El desarrollo de habilidades blandas y el inglés a través de ICLES: revisión de la literatura y propuesta pedagógica para estudiantes de ingeniería

Mastering English is a must for all engineers in the current globalized world where English is the language of science, communication and business. In an engineering syllabus, however, in addition to technical skills and English proficiency, the development of other competences also needs to be considered. To adequately equip engineering students for their careers, we also have to promote the development of soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, time-management or leadership, among others. ICLHE (Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education), which is itself evocative of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach extensively used in other educational levels, appears as an alternative to integrate language learning in non-language subject curriculums in higher education and to develop soft skills. This paper makes a literature review to find out the main aspects that engineering instructors should consider to properly implement ICLHE to enhance learners’ development of soft-skills through the active methodologies of Project-Based Learning and Flipped Classroom. In the last part of the study, a 10-step guideline is proposed, which will help teachers to integrate these active methodologies in an ICLHE engineering subject.Tener una buena competencia en inglés es una necesidad para los ingenieros en un mundo globalizado donde el inglés es la lengua de la ciencia, la comunicación y los negocios. Sin embargo, en el plan de estudios de una ingeniería se debe tener en cuenta otras competencias además de las habilidades técnicas y el inglés. Para preparar adecuadamente a los estudiantes de ingeniería para sus carreras profesionales, debemos fomentar también el desarrollo de sus habilidades blandas tales como la comunicación, la resolución de problemas, el trabajo en equipo, la gestión del tiempo o el liderazgo, entre otras. ICLES (Integración de Contenido y Lengua en Educación Superior), el cual es si mismo evoca el enfoque AICLE (Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenido y Lengua) ampliamente utilizado en otros niveles educativos, aparece como una alternativa para integrar el aprendizaje de lenguas en currículos de asignaturas donde no se enseña lengua en la universidad y desarrollar las habilidades blandas. Este artículo hace una revisión de la literatura con el objetivo de encontrar los aspectos más importantes que los docentes de ingeniería deberían considerar para, de forma adecuada, implementar ICLES para mejorar el desarrollo de las habilidades blandas mediante las metodologías activas del aprendizaje basado en proyectos y la clase invertida. En la última parte del trabajo, se propone una guía de 10 pasos que ayudará a los docentes a integrar estas metodologías activas en una asignatura ICLES de ingeniería

Optimization of the Pd/Cu ratio in Pd-Cu-Zn/SiC catalysts for the CO2 hydrogenation to methanol at atmospheric pressure

PdCuZn/SiC catalysts were synthesized with different Pd:Cu:Zn molar compositions and tested in the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol at atmospheric pressure. Trimetallic catalysts were compared with the corresponding bimetallic ones (PdZn/SiC, CuZn/SiC and PdCu/SiC). Catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption, temperature-programed reduction (TPR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Pd0 active sites were related to carbon monoxide formation via reverse water-gas-shift (RWGS), whereas the PdZn alloys catalyzed methanol synthesis. The role of copper in trimetallic catalysts was to inhibit the deposition of metallic palladium by forming a PdCu alloy that proved to be less active to CO formation. Moreover, the active sites of trimetallic catalysts were smaller and better dispersed than those of the corresponding bimetallic ones, probably due to a synergistic effect between the three metals. The catalyst with a molar composition of 37.5:12.5:50 Pd:Cu:Zn (mol.%) was selected as the most active for the methanol synthesis, as this sample showed the highest activity and selectivity to methanol. The role of copper was also shown to be crucial in trimetallic catalyst by comparing the best example with an equivalent bimetallic PdZn/SiC with a Pd:Zn molar ratio of 37.5:62.5.Se sintetizaron catalizadores de PdCuZn/SiC con diferentes composiciones molares de Pd:Cu:Zn y se probaron en la hidrogenación de dióxido de carbono a metanol a presión atmosférica. Se compararon catalizadores trimetálicos con los correspondientes bimetálicos (PdZn/SiC, CuZn/SiC y PdCu/SiC). Los catalizadores se caracterizaron por adsorción/desorción de N 2 , reducción programada por temperatura (TPR), difracción de rayos X (XRD), microscopía electrónica de transmisión (TEM), espectroscopía de rayos X de dispersión de energía (EDS) y espectroscopía de fotoelectrones de rayos X (XPS). ). la pd 0los sitios activos estaban relacionados con la formación de monóxido de carbono a través del cambio inverso de agua y gas (RWGS), mientras que las aleaciones de PdZn catalizaron la síntesis de metanol. El papel del cobre en los catalizadores trimetálicos era inhibir la deposición de paladio metálico formando una aleación de PdCu que demostró ser menos activa para la formación de CO. Además, los sitios activos de los catalizadores trimetálicos eran más pequeños y estaban mejor dispersos que los de los correspondientes bimetálicos, probablemente debido a un efecto sinérgico entre los tres metales. El catalizador con una composición molar de 37,5:12,5:50 Pd:Cu:Zn (mol.%) fue seleccionado como el más activo para la síntesis de metanol, ya que esta muestra mostró la mayor actividad y selectividad al metanol

