interaction of various factors such as a genetic predisposition, certain environmental factors (exposure to UV rays and toxins, lifestyle factors) or hormonal changes, among others”. This complex interaction gives rise to an autoimmune response that triggers inflammation and damage in many different organs and tissues. Lupus sufferers also carry an increased risk of cardiovascular problems.

In recent years, researchers have begun to highlight the possible role of diet in the development and evolution of autoimmune diseases, as in other chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, or cancer.
Since 2017, this UGR research group, led by Norberto Ortego Centeno, together with the Biohealth Research Institute in Granada (ibs.GRANADA), has been investigating the impact of diet on autoimmune diseases and particularly on lupus. As part of the LyDIMED Research Project “Lupus and Mediterranean Diet” (Pl-0523-2016 Department of Health, Junta de Andalucía), research has been conducted on the influence of diet and, specifically, the Mediterranean diet, on chronicity, severity, and cardiovascular risk in this autoimmune disease.

They have carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study in which the patient’s general lifestyle (dietary intake, body composition, level of physical activity, unhealthy habits) and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were assessed. A group of 300 patients with lupus from various hospitals in Andalusia (“San Cecilio” University Hospital, Granada; Jaén University Hospital Complex, Jaén; and “Poniente-El Ejido” Hospital, Almería) participated in the study.

Bearing in mind that most of the systemic autoimmune diseases, including lupus, are chronic and degenerative pathologies for which there is no cure, and that their treatment consists of symptom-control, “these results are highly relevant and could have a major impact. They lead us to advise that, together with medical treatment, nutritional support could be very useful for improving the evolution of lupus and its comorbidities”, concludes Dr. Pocovi-Gerardino.

Image caption:

Algunos miembros del equipo de investigación (Blanca Mª Rueda-Medina, Norberto Ortego-Centeno, Gabriela Pocovi-Gerardino y María Correa-Rodríguez) en la lectura de la tesis doctoral que incluyó este estudio

Some of the members of the research team (Blanca Mª Rueda-Medina, Norberto Ortego-Centeno, Gabriela Pocovi-Gerardino, and María Correa-Rodríguez) at the presentation of the doctoral thesis related to this study

Bibliography:

Gabriela Pocovi-Gerardino, María Correa-Rodríguez, José-Luis Callejas- Rubio, Raquel Ríos-Fernández, María Martín-Amada, María-Gracia Cruz-Caparro, Blanca Rueda-Medina, Norberto Ortego-Centeno (2021), “Beneficial effect of Mediterranean diet on disease activity and cardiovascular risk in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: A cross-sectional study”, Rheumatology, Jan 5, 60(1):160–9,
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32594173/

Media enquiries:

Norberto Ortego Centeno
Department of Medicine, University of Granada
Tel.: +34 958 244054 / 958 249021
Email: nortego@ugr.es

Experts find that the risks of COVID-19 vaccination are outweighed by the absence of complications due to the disease

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An international team of scientists, led by UGR researcher Antonio Hernández, has analysed the safety of the Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines

An international study, headed by Antonio Hernández, Professor of the Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology of the University of Granada (UGR), has reviewed the assessment reports of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) regarding the Coronavirus vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca.

The UGR scientists paid particular attention to the safety information from pre-clinical (animal) and clinical (phase-3 trials) dosing studies. They also considered the results of the mass vaccination campaigns in Spain and the United Kingdom to date.

Should we be concerned about the on-going vaccination drive? The principal investigator of this study, Antonio Hernández, clarifies the situation: “For our part, as the researchers, the answer is that we should not worry because the risk/benefit balance of implementing COVID-19 vaccination on a mass scale in the European Union is favourable. The benefits far outweigh the potential complications and long-term effects of actually having the disease”, he explains.

This conclusion is also valid even in light of the more serious incidents reported in the case of some vaccines, such as the blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, “which are extraordinarily rare, while similar thrombotic complications are much more frequent among those who contract the disease,” he continues.

In general, the most commonly-reported adverse effects following the administration of the vaccines involved local reactions at the injection site (discomfort in the arm and erythema), followed by non-specific systemic effects that occurred shortly after vaccination and resolved themselves within a few days, such as myalgia, chills, fatigue, headache, and fever.

Long-term studies

However, the study points to the continued paucity of information, on several fronts: long-term studies, interaction with other vaccines; the use of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy or breastfeeding; and their use in immunocompromised patients, as well as in subjects with comorbidities or autoimmune or inflammatory disorders.

“There is a need for detailed follow-up and monitoring assessments for continued vaccine safety surveillance, to determine the potential risks of the aforementioned adverse incidents or diseases,” says Hernández.

“It is important to bear in mind that the marketing authorisation granted by the EMA is only conditional, as long-term studies have yet to be carried out on animals or humans due to the need to develop and administer the vaccines urgently”, he notes.

Therefore, the EMA authorisation has given the green light to use these vaccines for emergency use and rapid roll-out only, since the authorities understand the benefits to outweigh the possible long-term risks.

Under the terms of the conditional marketing authorisation, long-term vaccine safety studies are mandatory, and these are currently in progress. Once finalised, the pharmaceutical companies must submit the results to the EMA for evaluation.

Bibliography:
Hernández, A.F., Calina, D., Poulas, K., Docea, A.O., and Tsatsakis, A.M. (2021), “Safety of COVID-19 vaccines administered in the EU: Should we be concerned?”, Toxicol Rep. 8: 871–9. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.04.003. Epub 2021 Apr 20. PMID: 33898273; PMCID: PMC8055532.

Media enquiries:
Antonio Hernandez Jerez
Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology
School of Medicine, University of Granada
University of Granada
Tel.: +34 958 24 99 27
Email: ajerez@ugr.es