Lethal and Sublethal Responses of Hydropsyche pellucidula (Insecta, Trichoptera) to Commercial Polypropylene Microplastics after Different Preconditioning Treatments

Microplastics (MPs) pose biological and chemical hazards in aquatic and terrestrial food webs across the globe. Research on microplastic contamination has long focused on marine ecosystems, whereas the toxicological impact on freshwater organisms is still little explored. In this study, the lethal and sublethal response of the freshwater macroinvertebrate Hydropsyche pellucidula exposed to polypropylene MPs after different pre-conditioning treatments was assessed. Field samples were collected in a riverine system (Vipacco river; northeast Italy) to assess the characteristics of the MPs in the aquatic environment Both water and sediment were contaminated by MPs (3.73 ± 2.11 items m−3 per min and 3.33 ± 4.16 items dm−3, respectively). The chemical MPs composition included polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyurethane, polyamide, polypropylene, and polyethylene. Polypropylene (PP), although not the most abundant polymer recorded in the study area, was preferred over the other types according to its abundance in freshwater and H. pellucidula feeding behavior. A housing test was performed to recreate the natural conditions of larvae sampled for a reliable response to the ecotoxicological tests. The microplastics underwent either preconditioning with Vipacco River water (PP-river) and surfactant Triton X-100 (PP-sf) or no pre-treatment (PP). Submersion of microplastics in 10 µg L−1 of surfactant solution for 24 h was sufficient to induce consistent spectral changes and modify the chemical profile of the plastic surface. Mortality rate differed according to treatment: PP and PP-river > positive control > PP-sf > negative control. Integrated biomarker response (IBRv2) and analysis of oxidative stress biomarker levels showed a greater response of superoxide dismutase and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) in larvae treated with PP conditioned in surfactant. Our findings enhance knowledge on the toxicity of PP and conditioning phases on H. pellucidula larvae.This research received no external funding.Peer reviewe

Age-Related Changes in the Daily Rhythm of Photoreceptor Functioning and Circuitry in a Melatonin-Proficient Mouse Strain

Retinal melatonin is involved in the modulation of many important retinal functions. Our previous studies have shown that the viability of photoreceptors and ganglion cells is reduced during aging in mice that lack melatonin receptor type 1. This demonstrates that melatonin signaling is important for the survival of retinal neurons. In the present study, we investigate the effects of aging on photoreceptor physiology and retinal organization in CH3-f+/+ mice, a melatonin proficient mouse strain. Our data indicate that the amplitude of the a and b waves of the scotopic and photopic electroretinogram decreases with age. Moreover, the daily rhythm in the amplitude of the a- and b- waves is lost during the aging process. Similarly, the scotopic threshold response is significantly affected by aging, but only when it is measured during the night. Interestingly, the changes observed in the ERGs are not paralleled by relevant changes in retinal morphological features, and administration of exogenous melatonin does not affect the ERGs in C3H-f+/+ at 12 months of age. This suggests that the responsiveness of the photoreceptors to exogenous melatonin is reduced during aging

Genealogies. Identitats tèxtils

Del 28 de gener al 25 de març de 2018. Espai Zero, Centre de Documentació i Museu Tèxtil de TerrassaLa present mostra està formada per un conjunt d’obres que parteixen de la matèria tèxtil per fer arribar visions plurals sobre les relacions de gènere a la nostra societat, desenvolupades dins de la Facultat de Belles Arts de la Universitat de Barcelona. Aquest tèxtil, que es confereix a l’entrellaçar fils independents, s’ubica en l’àmbit domèstic i l’engendra un sector femení durant molts segles; només des d’algunes dècades ençà s’inclou com a matèria partícip i reivindicada en l´art. Aquest canvi es produeix críticament amb la flongesa d’una roba que no encaixa amb els materials rígids ni amb els cànons tradicionals que aquest art havia establert fins aleshores; la seva aparició en una sala expositiva qüestiona, així, les bases dels seus estàndards històrics. Sense exaltar la seducció pel material, el punt de partida de la proposta es centra en el tèxtil com a recurs per posar en comú enfocaments antagònics sobre les necessitats de reconèixer identitats que es troben als marges d´un camí social comú; per treure a la llum aquestes presències implícites, o bé per esquerdar les jer arquies ja assentades sobre el gènere o la sexualitat. En totes les seves possibilitats apareixerà, el tèxtil, ajustat o amorf, fràgil o robust, tensat o tan alliberat com ho són els plantejaments conceptuals i artístics amb els quals s’enfilen les obres d’aquesta exposició

Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ‘‘Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

