Heterologous expression of AtNPR1 gene in olive for increasing fungal tolerance

The NPR1 gene encodes a key component of SAR signaling mediated by salicylic acid (SA). After a pathogen infection, the accumulation of SA releases NPR1 monomers in the cytosol that are translocated to the nucleus, activating the expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. Overexpression of NPR1 has conferred resistance to fungal, viral and bacterial pathogens in several plant species. The aim of this research was to generate transgenic olive plants expressing the gene AtNPR1 from Arabidopsis thaliana to obtain material resistant to fungal pathogens. Three transgenic lines expressing AtNPR1 gene under the control of the constitutive promoter CaMV35S were obtained following the protocol of Torreblanca et al. (2010), using an embryogenic line derived from a seed of cv. Picual. Level of AtNPR1 expression in transgenic calli varied greatly among the different lines, being higher in the line NPR1-780. The elicitation of embryogenic calli in liquid medium with AS did not increase endochitinase activity, a PR protein. However, jasmonic acid induced a transient increase in chitinase activity after 24 h of treatment in all the lines, being the increment higher in transgenic NPR1 than in control. After maturation and germination of transgenic somatic embryos, plants were micropropagated and acclimated to ex vitro conditions. The expression of AtNPR1 did not alter the growth of transgenic plants neither in vitro nor in the greenhouse. Experiments are in progress to determine the resistance of transgenic AtNPR1 plants to V. dalihae and R. necatrix.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Research projects: Plan Nacional AGL2014-52518-C2-1-R; AGL2017-83368-C2-1-R and Junta de Andalucía P11-AGR799

Tiempo Muerto, case study of a transmediatic project for the achievement of university competences

El modelo universitario actual establece un estándar de evaluación basado en la consecución de competencias como modo de representación de la adquisición de conocimientos. Por su parte, en el ámbito de la comunicación audiovisual, las narrativas transmedia han surgido como un modelo de comunicación que hace uso de diferentes lenguajes y códigos dentro del engranaje audiovisual digital. La relación transversal de los dos ámbitos hace posible establecer una sinergia en la que la realización de un tipo de proyecto concreto de como resultado la consecución de dichas competencias preparando de forma positiva al alumno dentro de la Sociedad del Conocimiento. En esta experiencia docente se pone de manifiesto el proyecto transmedia Tiempo Muerto Webserie, realizado por un grupo de alumnos de 4º de Grado en Comunicación Audiovisual. Se abordan aspectos como la construcción de un relato transmedia, sus pistas de migración, los microrrelatos paralelos o la participación del usuario. Además, se valora de forma cuantitativa tanto el índice de audiencia como el grado de satisfacción del alumnado en cuanto a la consecución de competencias. La metodología cualitativa permite profundizar en las dinámicas de trabajo grupal y aspectos vinculados con el futuro laboral del estudiante tras la realización del proyecto, que supone un punto de encuentro de los conocimientos aprendidos durante los cuatro años de su etapa universitaria. Los resultados obtenidos a lo largo de seis años académicos, culminados con el presente estudio de caso, ponen de relieve tanto las herramientas transmedia como la inclusión de estrategias educativas innovadoras.The current university model establishes an evaluation standard based on the achievement of competences as a way of representing the acquisition of knowledge. For its part, in the field of audiovisual communication, transmedia narratives have emerged as a communication model that makes use of different languages and codes within the digital audiovisual gear. The cross-sectional relationship of the two areas makes it possible to establish a synergy in which the realization of a specific type of project results in the achievement of these competencies, preparing the student positively within the Knowledge Society. In this classroom experience, the Transmedia Tiempo Muerto Webserie project is developed by a group of 4th grade students in Audiovisual Communication. It shows aspects such as the construction of a transmedia story, its migration tracks, parallel micro-stories or user participation. In addition, the audience level or satisfaction degree of the students towards the achievement of competences is assessed quantitatively. The qualitative methodology allows deepening the dynamics of group work and aspects related to the student's future work when they have finished the project, which is a meeting point for the knowledge learned during the four years of his university stage. The results collected during six academic years, culminated with the present case study, highlight both the transmedia tools and the inclusion of innovative educational strategies

Creación de réplicas de patrimonio escultórico mediante reconstrucción 3D e impresoras 3D de bajo coste para uso en entornos educativos

