Coronavirus pandemic: An opportunity to study the anthropogenic impact on micro-climate conditions and CaCO3 crystal morphology in the Nerja Cave (SE Spain)

Funding charge open access: University of Malaga / CBUA. It is financed by the Nerja Cave Foundation, co-ordinated by its Research Institute and authorized by the Consejería de Cultura (Junta de Andalucía). This study is also a contribution to the Research Groups RNM-308 and RNM-126 of the Junta de Andalucía and to the Projects PID2021-125619OB-C21, PID2021-125619OB-C22, TED2021-130549B-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.Following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish Government restricted non-essential movements of all citizens and closed all public spaces, such as the Nerja Cave, until May 31, 2020. This particular condition of the closure of the cave provided a unique opportunity to study the micro-climate conditions and carbonate precipitation in this tourist cave without the presence of visitors. Our results show the significant effect of visitors on the air isotopic signature of the cave and on the genesis of the extensive dissolution features affecting the carbonate crystals formed in the tourist sector of the cave, alerting us to the possible corrosion of the speleothems located there. The movement of visitors within the cave also favours the mobilisation of aerial fungi and bacterial spores and their subsequent sedimentation simultaneously with the abiotic precipitation of carbonates from the drip water. The traces of these biotic elements could be the origin of the micro-perforations previously described in the carbonate crystals formed in the tourist galleries of the cave, but they are subsequently enlarged due to abiotic dissolution of the carbonates through these weaker zones.University of MalagaNerja Cave FoundationJunta de Andalucia RNM-308, RNM-126PID2021-125619OB-C21, PID2021-125619OB-C22, TED2021-130549B-I00, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

Addressing Risks Derived From the Commodification of Substances of Human Origin: A European Proposal Applicable Worldwide

Commodification; Human substancesMercantilització; Substàncies humanesMercantilización; Sustancias humanasIn view of the public consultation recently launched by the World Health Organization on Regulatory Convergence of Cell and Gene Therapy Products and the Proposal for a Regulation on substances of human origin (SoHO) repealing the European Union Directives on Blood and on Tissues and Cells, an opportunity arises to define an ethical and transparent framework of collaboration between industry and authorities responsible for SoHO-derived products, comprising medicines, medical devices, transfusion, and transplantation. The commodification of SoHO-derived medicinal products and medical devices entails important risks to the sustainability of healthcare systems and threatens the equitable access of patients to innovative therapies. It may also jeopardize the principle of altruistic donation of SoHO that is required for the treatment and survival of thousands of patients every year. This article puts forward several proposals aimed at reconciling the ethical principles of voluntary and unpaid SoHO donation and the noncommercialization of the human body with obtaining a profit that allows business activities, while ensuring high quality, safety, and efficacy standards of tissues and cells for clinical use

Evaluación de rentabilidad de la inversión en un pivote central considerando dos opciones de cultivo y financiamiento

48 p.El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo general, determinar la rentabilidad de inversión en un pivote central, considerando dos opciones de financiamiento por parte del productor (100% y 73,24%) y dos opciones de producción de cultivo: maíz y maravilla destinados a la producción de semillas. Se utilizó información relacionada con el pivote central, marca Irrifrance modelo Telescopique VXP 193 ep 3,2 168 ep 3 PIVOCONTROL, localizado en el predio Reserva Las Lomas, comuna de San Clemente, Región del Maule, destinado al riego de 58,8 hectáreas. Para lo anterior, se elaboró un flujo de caja, incorporando costos fijos, costos variables e ingresos, con un horizonte plazo de diez años. Luego se determinaron indicadores de rentabilidad tales como valor actual neto (VAN), Tasa interna de retorno (TIR), periodo de recuperación del capital (PRI) y se sensibilizó el proyecto. Se consideró dos escenarios de financiamiento de la inversión por parte del productor de un 100% y un 73,24%, lo que significa recibir un apoyo del Estado a la inversión, a través de la ley 18.450 sobre el fomento a la inversión privada en riego y drenaje; todo con un horizonte de proyecto de 10 años plazo. Los resultados en este estudio indican que la inversión en el sistema de riego fue de M$2.156 /há, de la cual un 86,48$ 58.126 (con rendimiento de 30qq/ha y $82.680/qq) y de M$ 39.632 si se cultiva maravilla (con rendimiento de 15qq/ha y $120.840/qq).Para un 100$ 254.636 y una TIR de 41%, mientras que para maravilla se obtuvo un VAN de M$153.696 y una TIR de 29$ 288.552 y 57% para el cultivo de maíz, mientras que para maravilla aumenta a M$187.612 y 41$ 2,156 / ha, of which 86.48% corresponds to the Pivot cost. The income generated by Pivot irrigation when corn seed was grown were M $58,126 (with performance 30qq/ha and$ 82.680/qq) and M $39,632 when sunflower was grown (with performance 15qq/ha and$ 120,840 / qq). For a 100% funding of the investment by the producer, the NPV of the project considering corn seed was M $254,636 and an IRR of 41$ 153,696 and an IRR of 29%. When the farmer receives 26.76% funding from the state through the Law 18.450, the NPV and IRR marked increase to M $288,552 and 57$ 187,612 and 41%, respectively . The payback period for the investment considering the project conditions was two years for corn and three years for sunflower, assuming that the performance and prices remain constant over the duration of the project.We concluded is profitable for the farmer to invest in a sprinkler irrigation equipment under the conditions studied, since both crops and financing options, despite having performance differences among themselves, pay the investment, regardless of the State contribution by Law 18,450 of promoting private investment in irrigation and drainage, allowing the implementation of sprinkler irrigation system by Kingpi