Advances in Computational Social Science and Social Simulation

Aquesta conferència és la celebració conjunta de la "10th Artificial Economics Conference AE", la "10th Conference of the European Social Simulation Association ESSA" i la "1st Simulating the Past to Understand Human History SPUHH".Conferència organitzada pel Laboratory for Socio­-Historical Dynamics Simulation (LSDS-­UAB) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.Readers will find results of recent research on computational social science and social simulation economics, management, sociology,and history written by leading experts in the field. SOCIAL SIMULATION (former ESSA) conferences constitute annual events which serve as an international platform for the exchange of ideas and discussion of cutting edge research in the field of social simulations, both from the theoretical as well as applied perspective, and the 2014 edition benefits from the cross-fertilization of three different research communities into one single event. The volume consists of 122 articles, corresponding to most of the contributions to the conferences, in three different formats: short abstracts (presentation of work-in-progress research), posters (presentation of models and results), and full papers (presentation of social simulation research including results and discussion). The compilation is completed with indexing lists to help finding articles by title, author and thematic content. We are convinced that this book will serve interested readers as a useful compendium which presents in a nutshell the most recent advances at the frontiers of computational social sciences and social simulation researc

Altimetry for the future: building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the “Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

Regulació bancària: requeriments del capital

[cat] En el següent treball parlarem de la regulació bancària que tracta d’uns requisits fets per les entitats bancàries amb certes normes, restriccions i directrius. Aquests reglaments es desplegaran en quatre grans grups: els requisits de capital, els requisits de liquiditat, l’apalancament i la Comissió del Consell en el Reglament. Un dels punts importants que se desenvoluparà són els Acords de Basilea, en representants d’entitats centrals i autoritats reguladores, totes elles supervisades pel Comitè de Supervisió Bancària de Basilea. Després, amb els Acords de Basilea formats pels següents procediments; Basilea I, Basilea II i Basilea III. També, es comentaran les noves modificacions produïdes per la pandèmia Covid-19. Per finalitzar, es visualitzaran tres entitats diferents dins el territori espanyol regulades pel Consell Europeu, i s’observarà com introdueixen alguns dels seus requisits exposats dins el seu sistema pel Banc Central juntament amb la UE.[eng] The following paper discusses banking regulation which deals with requirements set for banks with certain rules, restrictions and guidelines. These regulations are deployed in four main groups: capital requirements, liquidity requirements, leverage and the Board Committee on Regulation. One of the important points to be developed are the Basel Accords, representing central institutions and regulatory authorities, all of which are overseen by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. In addition, the Basel Accords will be discussed, consisting of the following procedures: Basel I, Basel II and Basel III. Furthermore, the new modifications produced by the Covid-19 pandemic will be discussed. Finally, three different entities within the Spanish territory regulated by the Council of Europe will be visualised, and it will be observed how some of their requirements are introduced within their system by the Central Bank together with the EU

Ús de les TIC en Educació Infantil en infant amb TEA

[cat] El present estudi es centra amb analitzar la utilització de les Tecnologies de la Informació i Comunicació (TIC) en infants de segon cicle d’infantil que presenten Trastorn de l’Espectre Autista (TEA). Per una part, primer es presenta una revisió de la literatura científica sobre que són les TIC, la seva importància a educació infantil i els beneficis i inconvenients que tenen. A continuació es fa una explicació sobre el TEA, criteris de diagnòstic i principals característiques. Les TIC ofereixen als infants amb TEA una sèrie de beneficis com l’estimulació dels sentits, una millora de les habilitats social i del llenguatge i comunicació, per tal d’afavorir la seva integració i relació amb els altres. L’altra part del treball es centra en un conjunt de diferents d’aplicacions educatives i una sèrie d’experiències concretes existents sobre aquest tema.[eng] The present study is focused on analysing the use of Information Technology and Communication (ITC) with children of second cycle of infancy with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). First of all, I present a present a scientific literature review about the ITC, the importance of ICT for children’s education and the benefits and disadvantages that they have. Secondly, I make a little presentation about the ASD, diagnostic criteria and main characteristics. The ICT offers all children with ASD a couple of benefits like the stimulating children senses, an improvement of the social skills, language and communication, because we want to improve a better relationship with the other people. Finally, the last part of my project is focused on a set of different educational apps and a series of concrete experiences on this subject