The process of making replicas of heritage has traditionally been developed by public agencies, corporations and museums and is not commonly used in schools. Currently there are technologies that allow creating cheap replicas. The new 3D reconstruction software, based on photographs and low cost 3D printers allow to make replicas at a cost much lower than traditional. This article describes the process of creating replicas of the sculpture Goslar Warrior of artist Henry Moore, located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. To make this process, first, a digital model have been created using Autodesk Recap 360, Autodesk 123D Catch and Autodesk Meshmixer MarkerBot MakerWare applications. Physical replication, has been reproduced in polylactic acid (PLA) by MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer. In addition, a cost analysis using, in one hand, the printer mentioned, and in the other hand, 3D printing services both online and local, is included. Finally, there has been a specific action with 141 students and 12 high school teachers, who filled a questionnary about the use of sculptural replicas in education.El proceso de elaboración de réplicas de patrimonio ha sido tradicionalmente desarrollado por organismos públicos, empresas o museos y no es de uso corriente en centros escolares. Actualmente existen tecnologías que permiten realizar réplicas de una manera muy económica. Los nuevos programas 3D basados en la reconstrucción a partir de fotografías y las impresoras 3D de bajo coste, permiten realizar maquetas del patrimonio con un importe muy inferior al tradicional. En este artículo se describe el proceso de creación de una réplica de la escultura El Guerrero de Goslar del artista Henry Moore, situada en Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Para realizar esta reproducción, primero se han creado modelos 3D digitales utilizando las aplicaciones Recap 360, 123D Catch, Meshmixer y MakerWare. La réplica física, se ha reproducido en ácido poliláctico (PLA) mediante la impresora 3D MakerBot Replicator 2. Además, se incluye un análisis de costes utilizando, por un lado la impresora mencionada, y por otro, servicios de impresión 3D, tanto online como locales. Para finalizar, se ha realizado una acción puntual con 141 alumnos y 12 profesores de secundaria a los que se les ha pasado una encuesta de opinión sobre el uso de réplicas escultóricas en educación

Carbon-based materials for oxidative desulfurization and denitrogenation of fuels: a review

Sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) are elements naturally found in petroleum-based fuels. Sand N-based compounds in liquid fuels are associated with a series of health and environmental issues. Thus, legislation has become stricter worldwide regarding their content and related emissions. Traditional treatment systems (namely hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation) fail to achieve the desired levels of S and N contents in fuels without compromising combustion parameters. Thus, oxidative treatments (oxidative desulfurization–ODS, and oxidative denitrogenation-ODN) are emerging as alternatives to producing ultra-low-sulfur and nitrogen fuels. This paper presents a thorough review of ODS and ODN processes applying carbon-based materials, either in hybrid forms or as catalysts on their own. Focus is brought to the role of the carbonaceous structure in oxidative treatments. Furthermore, a special section related to the use of amphiphilic carbon-based catalysts, which have some advantages related to a closer interaction with the oily and aqueous phases, is discussed.This work was supported by project “PLASTIC_TO_FUEL&MAT–UpcyclingWaste Plastics into Fuel and Carbon Nanomaterials” (PTDC/EQU-EQU/31439/2017), by Base-UIDB/50020/2020 and Programmatic-UIDP/50020/2020 funding of LSRE-LCM-funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), and CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) through FEDER under Program PT2020. Fernanda F. Roman acknowledges the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the European Social Fund (FSE) for the individual research grant with reference SFRH/BD/143224/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of primary care nursing workforce characteristics on the control of high-blood pressure: A multilevel analysis

Objective: To determine the impact of Primary Health Care (PHC) nursing workforce characteristics and of the clinical practice environment (CPE) perceived by nurses on the control of high-blood pressure (HBP). Design: Cross-sectional analytical study. Setting: Administrative and clinical registries of hypertensive patients from PHC information systems and questionnaire from PHC nurses. Participants: 76 797 hypertensive patients in two health zones within the Community of Madrid, North- West Zone (NWZ) with a higher socioeconomic situation and South-West Zone (SWZ) with a lower socioeconomic situation, and 442 reference nurses. Segmented analyses by area were made due to their different socioeconomic characteristics. Primary outcome measure: Poor HBP control (adequate figures below the value 140/90 mm Hg) associated with the characteristics of the nursing workforce and selfperceived CPE. Results: The prevalence of poor HBP control, estimated by an empty multilevel model, was 33.5% (95% CI 31.5% to 35.6%). In the multilevel multivariate regression models, the perception of a more favourable CPE was associated with a reduction in poor control in NWZ men and SWZ women (OR=0.99 (95% CI 0.98 to 0.99)); the economic immigration conditions increased poor control in NWZ women (OR=1.53 (95% CI 1.24 to 1.89)) and in SWZ, both men (OR=1.89 (95% CI 1.43 to 2.51)) and women (OR=1.39 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.76)). In all four models, increasing the annual number of patient consultations was associated with a reduction in poor control (NWZ women: OR=0.98 (95% CI0.98 to 0.99); NWZ men: OR=0.98 (95% CI 0.97 to 0.99); SWZ women: OR=0.98 (95% CI 0.97 to 0.99); SWZ men: OR=0.99 (95% CI 0.97 to 0.99). Conclusions: A CPE, perceived by PHC nurses as more favourable, and more patient–nurse consultations, contribute to better HBP control. Economic immigration condition is a risk factor for poor HBP control. Health policies oriented towards promoting positive environments for nursing practice are neededThe results presented here form part of a study that has been funded partially with the First Prize for National Research in Nursing (12th edition) from Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla (Santander) in 2010

