PASOS PARA LA CREACIÓN Y EL USO DE UN CORPUS DE INGLÉS TURÍSTICO

      One of the current trends in the tuition of foreign languages is the learner-centred approach, based on the learner’s needs. Material designers all over the world are constantly developing new materials with which to face the challenge of tackling English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses.       One of the tools, which may be used for such aim, is the linguistic corpus.       In the present study the use of some of the theoretical aspects of Corpus Linguistics are focused on the advantages it may imply in the teaching of English for the Tourist Industry, one of the current areas of ESP.       This theoretical approach on the creation of the corpus of English for Tourism is only meant as the preliminary step for a future attempt to compile it.      Una de las tendencias actuales en la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras es el método basado en las necesidades del alumno. Los creadores de material de estudio de todo el mundo desarrollan constantemente nuevas herramientas con las que enfrentarse a los cursos de Inglés para Fines Específicos (IFE). Una de tales herramientas es el corpus lingüístico.       En este estudio el uso de algunos aspectos teóricos de la lingüística del corpus se centran en las ventajas que pueden suponer para la enseñanza de un tipo de IFE, el Inglés para Turismo.       Este enfoque teórico de la creación de un corpus de inglés turístico sólo pretende ser un marco previo para cualquier futuro intento de crearlo

Inflammation: The Link between Neural and Vascular Impairment in the Diabetic Retina and Therapeutic Implications

Diabetic retinopathy; Inflammation; RetinaRetinopatia diabètica; Inflamació; RetinaRetinopatía diabética; Inflamación; RetinaThe etiology of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is complex, multifactorial and compromises all the elements of the retinal neurovascular unit (NVU). This diabetic complication has a chronic low-grade inflammatory component involving multiple inflammatory mediators and adhesion molecules. The diabetic milieu promotes reactive gliosis, pro-inflammatory cytokine production and leukocyte recruitment, which contribute to the disruption of the blood retinal barrier. The understanding and the continuous research of the mechanisms behind the strong inflammatory component of the disease allows the design of new therapeutic strategies to address this unmet medical need. In this context, the aim of this review article is to recapitulate the latest research on the role of inflammation in DR and to discuss the efficacy of currently administered anti-inflammatory treatments and those still under development.This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the projects ICI20/00129 and PI22/01670 and co-funded by the European Union. Hugo Ramos is the recipient of a grant from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (BES-2017-081690)

Evaluation of herringbone carbon nanotubes-modified electrodes for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid and uric acid

An array of gold interdigitated microelectrodes (Au-IDA) has been modified by casting herringbone carbon nanotubes (hCNTs) producing a new electrochemical sensor suitable for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) in PBS (0.25 M, pH 7.0). The sensor showed good electrocatalytic properties for both analytes with low working potentials, linear ranges between 0 and 600 μM for AA, and between 0 and 420 μM for UA. The empirical limits of detection (LODs) and the limits of quantification (LOQs) for both analytes were 15 μM and 50 μM, respectively. Moreover, UA does not interfere in the measurement of AA and vice versa. Furthermore, the presence of common analytes in physiological fluids as glucose, dopamine and epinephrine do not interfere in the quantification neither AA nor UA.This work is supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MAT2016-76595-R) and FEDER. A. Abellán also thanks the Generalitat Valenciana for her fellowship

Evaluación de un modelo de regresión logística de lluvias intensas en territorio valenciano con el episodio de octubre de 2000

Ponencia presentada en: II Congreso de la Asociación Española de Climatología “El tiempo del clima”, celebrado en Valencia del 7 al 9 de junio de 2001[ES]En este trabajo se aplican al episodio de lluvias de Octubre-2000 los modelos de regresión logística desarrollados en ARMENGOT (2000) para la predicción de lluvias intensas en territorio valenciano. Para un umbral del 50% de nivel de probabilidad (el más exigente de los aplicados) el acierto para los 6 días considerados ha sido del 100%. El contraste de los modelos ha llegado a discriminar satisfactoriamente tanto la predicción de lluvias intensas como la de volúmenes elevados: el día 21-X-2000 es un caso en que los modelos hubieran predicho presencia de lluvias intensas (>100 mm/día) y ausencia de volúmenes elevados (<400 hm3), lo que realmente sucedió.[EN]The logistic regression models developed in ARMENGOT (2000) to forecast heavy rainfalls in the Valencian country are he re applied to the October 2000 rainy event. For a 50% probability threshold (the most demanding level among the ones applied), the accuracy for the six considered days is 100%. The contrast between the two tested models allows to discern properly the forecast of both reavy rainfalls and high volumes of precipitation: October 21st 2000 is a case in which the models would have forecast presence of heavy rain (more than 100 mm/day) and lack of high volumes (less than 400 hm3), what really happenned.Este trabajo ha sido realizado con financiación de la Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT) a través del proyecto CLI95-1890 "Caracterización de las precipitaciones intensas como riesgo y/o recurso en las principales cuencas valencianas"