Assessment of Maternal Effects and Genetic Variability in Resistance to Verticillium dahliae in Olive Progenies

The use of genetic resistance is likely the most efficient, economically convenient and environmentally friendly control method for plant diseases, as well as a fundamental piece in an integrated management strategy. This is particularly important for woody crops affected by diseases in which mainly horizontal resistance mechanisms are operative, such as Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae. In this study, we analyzed the variability in resistance to Verticillium wilt of olive trees in progenies from five crosses: ‘Picual’ × ‘Frantoio’, ‘Arbosana’ × ‘Koroneiki’, ‘Sikitita’ × ‘Arbosana’, ‘Arbosana’ × ‘Frantoio’ and ‘Arbosana’ × ‘Arbequina’ and their respective reciprocal crosses. Additionally, seedlings of ‘Picual’ and ‘Frantoio’ in open pollination were used as controls. In October 2016 and 2018, the fruits were harvested, and seeds germinated. Six-week-old seedlings were inoculated by dipping their bare roots in a conidial suspension of V. dahliae, and disease progress in terms of symptom severity and mortality was evaluated weekly. Additionally, seedling growth was evaluated every two weeks. At the end of the experiment, no significant differences were found for any of the assessed parameters when reciprocal crosses were compared. These results suggest that there is no maternal or paternal effect in regard to the heritability of resistance. In addition, this study identifies the best crosses for obtaining the highest number of resistant genotypes, highlighting the importance of the selection of specific cultivars to optimize the breeding process

CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol at Atmospheric Pressure: Influence of the Preparation Method of Pd/ZnO Catalysts

The aim of the work described here was to evaluate the catalytic performance of palladium catalysts supported on zinc oxide (Pd/ZnO) in the hydrogenation of CO2 to obtain methanol at atmospheric pressure. The influence of the reduction temperature, calcination conditions, metal loading and Pd precursor on the catalytic performance was studied.El objetivo del trabajo aquí descrito fue evaluar el desempeño catalítico de catalizadores de paladio soportados sobre óxido de zinc (Pd/ZnO) en la hidrogenación de CO 2 para obtener metanol a presión atmosférica. Se estudió la influencia de la temperatura de reducción, las condiciones de calcinación, la carga de metal y el precursor de Pd sobre el rendimiento catalítico

Electrochemical promotion and characterization of PdZn alloy catalysts with K and Na ionic conductors for pure gaseous CO2 hydrogenation

A PdZn alloy has been used for the first time as a catalytic electrochemical film for CO2 hydrogenation. Three different electrochemical systems were prepared to study the influence of the Pd/Zn ratio and the presence of potassium and sodium ions. These catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM and cyclic voltammetry and then tested in the hydrogenation of CO2 at three different H2/CO2 feed ratios (3, 9 and 39) and three temperatures (300, 320 and 340 °C) with electrochemical promotion by Na+ and K+ ions. CH3OH and CO were the only two products detected. During the electrochemical promotion, a low quantity of ions increases the formation rate of CH3OH and a high quantity leads to the poisoning of the PdZn active sites. The catalysts which have palladium and the palladium-zinc alloy in their structure show an electrophilic behavior in the CO formation and when only the alloy is formed in the catalyst, the CO has the same behavior found for the methanol. Apparent Faradaic efficiency values above 1000 were obtained under the different conditions tested.Se ha utilizado por primera vez una aleación de PdZn como película electroquímica catalítica para la hidrogenación de CO2. Se prepararon tres sistemas electroquímicos diferentes para estudiar la influencia de la relación Pd/Zn y la presencia de iones de potasio y sodio. Estos catalizadores fueron caracterizados por XRD, SEM y voltamperometría cíclica y luego probados en la hidrogenación de CO 2 a tres relaciones de alimentación H 2 /CO 2 diferentes (3, 9 y 39) y tres temperaturas (300, 320 y 340 °C) con promoción electroquímica por iones Na + y K + . Canal 3OH y CO fueron los dos únicos productos detectados. Durante la promoción electroquímica, una cantidad baja de iones aumenta la tasa de formación de CH 3 OH y una cantidad alta conduce al envenenamiento de los sitios activos de PdZn. Los catalizadores que tienen paladio y la aleación de paladio-zinc en su estructura muestran un comportamiento electrofílico en la formación de CO y cuando solo se forma la aleación en el catalizador, el CO tiene el mismo comportamiento encontrado para el metanol. Se obtuvieron valores aparentes de eficiencia Faradaica por encima de 1000 bajo las diferentes condiciones ensayadas