Removal of estrogens from water using activated carbon obtained from olive stones

Micropollutants are natural or synthetic substances that are continuously released to aquatic environments that, even present at very low concentrations, such as μg/L or ng/L, can present adverse effects to the environment [1]. Micropollutants include a huge range of compounds such as pharmaceuticals, hormones, cosmetics, disinfectants, pesticides, among others [2]. Estrogens are hormones that can be found naturally in fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The main therapeutic molecules of estrogens are 17ꞵ-Estradiol, Estriol and synthetic 17α-Ethinylestradiol normally used as contraceptives [3]. When present in water bodies, they can represent an environmental and health problem since traditional sewage and drinking water treatment plants are not able to remove or degrade this pharmaceutical compounds. This work will present some experimental studies for the removal of estrogens by adsorption using biomass-based materials, namely different types of activated carbon, obtained using olive stones as carbon sourceThe authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). J.L. Diaz De Tuesta acknowledges the financial support of “Comunidad de Madrid” (Spain) for the individual research grant 2020-T2/AMB-19836.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Benchmarking seeding strategies for spreading processes in social networks: an interplay between infuencers, topologies and sizes

The explosion of network science has permitted an understanding of how the structure of social networks affects the dynamics of social contagion. In community-based interventions with spill-over effects, identifying influential spreaders may be harnessed to increase the spreading efficiency of social contagion, in terms of time needed to spread all the largest connected component of the network. Several strategies have been proved to be efficient using only data and simulation-based models in specific network topologies without a consensus of an overall result. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to benchmark the spreading efficiency of seeding strategies related to network structural properties and sizes. We simulate spreading processes on empirical and simulated social networks within a wide range of densities, clustering coefficients, and sizes. We also propose three new decentralized seeding strategies that are structurally different from well-known strategies: community hubs, ambassadors, and random hubs. We observe that the efficiency ranking of strategies varies with the network structure. In general, for sparse networks with community structure, decentralized influencers are suitable for increasing the spreading efficiency. By contrast, when the networks are denser, centralized influencers outperform. These results provide a framework for selecting efficient strategies according to different contexts in which social networks emerge

Evaluación del trabajo colaborativo en Iniciación a la Investigación en Biología

Tras el trabajo previo de diseño de la asignatura Iniciación a la Investigación en Biología, el equipo multidisciplinar de profesores y profesoras de la Red Docente INVES ha desarrollado una metodología propia de trabajo en equipo, no sólo entre el diferente profesorado que la compone, sino también con el profesorado de la asignatura Estadística, con la que se comparten objetivos de aprendizaje comunes. Se ha optimizado el sistema de evaluación del trabajo colaborativo del alumnado, mediante el uso de rubricas y auto-evaluación. Dicho trabajo consiste en el diseño y desarrollo de un proyecto de investigación bibliométrico de temática biológica realizado por los estudiantes, propiciando la adquisición de competencias transversales mediante una dinámica de trabajo en grupo que culmina en la edición de unas Jornadas Científicas. Por otra parte, se han consensuado criterios comunes de evaluación continua, mejorando en la eficiencia de la evaluación, y determinado un incremento de la capacidad de aprendizaje del alumnado a lo largo de los cursos 2010-11 al 2013-14. La oferta formativa se completa mediante la formación de un grupo de Alto Rendimiento Académico con docencia en lengua inglesa. Esto permite al alumnado implementar el objetivo general de compresión de lengua extranjera inglés en lo relativo al ámbito científico

Avances en el trabajo colaborativo en Iniciación a la Investigación en Biología

Un equipo multidisciplinar de profesores y profesoras que componen la Red Docente INVES e imparten docencia en la asignatura Iniciación a la Investigación en Biología, ha desarrollado una metodología propia de trabajo en equipo, en coordinación con el profesorado de la asignatura Estadística, con la que se comparten objetivos de aprendizaje comunes. El sistema de evaluación del trabajo colaborativo del alumnado se ha optimizado mediante el uso de rúbricas y auto-evaluación. Se ha propiciado la adquisición de competencias transversales mediante una dinámica de trabajo en grupo. El diseño y desarrollo de un proyecto de investigación bibliométrico, de temática biológica, es realizado por los y las estudiantes, y culmina con la edición de unas Jornadas Científicas. Con el fin de mejorar la eficiencia de la evaluación, se han consensuado criterios comunes de evaluación continua entre el profesorado. Ello ha determinado un incremento de la capacidad de aprendizaje del alumnado a lo largo de los cursos 2010-11 al 2013-14. La lectura y compresión de textos científicos en inglés junto a la formación de un grupo de Alto Rendimiento Académico con docencia en lengua inglesa completa la oferta formativa, permitiendo al alumnado implementar el objetivo general de compresión de lengua extranjera inglés en lo relativo al ámbito científico