Stress sensitivity and reading performance in Spanish: A study with children

This paper investigates the relationship between ability to detect changes in prosody and reading performance in Spanish. Participants were children aged 7–8 years. Their tasks consisted of reading words, reading non‐words, stressing non‐words and reproducing sequences of two, three or four non‐words by pressing the corresponding keys on the computer keyboard. Non‐word sequences were constructed with minimal non‐word pairs differing in a single phoneme (/kúpi/ ‐ /kúti/) or in the stress pattern (/mípa/ ‐ /mipá/). Results showed that performance on phoneme contrast sequences (e.g. /kúpi/ ‐ /kúti/) predicted word reading. In contrast, performance on stress contrast sequences (e.g. /mípa/ ‐ /mipá/) predicted non‐word reading, but only when two‐non‐word sequences were analysed. This suggests that stress sensitivity may be one of the factors related to reading fluency as most errors at reading non‐words consisted of false starts and pauses between syllables. Results also showed that stress sensitivity (scored in two non‐word sequences) predicted stress assignment, and that knowledge of stress rules predicted both word and non‐word reading. This suggests that stress sensitivity may help in learning stress rules, and that knowledge of stress rules is relevant for reading.     

Impact of question-answering tasks on search processes and reading comprehension

This study examined the effect of (a) high- and low-level questions and (b) reading the text before the questions asked on performance, delayed text recall, and deep text comprehension, as well as on specific text-inspection patterns. Participants were 37 undergraduate students who answered either high- or low-level questions using the software Read&Answer to read and answer questions on the computer screen. Additionally, half of the sample read first a text and then answered the questions (reading-first condition), whereas the other half answered the questions without having read the text in advance (no-reading-first condition). All participants had the text available to search for the answer. Results indicated that high-level questions facilitated deep comprehension but not immediate performance or delayed recall of text, independently of the reading condition, and that high- and low-level questions differentially affected text-inspection patterns.     

Learning Disabilities in Guatemala and Spain: A Cross‐National Study of the Prevalence and Cognitive Processes Associated with Reading and Spelling Disabilities

The main purposes of this research were twofold. We examined the samenesses about learning disabilities (LD) in Guatemala and Spain, two countries with the same language but cultural, political, and educational differences, first analyzing data about the prevalence of reading and spelling disabilities in Guatemala City and the Spanish region of the Canary Islands. The focus of the second study was to determine whether there are cross‐national patterns of significant differences in cognitive processes associated with reading and spelling disabilities from a developmental approach in these two cultural contexts. We found some differences in the prevalence of specific LD in reading between both countries but we did not find significant differences between Guatemalan and Spanish reading‐disabled children in cognitive processes that are involved in reading and spelling acquisition in spite of the cultural and educational differences between the two countries.     

Advances in urinary protein biomarkers for urogenital and non-urogenital pathologies

The discovery of protein biomarkers that reflect the biological state of the body is of vital importance to disease management. Urine is an ideal source of biomarkers that provides a non-invasive approach to diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of diseases. Consequently, the study of the human urinary proteome has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, with many studies being published. This review focuses on urinary protein biomarkers that have shown potential, in initial studies, for diseases affecting the urogenital tract, specifically chronic kidney disease and prostate cancer, as well as other non-urogenital pathologies such as breast cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis and osteoarthritis. PubMed was searched for peer-reviewed literature on the subject, published in the last 10 years. The keywords used were “urine, biomarker, protein, and/or prostate cancer/breast cancer/chronic kidney disease/diabetes/atherosclerosis/osteoarthritis”. Original studies on the subject, as well as a small number of reviews, were analysed including the strengths and weaknesses, and we summarized the performance of biomarkers that demonstrated potential. One of the biggest challenges found is that biomarkers are often shared by several pathologies so are not specific to one disease. Therefore, the trend is shifting towards implementing a panel of biomarkers, which may increase specificity. Although there have been many advances in urinary proteomics, these have not resulted in similar advancements in clinical practice due to high costs and the lack of large data sets. In order to translate these potential biomarkers to clinical practice, vigorous validation is needed, with input from industry or large collaborative studies.Key words: urine, protein, biomarker     

The relevance of intellectual capital disclosure: empirical evidence from Spanish universities

The reporting of intellectual capital (IC) in higher education institutions is of vital importance, mainly owing to the fact that knowledge is the main output and input in these institutions. Furthermore, the increasing social concern about establishing procedures of accountability and ensuring information transparency in public universities prompted us to consider the need to disclose information on their IC. In this study, we developed a questionnaire that was sent to members of the Social Councils of Spanish public universities in order to identify the intangible elements about which university stakeholders demand most information. It was also used to see which groups of universities have stakeholders who are more proactive to the disclosure of IC. Our results represent a starting point for public universities to identify the most commonly requested information about IC. Universities can then develop an IC report that fits their own characteristics and environment.