Ser mestre, malgrat el franquisme: testimonis etnogràfics d’una pràctica escolar

L’article que presentem ens acosta a l’arxiu etnogràfic del mestre Andreu Bosch Anglada. A través de la seva localització i anàlisi posterior, hem pogut aproximar-nos a algunes de les pràctiques desenvolupades per aquest docent entre 1939 i 1970 a les escoles d’Alaior i Ciutadella (Menorca, Illes Balears). La nostra hipòtesi parteix de la idea que la pràctica escolar està més mediatitzada per la motivació, formació i experiència pedagògica de cada mestre que no pels condicionants sociopolítics del moment. És precisament a partir dels estudis etnogràfics, elaborats a partir dels materials que reflecteixen la pràctica quotidiana, com més bé podem observar la diferència que hi ha entre la normativa que regula el funcionament de l’escola i el que realment acaba succeint dins les aules. A partir del conjunt documental localitzat intentarem d’aproximar-nos a la pràctica desenvolupada pel mestre Andreu Bosch en temps de la dictadura franquista, fet que també ens permetrà d’il·lustrar el potencial que tenen per a l’estudi històric de l’escola els arxius que els mestres mateixos han confeccionat gràcies a alguns dels testimonis que reflecteixen la seva pràctica diària. Com a conclusions principals de l’estudi assenyalem que, tot i la dificultat per localitzar-los, aquests llegats documentals personals són un testimoni que té un gran valor per conèixer tant les pràctiques docents com alguns dels canvis i continuïtats que tingueren lloc en el dia a dia de l’aula.Paraules clau: història de l’educació, arxiu etnogràfic, pràctica escolar, franquisme,Illes Balears, MenorcaThis article brings us closer to the ethnographic archives of the teacher Andreu Bosch Anglada. Once located, their subsequent analysis makes it possible for us to approach some of the practices developed by this teacher between 1939 and 1970 in the schools of Alaior and Ciutadella (Menorca, Balearic Islands). Our hypothesis is based on the idea that school practice is more conditioned by the motivation, training and pedagogical experience of each teacher than by the social and political situation of the moment. It is precisely from studies of ethnographic character, carried out on the basis of those materials that reflect everyday practice, that we can perceive best the difference between the regulations governing the running of the school and what really happens in the classroom. Through the collection of documents found out we will try to analyze the practice used by the teacher Andreu Bosch during Franco’s dictatorship, a fact that will allow us to illustrate the potential it has for the historical study of school files that teachers themselves have compiled, based on some of the testimonies that reflect their daily practice. As main conclusions of the study, it is pointed out that, despite the difficulties in locating them, these documentary sets, of a personal nature, are a testimony of great value to know both the teaching practices and some of the changes and things that remained the same which took place in the daily classroom activity.Keywords: History of education, ethnographic archives, school practice, Franco’s regime, Balearic Islands, Menorca.El artículo que presentamos nos acerca al archivo etnográfico del maestro Andreu Bosch Anglada. A través de su localización, y posterior análisis, hemos podido aproximarnos a algunas de las prácticas desarrolladas por este docente entre 1939 y 1970 en las escuelas de Alaior y Ciutadella (Menorca, Illes Balears). Nuestra hipótesis parte de la idea que la práctica escolar está más condicionada por la motivación, formación y experiencia pedagógica de cada maestro que no por los condicionantes sociopolíticos del momento. Es precisamente a partir de los estudios de carácter etnográfico, elaborados en base a aquellos materiales que reflejan la práctica cotidiana, como mejor podemos observar la diferencia que hay entre la normativa que regula el funcionamiento de la escuela y aquello que realmente acontece dentro de las aulas. A través del conjunto documental localizado intentaremos aproximarnos a la práctica desarrollada por el maestro Andreu Bosch durante la dictadura franquista, hecho que nos permitirá ilustrar el potencial que tienen para el estudio histórico de la escuela los archivos que los propios maestros han confeccionado en base a algunos de los testimonios que reflejan su práctica diaria. Como principales conclusiones del estudio se apunta que, a pesar de las dificultades para su localización, estos conjuntos documentales, de carácter personal, son un testimonio de gran valor para conocer tanto las prácticas docentes como algunos de los cambios y continuidades que tuvieron lugar en el día a día del aula.Palabras clave: historia de la educación, archivo etnográfico, práctica escolar, franquismo, Illes Balears, Menorca

Els reptes de l’educació permanent de persones adultes al segle XXI

L’educació de persones adultes ha de donar resposta a les exigències que planteja la societat del segle XXI en relació amb la necessitat de formació al llarg de la vida d’una persona. Aquest article analitza la situació del sistema d’educació de persones adultes a les Illes Balears i descriu el procés que s’ha generat per a l’elaboració d’un pla estratègic d’educació permanent de persones adultes a partir de les recomanacions de la Unió Europea per permetre a totes les persones l’adquisició de les competències necessàries per participar com a ciutadans actius en la societat de la informació i en el mercat de treball.La educación de personas adultas debe dar respuesta a las exigencias que plantea la sociedad del siglo XXI en cuanto a la necesidad de formación a lo largo de toda la vida de una persona. Este artículo analiza la situación del sistema de educación personas adultas en las Islas Baleares y describe el proceso que se ha generado para la elaboración de un plan estratégico de educación permanente de personas adultas a partir de las recomendaciones de la Unión Europea para permitir a todas las personas la adquisición de las competencias necesarias para participar como ciudadanos activos en la sociedad de la información y en el mercado de trabajo