Teaching and training cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) through simulation is a priority in Health Sciences degrees. Although CPR is taught as a simulation, it can still be stressful for the trainees since it resembles a real-life circumstance. The aim of this study was to assess the physiological effects and anxiety levels of health sciences undergraduates when faced with CPR process in different temperatures (room temperature, extremely cold, or extremely warm). This was a descriptive cross-sectional before–after study conducted during the 2018/2019 academic year with 59 students registered in the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Castilla-La Mancha University (UCLM). State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaires were distributed among the students before and after the CPR simulation. We found greater level of situational anxiety in undergraduates faced with extreme adverse temperature scenarios (extreme heat and cold), especially in conditions of extreme heat compared to controlled environment (at room temperature). We discovered differences regarding sex, in which men scored 6.4 ± 5.55 points (STAI after CPR score) and women scored 10.4 ± 7.89 points (STAI after CPR score). Furthermore, there was less lactate in blood, before and during the event in individuals with anxiety. In addition, beginning in Minute 7, we observed a remarkable decrease (but not significant) in the performance of rescuers with anxiety. Programs targeted at promoting coping mechanisms to reduce anxiety before a critical clinic situation should be implemented in academic training.

Background: After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social restriction measures were implemented, among them, the adaptation of university teaching to online modality until the end of the 2019–2020 school year in order to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. At the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year, the Spanish universities opted for face-to-face teaching. To that end, different special measures and adaptations were implemented in higher education facilities, aimed at minimizing the risk of infection and ensuring safe face-to-face learning. The objective was to explore and describe the level of fear of first-year students after the start of in-person classes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The sample was 185 first-year students who were evaluated on the first day of class. For that purpose, an ad-hoc questionnaire was administered to collect demographic information and to find the level of fear and concern. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used to assess the severity of the participants’ fear of the pandemic situation. Results: The results indicate that participating university population does not report fear of the virus, but they describe various psychosomatic characteristics, such as increased pulse rate and heart palpitations (p = 0.008) and insomnia (p = 0.05) when they think about infection with coronavirus. Nevertheless, when data are disaggregated by gender, we observe differences specifically in women (83.2%), such as fear (p = 0.006) and sweaty hands when they think of the virus (p = 0.023). Conclusions: Incoming university freshmen do not express concern or fear of potential infection with COVID-19, but they are concerned about family transmission after beginning face-to-face classes.

Background Socks are an important element in running and can help to maintain the optimal conditions of warmth and moisture for the foot. Although socks with bioceramic fiber could be capable of having an antiperspirant and antimicrobial effect, there is little scientific evidence for such potential. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effect and the response, with regards to the foot’s perspiration, of a sock with bioceramic fibers, comparing the results with those of a cotton-made control sock. Methods A group of 33 male runners who were about to run a half-marathon race were asked to wear the bioceramic sock (Action®) on their left foot and the control sock (Kalenji Eliofeel Warm®) on their right foot. Before the race, a microbiological culture was taken on the skin under the fifth metatarsal head, followed by a measurement of the skin moisture on five anatomical zones of the foot. These analyses were repeated at the end of the race. Results After the race, there were significantly fewer bacteria on bioceramic socks than on the control (0.5 ± 1.2 × 104 versus 1.6 ± 2.3 × 104 colony-forming units/cm2, respectively, p = 0.022). At midfoot, dorsum, and the fifth metatarsal base, there was significantly less moisture after the race on the bioceramic sock than in the control (p = 0.011, p = 0.040, p = 0.023, respectively). Conclusion Socks made of bioceramic fibers showed antiperspirant and bacteriostatic characteristics that could help to maintain the normal physiology of the skin of the foot, which could contribute to preventing dermatological diseases.

Onychomycosis is one of the most frequent reasons for visiting podiatrist clinics. Complementary tests and the accurate identification of the infectious agents are key issues for a successful treatment of onychomycosis. This is particularly important when lifestyle, age and immunodepressed patients increase the prevalence of non-dermatophyte fungal infection. In this paper, we describe issues related to onychomycosis prevalence in a population of patients, mostly with rural lifestyles, visiting a podiatry clinic in a rural area of Spain. A total of 51 cases were studied with an average age of 65.96 ± 21.28 years (the youngest being 16 years and the oldest being 95 years). Fungal agents were isolated using conventional sampling and microbiological culture techniques. The results obtained with these techniques were compared with the results obtained with a direct methodology using molecular biology, by PCR and nucleotide sequencing of the ITS-5.8S rDNA fragment. The classical culture methodology confirmed the infection in 76.5% of the samples (n = 39), while the PCR confirmed the infection in 84.3% (n = 51) of the nails, although the difference between these results did not show statistical significance (p = 0.388). We found a high variability in agents, with more yeasts than dermatophytes as etiological agents of onychomycosis. However, only among individuals older than 65 years, was the difference between yeasts (82%) and dermatophytes (18%) was statistically significant (p = 0.004). Among the agents of non-dermatophyte onychomycosis, we found predominantly fungi (yeasts) of the Candida genus, interestingly with no isolates of Candida albicans, and moulds of the Aspergillus genus.

No abstract