Kinetics of the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol at atmospheric pressure using a Pd-Cu-Zn/SiC catalyst

The kinetics of the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol (MeOH) at atmospheric pressure using a Pd-Cu-Zn/SiC catalyst has been analyzed. An initial sensitivity study was performed in order to evaluate the effect of reaction conditions (temperature, CO2/H2 ratio and the presence of products in the feed stream) on the catalytic performance. The results of this study were used to develop three Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic models in which the adsorption term was modified (competitive vs two-site vs three-site adsorption mechanism). All of the kinetic models predicted the experimental results well and the corresponding parameters were statistically meaningful. Model discrimination revealed that the three-site adsorption mechanism led to the lowest residual sum of squares and was the only one that met all of the parameter constraints. The quality of this model was evaluated by comparing the results of additional experiments with the predicted values. The three-site adsorption mechanism agreed with the catalytic observations reported previously, where it was observed that, in the presence of a Pd-Cu-Zn/SiC catalyst, the synthesis of MeOH by hydrogenation of CO2 took place on PdZn active sites, whereas the Reverse Water Gas Shift (RWGS), which led to CO, was catalyzed by PdCu sites. The H2 dissociative adsorption was believed to take place on ZnO.Se ha analizado la cinética de hidrogenación de CO 2 a metanol (MeOH) a presión atmosférica utilizando un catalizador de Pd-Cu-Zn/SiC. Se realizó un estudio de sensibilidad inicial para evaluar el efecto de las condiciones de reacción (temperatura, relación CO 2 /H 2 y presencia de productos en la corriente de alimentación) sobre el rendimiento catalítico. Los resultados de este estudio se utilizaron para desarrollar tres modelos cinéticos de Langmuir-Hinshelwooden el que se modificó el término de adsorción (mecanismo de adsorción competitivo vs de dos sitios vs de tres sitios). Todos los modelos cinéticos predijeron bien los resultados experimentales y los parámetros correspondientes fueron estadísticamente significativos. La discriminación del modelo reveló que el mecanismo de adsorción de tres sitios conducía a la suma de cuadrados residual más baja y era el único que cumplía con todas las restricciones de los parámetros. La calidad de este modelo se evaluó comparando los resultados de experimentos adicionales con los valores predichos. El mecanismo de adsorción de tres sitios coincidió con las observaciones catalíticas reportadas previamente, donde se observó que, en presencia de un catalizador de Pd-Cu-Zn/SiC, la síntesis de MeOH por hidrogenación de CO 2 tuvo lugar en los sitios activos de PdZn, mientras que el reversoWater Gas Shift (RWGS), que condujo a CO, fue catalizada por sitios PdCu. Se creía que la adsorción disociativa de H 2 tenía lugar en ZnO

