Representaciones en torno a las competencias de los formadores de profesores de biología de la provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Las exigencias actuales para integrarse en la sociedad del conocimiento ponen en crisis los contenidos formativos del profesorado. Esto nos llevó a estudiar el campo de las competencias situándolas en el contexto de la renovación de los enfoques formativos. Nos interesó conocer las representaciones que poseen los formadores sobre las competencias propias de su función, confrontándolas con las propuestas sobre el tema. Tomamos como referente la categorización de las competencias de referencia (CR) de Perrenoud (2004). Hallamos una marcada coincidencia con las CR en el papel a desarrollar por un profesor de biología en la escuela secundaria en los siguientes aspectos: su formación continua, los estudiantes, los contenidos y las estrategias didácticas

Continuous intestinal infusion of levodopa-carbidopa in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease in Spain: Subanalysis by autonomous community

Objetivos: Comparar las características de los pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson avan- zada en tratamiento con infusión intestinal continua de levodopa-carbidopa (IICLC) y los datos de efectividad y seguridad de IICLC entre diferentes comunidades autónomas (CC. AA.). Métodos: Estudio longitudinal observacional y retrospectivo. Se incluyeron 177 pacientes de 11 CC. AA. que iniciaron tratamiento con IICLC entre enero de 2006 y diciembre de 2011. Se compararon las características clínicas y demográficas, las variables de efectividad (cambios en el tiempo OFF, ON con y sin discinesias discapacitantes, cambios en la escala de Hoehn y Yahr y puntuación de la Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, síntomas no motores e Impresión Clínica Global) y seguridad (acontecimientos adversos), y la tasa de suspensión de IICLC. Resultados: Se hallaron diferencias significativas entre las CC. AA. en diversas variables basa- les: duración de la enfermedad hasta el inicio de IICLC, tiempo OFF (34,9-59,7%) y ON (con o sin discinesias; 2,6-48,0%), Hoehn y Yahr en ON, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III en ON y OFF, presencia de ≥ 4 síntomas motores y dosis de IICLC. En el seguimiento (> 24 meses en 9 de 11 CC. AA.) hubo diferencias significativas en el porcentaje de tiempo OFF, tiempo ON sin discinesias discapacitantes, frecuencia de acontecimientos adversos e Impresión Clínica Global. La tasa de suspensión fue de entre 20-40% en todas las CC. AA., excepto en 2 (78 y 80%). Conclusiones: Este estudio muestra una amplia variabilidad en la selección de los pacientes y en la efectividad y seguridad de IICLC entre las diferentes CC. AA. Podrían influir las caracterís- ticas basales de los pacientes, la disponibilidad de un equipo multidisciplinar y la experiencia clínica.Objectives: To compare the characteristics of patients undergoing treatment with continuous intestinal infusion of levodopa-carbidopa (CIILC) for advanced Parkinson’s disease and the data on the effectiveness and safety of CIILC in the different autonomous communities (AC) of Spain. Methods: A retrospective, longitudinal, observational study was carried out into 177 patients from 11 CAs who underwent CIILC between January 2006 and December 2011. We analysed data on patients’ clinical and demographic characteristics, variables related to effectiveness (chan- ges in off time/on time with or without disabling dyskinesia; changes in Hoehn and Yahr scale and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale scores; non-motor symptoms; and Clinical Global Impression scale scores) and safety (adverse events), and the rate of CIILC discontinuation. Results: Significant differences were observed between CAs for several baseline variables: duration of disease progression prior to CIILC onset, off time (34.9-59.7%) and on time (2.6- 48.0%; with or without disabling dyskinesia), Hoehn and Yahr score during on time, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III score during both on and off time, presence of ≥ 4 motor symptoms, and CIILC dose. Significant differences were observed during follow-up (> 24 months in 9 of the 11 CAs studied) for the percentage of off time and on time without disabling dys- kinesia, adverse events frequency, and Clinical Global Impression scores. The rate of CIILC discontinuation was between 20-40% in 9 CAs (78 and 80% in remaining 2 CAs). Conclusions: This study reveals a marked variability between CAs in terms of patient selection and CIILC safety and effectiveness. These results may have been influenced by patients’ baseline characteristics, the availability of multidisciplinary teams, and clinical experience

Use of Novel Drying Technologies to Improve the Retention of Infused Olive Leaf Polyphenols

The infusion of phenolic extracts in dried fruits constitutes an interesting means of improving their nutritional content. However, drying can affect the further process of impregnation. In this work, different drying treatments (air temperature and ultrasound application) were applied to apple samples and impregnated with olive leaf extract. The application of ultrasound during drying did not significantly (p<0.05) affect the infusion capacity of samples, but the ultrasonically assisted dried samples showed a greater antioxidant capacity than those conventionally dried. The highest content of oleuropein and verbascoside was found in samples dried at low temperature using ultrasound.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) and FEDER, and the Generalitat Valenciana (from the projects DPI2012-37466-CO3-03, PROMETEO/2010/062, and the FPI fellowship granted to J.V. Santacatalina).Santacatalina Bonet, JV.; Ahmad-Qasem Mateo, MH.; Barrajón-Catalán, E.; Micol, V.; García Pérez, JV.; Cárcel Carrión, JA. (2015). Use of Novel Drying Technologies to Improve the Retention of Infused Olive Leaf Polyphenols. Drying Technology. 33(9):1051-1060. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2014.982251S1051106033

A spiral structure in the disk of EX Draconis on the rise to outburst maximum

We report on the R-band eclipse mapping analysis of high-speed photometry of the dwarf nova EX Dra on the rise to the maximum of the November 1995 outburst. The eclipse map shows a one-armed spiral structure of ~180 degrees in azimuth, extending in radius from R ~0.2 to 0.43 R_{L1} (where R_{L1} is the distance from the disk center to the inner Lagrangian point), that contributes about 22 per cent of the total flux of the eclipse map. The spiral structure is stationary in a reference frame co-rotating with the binary and is stable for a timescale of at least 5 binary orbits. The comparison of the eclipse maps on the rise and in quiescence suggests that the outbursts of EX Dra may be driven by episodes of enhanced mass-transfer from the secondary star. Possible explanations for the nature of the spiral structure are discussed.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letters; 8 pages, 2 figures; coded with AAS latex styl

El lujo en el arte oriental japonés. Los marfiles japoneses: el Netsuke.

El netsuke, hoy día conocido como un objeto de afamado coleccionismo y de un alto valor tanto económico como social, fue en origen un simple utensilio que servía de contrapeso en un conjunto mucho más grande. Las antiguas vestimentas japonesas (kimono u obi) carecían de bolsillos, por lo que surgió la necesidad de crear un artefacto para trasportar las cosas del día a día (medicinas, tabaco…), este artefacto se componía de una pequeña caja compacta (inro) un cordel o cuentas deslizables (ojime) y un contrapeso que sustentaba todo el conjunto (netsuke). Sus variadas formas, su material, y la precisión técnica de los maestros tallistas, hicieron del netsuke un objeto de prestigio y poder, no sólo en la época que le tocó vivir, sino también en épocas posteriores, como el siglo XIX, donde alcanzarían su máximo apogeo a través del coleccionismo. <br /

A Modular Mobile Robotic Platform to Assist People with Different Degrees of Disability

Robotics to support elderly people in living independently and to assist disabled people in carrying out the activities of daily living independently have demonstrated good results. Basically, there are two approaches: one of them is based on mobile robot assistants, such as Care-O-bot, PR2, and Tiago, among others; the other one is the use of an external robotic arm or a robotic exoskeleton fixed or mounted on a wheelchair. In this paper, a modular mobile robotic platform to assist moderately and severely impaired people based on an upper limb robotic exoskeleton mounted on a robotized wheel chair is presented. This mobile robotic platform can be customized for each user’s needs by exploiting its modularity. Finally, experimental results in a simulated home environment with a living room and a kitchen area, in order to simulate the interaction of the user with different elements of a home, are presented. In this experiment, a subject suffering from multiple sclerosis performed different activities of daily living (ADLs) using the platform in front of a group of clinicians composed of nurses, doctors, and occupational therapists. After that, the subject and the clinicians replied to a usability questionnaire. The results were quite good, but two key factors arose that need to be improved: the complexity and the cumbersome aspect of the platform.This work was supported by the AIDE project through Grant Agreement No. 645322 of the European Commission, by the Conselleria d’Educacio, Cultura i Esport of Generalitat Valenciana, by the European Social Fund—Investing in your future, through the grant ACIF 2018/214, and by the Promoción de empleo joven e implantación de garantía juvenil en I+D+I 2018 through the grant PEJ2018-002670-A

The effect of starspots on eclipse timings of binary stars

We investigate the effects that starspots have on the light curves of eclipsing binaries and in particular how they may affect the accurate measurement of eclipse timings. Concentrating on systems containing a low-mass main-sequence star and a white dwarf, we find that if starspots exhibit the Wilson depression they can alter the times of primary eclipse ingress and egress by several seconds for typical binary parameters and starspot depressions. In addition, we find that the effect on the eclipse ingress/egress times becomes more profound for lower orbital inclinations. We show how it is possible, in principle, to determine estimates of both the binary inclination and depth of the Wilson depression from light curve analysis The effect of depressed starspots on the O-C diagrams of eclipsing systems is also investigated. It is found that the presence of starspots will introduce a `jitter' in the O-C residuals and can cause spurious orbital period changes to be observed. Despite this, we show that the period can still be accurately determined even for heavily spotted systems.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Genetic relationships within and among Iberian fescues (Festuca L.) based on PCR-amplified markers

The genus Festuca comprises approximately 450 species and is widely distributed around the world. The Iberian Penninsula, with more than 100 taxa colonizing very diverse habitats, is one of its main centers of diversification. This study was conducted to assess molecular genetic variation and genetic relatedness among 91 populations of 31 taxa of Iberian fescues, based on several molecular markers (random amplified polymorphic DNA, amplified fragment length polymorphisms, and trnL sequences). The analyses showed the paraphyletic origin of the broad-leaved (subgenus Festuca, sections Scariosae and Subbulbosae, and subgenus Schedonorus) and the fine-leaved fescues (subgenus Festuca, sections Aulaxyper, Eskia, and Festuca). Schedonorus showed a weak relationship with Lolium rigidum and appeared to be the most recent of the broad-leaved clade. Section Eskia was the most ancient and Festuca the most recent of the fine-leaved clade. Festuca and Aulaxyper were the most related sections, in concordance with their taxonomic affinities. All taxa grouped into their sections, except F. ampla and F. capillifolia (section Festuca), which appeared to be more closely related to Aulaxyper and to a new independent section, respectively. Most populations clustered at the species level, but some subspecies and varieties mixed their populations. This study demonstrated the value in combining different molecular markers to uncover hidden genetic relationships between populations of Festuca

Tele-Rehabilitation Versus Local Rehabilitation Therapies Assisted by Robotic Devices: A Pilot Study with Patients

The present study aims to evaluate the advantages of a master-slave robotic rehabilitation therapy in which the patient is assisted in real-time by a therapist. We have also explored if this type of strategy is applicable in a tele-rehabilitation environment. A pilot study has been carried out involving 10 patients who have performed a point-to-point rehabilitation exercise supported by three assistance modalities: fixed assistance (without therapist interaction), local therapist assistance, and remote therapist assistance in a simulated tele-rehabiliation scenario. The rehabilitation exercise will be performed using an upper-limb rehabilitation robotic device that assists the patients through force fields. The results suggest that the assistance provided by the therapist is better adapted to patient needs than fixed assistance mode. Therefore, it maximizes the patient’s level of effort, which is an important aspect to improve the rehabilitation outcomes. We have also seen that in a tele-rehabilitation environment it is more difficult to assess when to assist the patient than locally. However, the assistance suits patients better than the fixed assistance mode.This work was funded by the Conselleria d’Educacio, Cultura i Esport of Generalitat Valenciana by the European Social Fund—Investing in your Future, through the grant ACIF 2018/214, PEJ2018-002684-A and PEJ2018-002670-A, and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project PID2019-108310RB-I00