Distribution of alien tetrapods in the Iberian Peninsula

We present a dataset that assembles occurrence records of alien tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) in the Iberian Peninsula, a coherent biogeographically unit where introductions of alien species have occurred for millennia. These data have important potential applications for ecological research and management, including the assessment of invasion risks, formulation of preventive and management plans, and research at the biological community level on alien species. This dataset summarizes inventories and data sources on the taxonomy and distribution of alien tetrapods in the Iberia Peninsula, comprising known locations from published literature, expert knowledge and citizen science platforms. An expert-based assessment process allowed the identification of unreliable records (misclassification or natural dispersion from native range), and the classification of species according to their status of reproduction in the wild. Distributional data was harmonized into a common area unit, the 10 × 10 km Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system (n = 6,152 cells). The year of observation and/or year of publication were also assigned to the records. In total, we assembled 35,940 unique distribution records (UTM × species × Year) for 253 species (6 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 218 birds and 13 mammals), spanning between 1912 and 2020. The species with highest number of distribution records were the Mediterranean painted frog Discoglossus pictus (n = 59 UTM), the pond slider Trachemys scripta (n = 471), the common waxbill Estrilda astrild (n = 1,275) and the house mouse Mus musculus (n = 4,043), for amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, respectively. Most alien species recorded are native to Africa (33%), followed by South America (21%), Asia (19%), North America (12%) and Oceania (10%). Thirty-six species are classified by IUCN as threatened in their native range, namely 2 Critically Endangered (CR), 6 Endangered (EN), 8 Vulnerable (VU), and 20 species Near Threatened (NT). Species maps are provided in DataSet1, as well R code and GIS layers to update them as new records are obtained.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia BPD/115968/2016, UIDB/50027/2020, UID/AMB/50017/201

A Mediterranean-Diet-Based Nutritional Intervention for Children with Prediabetes in a Rural Town: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Prediabetes is a pathological condition in which the blood glucose concentration is higher than normal concentrations but lower than those considered necessary for a type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosis. Various authors have indicated that the Mediterranean Diet is one of the dietary patterns with the most healthy outcomes, reducing high levels of HbA1c, triglycerides, BMI, and other anthropometric parameters. The main objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of the nutritional intervention for children with prediabetes, including the effectiveness of this nutritional education regarding anthropometric parameters. A randomized pilot trial with two groups, an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG), using intervention in dietary habits with nutritional reinforcement was carried out on 29 children with prediabetes from a rural area. The nutritional intervention was analyzed through astrophotometric and glycemic measurements and validated surveys. Results: The results indicated improvement in eating habits, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, anthropometric measurements, mainly body mass index and perimeters, and analytical parameters, with a significant decrease in glycated hemoglobin in the EG compared to the CG (p < 0.001). Although the results showed that both groups’ anthropometric parameters improved, a more significant decrease was observed in the experimental group compared to the control

Selective interaction of PEGylated polyglutamic acid nanocapsules with cancer cells in a 3D model of a metastatic lymph node