Targeting TLR4 with ApTOLL Improves Heart Function in Response to Coronary Ischemia Reperfusion in Pigs Undergoing Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) contributes to the pathogenesis of coronary ischemia/reperfusion (IR). To test whether the new TLR4 antagonist, ApTOLL, may prevent coronary IR damage, we administered 0.078 mg/kg ApTOLL or Placebo in pigs subjected to IR, analyzing the levels of cardiac troponins, matrix metalloproteinases, pro-, and anti-inflammatory cytokines, heart function, and tissue integrity over a period of 7 days after IR. Our results show that ApTOLL reduced cardiac troponin-1 24 h after administration, improving heart function, as detected by a significant recovery of the left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) and the shortening fraction (FS) cardiac parameters. The extension of necrotic and fibrotic areas was also reduced, as detected by Evans blue/2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, Hematoxylin/Eosine, and Masson Trichrome staining of heart sections, together with a significant reduction in the expression of the extracellular matrix-degrading, matrix metalloproteinase 9. Finally, the expression of the following cytokines, CCL1, CCL2, MIP1-A-B, CCL5, CD40L, C5/C5A, CXCL1, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL12, G-CSF, GM-CSF, ICAM-1, INF-g, IL1-a, ILI-b, IL-1Ra, IL2, IL4, IL5, IL6, IL8, IL10, IL12, IL13, IL16, IL17-A, IL17- E, IL18, IL21, IL27, IL32, MIF, SERPIN-E1, TNF-a, and TREM-1, were also assayed, detecting a pronounced decrease of pro-inflammatory cytokines after 7 days of treatment with ApTOLL. Altogether, our results show that ApTOLL is a promising new tool for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).post-print3782 K

Ivabradine-Stimulated Microvesicle Release Induces Cardiac Protection against Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Ivabradine can reduce heart rate through inhibition of the current I(f ) by still unexplored mechanisms. In a porcine model of ischemia reperfusion (IR), we found that treatment with 0.3 mg/kg Ivabradine increased plasma release of microvesicles (MVs) over Placebo, as detected by flow cytometry of plasma isolated from pigs 7 days after IR, in which a tenfold increase of Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) containing (both high and low-glycosylated) MVs, was detected in response to Ivabradine. The source of MVs was investigated, finding a 37% decrease of CD31+ endothelial cell derived MVs, while CD41+ platelet MVs remained unchanged. By contrast, Ivabradine induced the release of HCN4+ (mostly cardiac) MVs. While no differences respect to EMMPRIN as a cargo component were found in endothelial and platelet derived MVs, Ivabradine induced a significant release of EMMPRIN+/HCN4+ MVs by day 7 after IR. To test the role of EMMPRIN+ cardiacMVs (EMCMV), H9c2 cellmonolayers were incubated for 24 h with 107 EMCMVs, reducing apoptosis, and increasing 2 times cell proliferation and 1.5 times cell migration. The in vivo contribution of Ivabradine-induced plasma MVs was also tested, in which 108 MVs isolated from the plasma of pigs treated with Ivabradine or Placebo 7 days after IR, were injected in pigs under IR, finding a significant cardiac protection by increasing left ventricle ejection fraction and a significant reduction of the necrotic area. In conclusion ivabradine induces cardiac protection by increasing at least the release of EMMPRIN containing cardiac microvesicles.post-print1810 K

Ivabradine Induces Cardiac Protection against Myocardial Infarction by Preventing Cyclophilin-A Secretion in Pigs under Coronary Ischemia/Reperfusion.

In response to cardiac ischemia/reperfusion, proteolysis mediated by extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) and its secreted ligand cyclophilin-A (CyPA) significantly contributes to cardiac injury and necrosis. Here, we aimed to investigate if, in addition to the effect on the funny current (I(f)), Ivabradine may also play a role against cardiac necrosis by reducing EMMPRIN/CyPA-mediated cardiac inflammation. In a porcine model of cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (IR), we found that administration of 0.3 mg/kg Ivabradine significantly improved cardiac function and reduced cardiac necrosis by day 7 after IR, detecting a significant increase in cardiac CyPA in the necrotic compared to the risk areas, which was inversely correlated with the levels of circulating CyPA detected in plasma samples from the same subjects. In testing whether Ivabradine may regulate the levels of CyPA, no changes in tissue CyPA were found in healthy pigs treated with 0.3 mg/kg Ivabradine, but interestingly, when analyzing the complex EMMPRIN/CyPA, rather high glycosylated EMMPRIN, which is required for EMMPRIN-mediated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activation and increased CyPA bonding to low-glycosylated forms of EMMPRIN were detected by day 7 after IR in pigs treated with Ivabradine. To study the mechanism by which Ivabradine may prevent secretion of CyPA, we first found that Ivabradine was time-dependent in inhibiting co-localization of CyPA with the granule exocytosis marker vesicle-associated membrane protein 1 (VAMP1). However, Ivabradine had no effect on mRNA expression nor in the proteasome and lysosome degradation of CyPA. In conclusion, our results point toward CyPA, its ligand EMMPRIN, and the complex CyPA/EMMPRIN as important targets of Ivabradine in cardiac protection against IR.post-print361 K