Pronunciation improvement in EFL young learners through phonics instruction.

This is a research aiming at finding out how effective Phonics Instructions improve fifth graders pronunciation of two minimal pairs /θ/ voiceless, /ð/ voiced; /I/ short and /I:/ long. Based on the observation done during the first weeks of class at Gimnasio Fray Martín de Porres with fifth graders, we found out that one of students‟ problems in learning English was pronunciation and one useful methods in teaching pronunciation was designing and implementing Phonics Instructions activities, due to Phonics Instruction is a process that involve Multisensory approaches and Learning styles, according to MOUSTAFA (1999), Multisensory Approach or VAKT (Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile) implies that students learn in a smooth way the information when it is presented with different modalities. The participants of this research were 13 fifth graders from Gimnasio Fray Martín de Porres in the second semester of 2015. The method for collecting data in this research was mix research, which consists in numerical and non-numerical data. The instruments used in this research were tests (students‟ oral performance), lesson plans and artifacts. This research contained three moments. The first one was a pre-test, the second one was the implementation subdivided into four stages according to the amount of sounds contrasted and finally a third moment was a post-test

Centralidad urbana y comercio informal: caso terminal pesquero en Villa María del Triunfo, Lima 2019. Complejo comercial pesquero para el desarrollo económico y social de Lurín, Lima 2019

El presente proyecto de investigación realiza el análisis de la estructura urbana en torno al equipamiento de nivel metropolitano: el terminal pesquero de Villa María del Triunfo, en función a la centralidad urbana, identificando la influencia del radio de acción del edificio y la repercusión del mismo entorno al contexto urbano y la presencia del comercio informal en este. Asimismo, hace énfasis en la necesidad de contar con planes de desarrollos urbanos y arquitectónicos para los equipamientos de esta índole. Estos indicadores fueron elementales para comparar y mostrar la relación que existe entre ellos, uno en consecuencia del otro, puesto que estos indicadores hacen referencias a las posibles soluciones que se puedan suscitar en torno al desarrollo urbano del Terminal Pesquero de Villa María del Triunfo y del distrito en general. En la primera parte de esta investigación se exponen las generalidades problemáticas, haciendo énfasis en centralidad y comercio informal, también se reconocen los problemas que existen alrededor de este tipo de mercados a nivel Social, Urbano y Arquitectónico, además se hace referencia el contexto de estudio y las nuevas teorías desarrolladas, finalmente, se desarrollan la formulación del problema, la justificación del estudio, las hipótesis y los objetivos y preguntas en torno a esta investigación. En la segunda parte de la investigación se realiza la identificación de la población objetivo y la muestra específica, además del diseño de investigación y la operacionalización de las variables de estudio Finalmente se realiza la encuesta definida a la población objetivo y se proceden a redactar las conclusiones parciales. Además, en el cuarto y último capítulo se redactan las referencias bibliográficas y los anexos correspondientes, para emitir conclusiones y recomendaciones finales respecto a este lugar de estudio y las variables anteriormente mencionadas

Use of Concrete Materials and Resolution of Additive Change Problems in 1st Grade Students at a Primary Educational Institution – Ugel 04 – Lima

Esta investigación se centró en analizar cómo el uso de recursos, como materiales concretos, afecta la capacidad de resolver problemas aditivos de cambio en estudiantes de primer grado de la Institución Educativa N° 8184 "San Benito" en Lima, Perú. Se empleó un enfoque cuantitativo y un diseño de investigación aplicada, con un grupo control mediante pre prueba y posprueba. La población incluyó a los 32 estudiantes de primer grado de la institución, utilizando un enfoque censal para asegurar representatividad. Se aplicaron instrumentos validados para evaluar la influencia de materiales concretos en la resolución de problemas aditivos de cambio. Los resultados mostraron evidencia estadística significativa respaldando la hipótesis nula, indicando que el uso de material concreto contribuye al aumento del desarrollo en la resolución de problemas aditivos de cambio en los estudiantes de primer grado. Este hallazgo sugiere que la intervención con material concreto puede ser una estrategia pedagógica efectiva para mejorar el rendimiento de los estudiantes en matemáticas, especialmente en la resolución de problemas aditivos de cambio.This research aimed to analyse how the use of resources, such as concrete materials, influences the ability to solve additive change problems in first-grade students at Educational Institution No. 8184 "San Benito" in Lima, Peru. A quantitative approach and an applied research design were employed, specifically a control group with a post-test. The study population encompassed 32 first-grade students enrolled in the institution, using a census approach to ensure representativeness. Validated instruments were implemented to assess the influence of tangible elements on the resolution of summative problems involving transformations. The results revealed statistically significant evidence supporting the null hypothesis, indicating that the use of concrete material contributes to an increase in the development of additive change problem-solving skills in first-grade students. This finding suggests that intervention with concrete material can be an effective pedagogical strategy to enhance students' performance in mathematics, particularly in the resolution of additive change problems

Pronunciation improvement in EFL young learners through phonics instruction.

This is a research aiming at finding out how effective Phonics Instructions improve fifth graders pronunciation of two minimal pairs /θ/ voiceless, /ð/ voiced; /I/ short and /I:/ long. Based on the observation done during the first weeks of class at Gimnasio Fray Martín de Porres with fifth graders, we found out that one of students‟ problems in learning English was pronunciation and one useful methods in teaching pronunciation was designing and implementing Phonics Instructions activities, due to Phonics Instruction is a process that involve Multisensory approaches and Learning styles, according to MOUSTAFA (1999), Multisensory Approach or VAKT (Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile) implies that students learn in a smooth way the information when it is presented with different modalities. The participants of this research were 13 fifth graders from Gimnasio Fray Martín de Porres in the second semester of 2015. The method for collecting data in this research was mix research, which consists in numerical and non-numerical data. The instruments used in this research were tests (students‟ oral performance), lesson plans and artifacts. This research contained three moments. The first one was a pre-test, the second one was the implementation subdivided into four stages according to the amount of sounds contrasted and finally a third moment was a post-test

Environmentally friendly analysis of emerging contaminants by pressurized hot water extraction-stir bar sorptive extraction-derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

This work describes the development, optimiza- tion, and validation of a new method for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of pharmaceuticals (beta- blockers, lipid regulators ... ) and personal care products (fragrances, UV filters, phthalates ... ) in both aqueous and solid environmental matrices. Target compounds were extracted from sediments using pressurized hot water ex- traction followed by stir bar sorptive extraction. The first stage was performed at 1,500 psi during three static extrac- tion cycles of 5 min each after optimizing the extraction temperature (50 – 150 °C) and addition of organic modifiers (% methanol) to water, the extraction solvent. Next, aqueous extracts and water samples were processed using polydime- thylsiloxane bars. Several parameters were optimized for this technique, including extraction and desorption time, ionic strength, presence of organic modifiers, and pH. Fi- nally, analytes were extracted from the bars by ultrasonic irradiation using a reduced amount of solvent (0.2 mL) prior to derivatization and gas chromatography – mass spectrome- try analysis. The optimized protocol uses minimal amounts of organic solvents (<10 mL/sample) and time ( ≈ 8 h/sam- ple) compared to previous ex isting methodologies. Low standard deviation (usually below 10 %) and limits of de- tection (sub-ppb) vouch for the applicability of the method- ology for the analysis of target compounds at trace levels. Once developed, the method was applied to determin

Avance de los datos recogidos por el Sistema de Información Microbiológica durante el primer semestre del año 2016

[ES] Se presentan los datos provisionales para las cuatro patologías con mayor número de casos notificados al Sistema de Información Microbiológica (SIM) por 77 laboratorios de 10 Comunidades Autónomas: 9.418 infecciones por el virus de la gripe, 4.042 casos de campilobacteriosis, 2.593 casos de diarrea por rotavirus y 2.012 infecciones de transmisión sexual por Chlamydia trachomatis y linfogranuloma venéreo (LGV). En total suponen el 69,4% de los casos recogidos en las primeras 26 semanas de 2016. [EN] The current work offers a preliminary overview of data collected for the four pathologies with the highest number of cases reported by 77 laboratories from 10 Autonomous Communities to the Microbiological Information System (SIM): influenza (9418), campilobacteriosis (4042), rotavirus diarrhea (2593) and sexually transmitted infection by Chlamydia trachomatis (2012) account for 69.4% of all data notified (26039)