Background Metastases are the most common reason of cancer death in patients with solid tumors. Lymph nodes, once invaded by tumor cells, act as reservoirs before cancer cells spread to distant organs. To address the limited access of intravenously infused chemotherapeutics to the lymph nodes, we have developed PEGylated polyglutamic acid nanocapsules (PGA-PEG NCs), which have shown ability to reach and to accumulate in the lymphatic nodes and could therefore act as nanotransporters. Once in the lymphatics, the idea is that these nanocapsules would selectively interact with cancer cells, while avoiding non-specific interactions with immune cells and the appearance of subsequent immunotoxicity. Results The potential of the PGA-PEG NCs, with a mean size of 100 nm and a negative zeta potential, to selectively reach metastatic cancer cells, has been explored in a novel 3D model that mimics an infiltrated lymph node. Our 3D model, a co-culture of cancer cells and lymphocytes, allows performing experiments under dynamic conditions that simulate the lymphatic flow. After perfusion of the nanocarriers, we observe a selective interaction with the tumor cells. Efficacy studies manifest the need to develop specific therapies addressed to treat metastatic cells that can be in a dormant state. Conclusions We provide evidence of the ability of PGA-PEG NCs to selectively interact with the tumor cells in presence of lymphocytes, highlighting their potential in cancer therapeutics. We also state the importance of designing precise in vitro models that allow performing mechanistic assays, to efficiently develop and evaluate specific therapies to confront the formation of metastasisThe authors acknowledge financial support given by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) (CP12/03150, PIE13/00024 and PI15/00828), ERA-NET EuroNanoMed 2009 (Lymphotarg PI09/2670) and EuroNanoMed 2013 (053 NICHE). The first author also acknowledges a fellowship received from the Fundación Ramón Domínguez, Spain. Abellan-Pose also acknowledges a fellowship from the Biomedical Sciences and Health Technologies Doctoral School-University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)S

Au-IDA microelectrodes modified with Au-doped graphene oxide for the simultaneous determination of uric acid and ascorbic acid in urine samples

An electrochemical sensor based on graphene oxide decorated with gold nanoparticles has been prepared for the simultaneous quantification of uric acid (UA) and ascorbic acid (AA) in urine samples. The gold interdigitated microelectrodes array (Au-IDA) has been modified using graphene oxide doped with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs-GO/Au-IDA), which was characterized by TEM, FE-SEM, XPS and cyclic voltammetry. Excellent results were obtained for the separate quantification of UA and AA by chronoamperometry. The electrochemical sensor exhibits limits of detection (LODs) of 1.4 μM and 0.62 μM for AA and UA, respectively, limits of quantification (LOQs) of 4.6 μM (AA) and 2.0 μM (UA), and the working ranges obtained were between 4.6 μM and 193 μM for AA and between 2 μM and 1.05 mM for UA. The repeatability was studied at 20 μM providing coefficients of variation of 16% for AA and 13% for UA. Moreover, UA does not interfere in the measurement of AA and viceversa (provided that the concentration of UA is equal to or higher than 450 μM in the latter case). For lower concentrations of UA, an easy and fast strategy to quantify both analytes is presented. The good electrocatalytic activity achieved with this material makes it useful for the quantification of AA and UA in biological fluids. Other analytes like glucose, dopamine and epinephrine have been investigated. The results allow us to conclude that they do not interfere in the quantification of AA and UA in PBS (0.25 M, pH 7.0). Human urine samples have been analyzed using the method proposed, contaning AA and UA concentration levels of (0.588 ± 0.002) mM and (1.43 ± 0.02) mM, respectively, which are in the concentration range of these analytes in urine samples for healthy people.This work is supported by the Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo2013/038 and PROMETEOII/2014/010) and by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MAT201676595-R). A. Abellán-Llobregat also thanks the Generalitat Valenciana for her fellowship

Glyphosate dynamics prediction in a soil under conventional and no-tillage systems during the crop cycle

Simulation models are efficient tools to predict the fate of different solutes in agricultural soils. This work aimed to compare measured and predicted glyphosate and AMPA (aminomethyl phosphonic acid; its main metabolite) contents in a soil under no-tillage (NT), and conventional tillage (CT); and to compare the predictions considering constant and time-variable hydraulic properties. Additionally, we evaluated the ability of the model to predict glyphosate and AMPA accumulation during the crop cycle. Hydrus 1-D code was used to predict the glyphosate and AMPA dynamics, considering constant and time-variable hydraulic properties during the studied crop cycle. In general, the prediction of glyphosate and AMPA distribution along the soil profile using HYDRUS 1-D was satisfactory; however, an overestimation of both compounds was observed in the first 0.20 m of the soil probably because of the preferential flow. Additionally, the accumulation process of glyphosate and AMPA in the soil during the crop cycle was underestimated by HYDRUS 1-D, as compared with the observed field data. Simulated data show that higher values of K0 increase the risk of glyphosate and AMPA vertical transport. The inclusion of temporal variation of hydraulic properties in glyphosate and AMPA simulation did not improve the simulation performance, showing that the model is more sensitive to the parameters related to the solutes. From the obtained results, HYDRUS 1-D code allowed to predict glyphosate and AMPA dynamics reasonably well in agricultural soils of the Argentinean Pampas region and is a potential model to give support in the analysis of the environmental risk of leaching and soil contamination.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale