Primavera sense brunzits. Per què desapareixen les abelles?

Des de l'antigor, la humanitat ha explotat les abelles pels seus productes, la mel, únic aliment dolç fins al segle XVI, i la cera. Més tard, amb la microscòpia, apareix el concepte de la pol·linització, que dóna com a resultat la producció de fruites i llavors que suposen un terç dels nostres aliments. L'actual problema de desaparició de les abelles és multifactorial. Encara que hi ha hagut altres desaparicions històriques d'abelles, des de 1995 s'atribueix als neonicotinoides una disminució important de les poblacions de pol·linitzadors. Els treballs publicats en aquest sentit han originat la prohibició de tres d'aquests a la Unió Europea (UE) per un període de dos anys a partir de l'1 de desembre de 2013. Altres causes de la disminució de les abelles són les males floracions de tardor, pel canvi climàtic, que provoquen desnutrició en una època crítica; els residus dels acaricides que els apicultors utilitzen contra l'àcar varroa, que provoquen intoxicacions subletals i afecten l'expressió dels gens del sistema immunitari, i l'acció paràsita d'aquest àcar, que provoca també malnutrició i transmet malalties. Aquests factors poden ser més o menys importants, segons zones i explotacions, i actuen creant sinergia.Since ancient times, beekeeping has provided humanity with two important products: honey, the only sweetener until the 16th century, and beeswax. Later, with the development of microscopy, the pollination process became known, allowing the improvement of fruits and seeds, which form one-third of all human food. The problem now observed of the disappearance of bees is due to a combination of factors. Other bee disappearances have occurred in the past but the large decrease in the pollinating bee population since 1995 is specifically attributed to neonicotinoids. The studies in this field led the European Union (EU) to put a ban on three neonicotinoids for a period of two years from 1 December 2013. Other causes of the decreased bee populationare the poor autumn flowering of plants due to climate change, which causes malnutrition in bees in a critical stage of their life cycle; the residues of acarides used by farmers to fight the varroa mite, which produce sub-lethal intoxication in bees while affecting gene expression in their immune system; and the selfsame parasitic action of varroa, which also causes malnutrition and transmits diseases. Varying in importance depending on areas and bee farms, these factors interact, creating synergies.La humanidad ha explotado a las abejas inicialmente por sus productos, la miel, único alimento dulce hasta el siglo XVI, y la cera. Posteriormente, con la microscopía, aparece el concepto de la polinización, cuyo resultado es la producción de frutas y semillas que suponen un tercio de nuestros alimentos. El actual problema de desaparición de las abejas es multifactorial. Aunque ha habido otras desapariciones históricas, desde 1995 se achaca a los neonicotinoides una importante disminución de las poblaciones de polinizadores. Los trabajos publicados en este sentido han originado la prohibición de tres de ellos en la Unión Europea (UE), desde el 1 de diciembre de 2013, durante dos años. Otras causas de disminución de las abejas son las malas floraciones otoñales, por el cambio climático, que provocan desnutrición en una época crítica; los residuos de los acaricidas que los apicultores utilizan contra el ácaro varroa, que provocan intoxicaciones subletales y afectan a la expresión de los genes del sistema inmunitario; y la acción parásita de este ácaro, que provoca también malnutrición y transmite enfermedades. Estos factores pueden ser más o menos importantes, según zonas y explotaciones, y actúan en sinergia

Objetos diversos procedentes del poblado calcolítico de Amarguillo II (Los Molares, Sevilla)

Abordamos en este texto el estudio de una serie de objetos del poblado calcolftico de Amarguillo II (Los Molares, Sevilla) procedentes de excavaciones arqueológicas, de prospecciones y de hallazgos casuales que parecen estar relacionados en su mayor parte con el Arte Esquemático Típico. Sus paralelos podemos encontrarlos por diversos ámbitos de la Península Ibérica y por la fachada atlántica europea, principalmente por Bretaña, Escocia e Irlanda

Effect of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria on Salicornia ramosissima Seed Germination under Salinity, CO2 and Temperature Stress

In a scenario of climate change and growing population, halophyte root microbiota interactions may be a sustainable solution to improve alternative crop production while combating abiotic stress. In this work, seeds of the cash crop halophyte Salicornia ramosissima were inoculated with five different plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria consortia, isolated from the rhizosphere of five halophytes in southwestern Spain salt marshes. For the first time, we recorded seed germination response to three interactive abiotic stressors, CO2 (400 and 700 ppm), temperature (25 and 29 ℃) and salinity (171, 510 and 1030 mM NaCl), all of them related to climate change. Salinity played a decisive role, as no significant differences were registered between treatments at 171 mM NaCl and no germination took place at 1030 mM NaCl. At 510 mM NaCl, one rhizobacterial consortium improved seed parameters notably, increasing up to 114% germination percentage and 65% seedlings biomass. These first findings encourage us to think that cash crop halophytes like S. ramosissima and halophyte root microbiota may be valuable resources for human or animal feeding in a future climate reality.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CGL2016-75550-R)Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (FPU014/03987

New findings in the signaling pathways of cis and trans platinum Iodido complexes' interaction with DNA of cancer cells

We have selected a series of aliphatic amine platinum compounds bearing chloride and/or iodide as the leaving groups. The complexes' cytotoxicity and interaction with DNA indicated differences in the reactivity. Now, we are reporting on the analysis of their molecular mechanism of action on gastric cancer cells. Our data reveals differences between them. Chlorido drugs showed similar behavior to cisplatin; they both required p53 to induce apoptosis but only cis-ipa showed DNA damage requirement for apoptosis induction. On the contrary, cis and trans iodido induced cell death independent of p53 activity, and they induced cell death through Bid activation, so their toxicity could be enhanced in a combined treatment with novel Bcl-2 protein family inhibitors. We also report the structural features of the DNA adduct for one of the complexes by X-ray diffraction. These findings represent a step forward in the search for new platinum-derived agents more specific and effective in the treatment of cancerAuthors A.G.Q., M.C., and A.A.-V. received funding from MINECO CTQ2015-68779-R. I.S.P. received funding from P17-01401 (supported by FEDER funds) from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, SpainNPL is a fellow of the Programa de Doctorado Biociencias Moleculares UAM, Madrid, Spain. NPL was supported by a fellowship Programa de Formación de Profesorado Universitario REF: FPU15/0466

Solución para determinar la relevancia de un texto por medio del nivel de subjetividad en textos digitales

En la actualidad el internet es el medio más utilizado, el cual alberga una gran cantidad de información textual sobre diversos temas; sin embargo, dicha información, en la gran mayoría de casos no es regulada por criterios de calidad de información, ya que cualquier usuario puede publicar y editar el contenido, lo cual se genera la necesidad de encontrar procedimientos automatizados que puedan filtrar los contenidos de los textos en la web. El objetivo principal del proyecto es implementar una solución que permita identificar el grado la subjetividad de un texto en base a un diccionario de datos, esto se podrá debido a la implementación de procesos que ayuden a determinar la subjetividad de textos. El software desarrollado en el proyecto es basado en software de licencia abierta que permite analizar y almacenar un conjunto de palabras según la ponderación de frecuencia de la subjetividad estimada por cada distribución creando así un diccionario. Para esto, todas las palabras son transformadas a su forma base sin importar su variación morfológica a través del uso de técnicas de procesamiento de lenguaje natural. Como resultado del proyecto se realizó la implementación de una solución software el cual realiza la obtención del grado de subjetividad. Dicho software procesa la información y es almacenado para luego ser mostrado por medio de reportes. El resultado de la solución software fue validado para verificar la efectividad de este. El resultado mostró un porcentaje de efectividad satisfactoria.In the present time, the internet is one of the most used media worldwide, and it has a lot of textual information about different topics; But that information, in many cases is not regulated by any information quality criteria. This is caused because any person can publish or edit the content of its. This generates the necessity of find automated procedures to filter the contents of the texts on the web. The main objective of the project is to implement a solution that allows identifying the degree of subjectivity of a text based on a data dictionary, this may be due to the implementation of processes that help define the subjectivity of texts. The developed software in the project is based on open source software that allows to analyze and store a set of words according to the frequency weighting of the subjectivity estimated by each distribution thus creating a dictionary. For this, all words are transformed to their base form regardless of their morphological variation through the use of natural language processing techniques. As a result of the project, the implementation of a software solution gives a result, which obtains the degree of subjectivity. This software processes the information. After that is stored and then be shown through reports. The result of the software solution was validated to verify its effectiveness. The result showed a satisfactory effectiveness percentage.Tesi

Safe Cultivation of Medicago sativa in Metal-Polluted Soils from Semi-Arid Regions Assisted by Heatand Metallo-Resistant PGPR

Soil contamination with heavy metals is a constraint for plant establishment and development for which phytoremediation may be a solution, since rhizobacteria may alleviate plant stress under these conditions. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to elucidate the effect of toxic metals on growth, the activities of ROS (reactive oxygen species)-scavenging enzymes, and gene expression of Medicago sativa grown under different metal and/or inoculation treatments. The results showed that, besides reducing biomass, heavy metals negatively affected physiological parameters such as chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange, while increasing ROS-scavenging enzyme activities. Inoculation of M. sativa with a bacterial consortium of heat- and metallo-resistant bacteria alleviated metal stress, as deduced from the improvement of growth, lower levels of antioxidant enzymes, and increased physiological parameters. The bacteria were able to effectively colonize and form biofilms onto the roots of plants cultivated in the presence of metals, as observed by scanning electron microscopy. Results also evidenced the important role of glutathione reductase (GR), phytochelatin synthase (PCS), and metal transporter NRAMP1 genes as pathways for metal stress management, whereas the gene coding for cytochrome P450 (CP450) seemed to be regulated by the presence of the bacteria. These outcomes showed that the interaction of metal-resistant rhizobacteria/legumes can be used as an instrument to remediate metal-contaminated soils, while cultivation of inoculated legumes on these soils is still safe for animal grazing, since inoculation with bacteria diminished the concentrations of heavy metals accumulated in the aboveground parts of the plants to below toxic levelsMarruecos. Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (CNRST)-España, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)-PPR2 /2016/42Unión Europea (FEDER)-CGL2016-75550-

Endophytic cultivable bacteria of the metal bioaccumulator Spartina maritima improve plant growth but not metal uptake in polluted marshes soils

Endophytic bacterial population was isolated from Spartina maritima tissues, a heavy metal bioaccumulator cordgrass growing in the estuaries of Tinto, Odiel, and Piedras River (south west Spain), one of the most polluted areas in the world. Strains were identified and ability to tolerate salt and heavy metals along with plant growth promoting and enzymatic properties were analyzed. A high proportion of these bacteria were resistant toward one or several heavy metals and metalloids including As, Cu, and Zn, the most abundant in plant tissues and soil. These strains also exhibited multiple enzymatic properties as amylase, cellulase, chitinase, protease and lipase, as well as plant growth promoting properties, including nitrogen fixation, phosphates solubilization, and production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), siderophores and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase. The best performing strains (Micrococcus yunnanensis SMJ12, Vibrio sagamiensis SMJ18, and Salinicola peritrichatus SMJ30) were selected and tested as a consortium by inoculating S. maritima wild plantlets in greenhouse conditions along with wild polluted soil. After 30 days, bacterial inoculation improved plant photosynthetic traits and favored intrinsic water use efficiency. However, far from stimulating plant metal uptake, endophytic inoculation lessened metal accumulation in above and belowground tissues. These results suggest that inoculation of S. maritima with indigenous metal-resistant endophytes could mean a useful approach in order to accelerate both adaption and growth of this indigenous cordgrass in polluted estuaries in restorative operations, but may not be suitable for rhizoaccumulation purposes

Habilidades blandas y el impacto de la covid-19 en la educación superior

This research paper seeks to know how to promote the development of soft skills in order to face successfully the impacts on higher education of the post-pandemic period. The study is based on an exhaustive review of current literature on soft skills and the promotion of their development in students. Such promotion will allow students to improve their soft skills and become aware of their own socio-emotional qualities. In the future, accordingly, they will be able to be part of a generation of professionals capable of having a harmonious emotional development, which includes moments of high work pressure. Higher education should foster among its community members, especially among students, the different means for expanding soft skills, with the consequent positive impacts on their future employment. Soft skills should be understood as those skills that enhance interaction between one another; strengthen relationships; and improve relationships and emotional control in work, professional and personal environments. The methodology applied in this study is qualitative in nature, and consists of both , reviewing current research, and collecting data from different authors that explain what “soft skills”mean. El presente artículo de investigación busca conocer cómo fomentar el desarrollo de las habilidades blandas para afrontar con éxito los impactos en la educación superior del periodo post pandemia. El estudio se basa en la revisión exhaustiva de los trabajos actuales que se tienen a dispo- sición sobre el conocimiento de las habilidades blandas y la promoción de su desarrollo en el estudiante. Esto permitirá perfeccionar sus habilidades blandas y ser consciente de sus propias cualidades socioemocionales. De esta manera, en el futuro podrán ser parte de una generación de profesionales capaces de tener un desenvolvimiento emocional armonioso, que incluya momentos de alta presión laboral. La educación superior debe promover entre la comunidad educativa que la conforma, en especial entre los estudiantes, las distintas alternativas de expansión de las habilidades blandas, con los consiguientes impactos positivos en su futuro mundo laboral. Entendiendo estas como habilidades que potencian la interacción de uno con el otro, fortaleciendo el trato, y mejorando las relaciones y el control emocional en el ambiente laboral, profesional y personal.&nbsp

Impact of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria on Salicornia ramosissima Ecophysiology and Heavy Metal Phytoremediation Capacity in Estuarine Soils

Salicornia ramosissima is a C3 halophyte that grows naturally in South Western Spain salt marshes, under soil salinity and heavy metal pollution (mostly Cu, Zn, As, and Pb) caused by both natural and anthropogenic pressure. However, very few works have reported the phytoremediation potential of S. ramosissima. In this work, we studied a microbe-assisted phytoremediation strategy under greenhouse conditions. We inoculated plant growth promoting (PGP) and heavy metal resistant bacteria in pots with S. ramosissima and natural non-polluted and polluted sediments collected from Spanish estuaries. Then, we analyzed plant ecophysiological and metal phytoaccumulation response. Our data suggested that inoculation in polluted sediments improved S. ramosissima plant growth in terms of relative growth rate (RGR) (32%) and number of new branches (61%). S. ramosissima photosynthetic fitness was affected by heavy metal presence in soil, but bacteria inoculation improved the photochemical apparatus integrity and functionality, as reflected by increments in net photosynthetic rate (21%), functionality of PSII (Fm and Fv/Fm) and electron transport rate, according to OJIP derived parameters. Beneficial effect of bacteria in polluted sediments was also observed by augmentation of intrinsic water use efficiency (28%) and slightly water content (2%) in inoculated S. ramosissima. Finally, our results demonstrated that S. ramosissima was able to accumulate great concentrations of heavy metals, mostly at root level, up to 200 mg Kg–1 arsenic, 0.50 mg Kg–1 cadmium, 400 mg Kg–1 copper, 25 mg Kg–1 nickel, 300 mg Kg–1 lead, and 300 mg Kg–1 zinc. Bioaugmentation incremented S. ramosissima heavy metal phytoremediation potential due to plant biomass increment, which enabled a greater accumulation capacity. Thus, our results suggest the potential use of heavy metal resistant PGPB to ameliorate the capacity of S. ramosissima as candidate for phytoremediation of salty polluted ecosystems.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CGL2016-75550-R, AEI/FEDER, UE

Coastal Ecosystems as Sources of Biofertilizers in Agriculture: From Genomics to Application in an Urban Orchard

Pantoea agglomerans RSO7, a rhizobacterium previously isolated from Spartina maritima grown on metal polluted saltmarshes, had demonstrated good plant growth promoting activity for its host halophyte, but was never tested in crops. The aims of this study were: (1) testing PGP activity on a model plant (alfalfa) in vitro; (2) testing a bacterial consortium including RSO7 as biofertilizer in a pilot experiment in urban orchard; and (3) identifying the traits related to PGP activities. RSO7 was able to enhance alfalfa growth in vitro, particularly the root system, besides improving plant survival and protecting plants against fungal contamination. In addition, in a pilot experiment in urban orchard, a consortium of three bacteria including RSO7 was able to foster the growth and yield of several winter crops between 1.5 and 10 fold, depending on species. Moreover, the analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence revealed that photosynthesis was highly ameliorated. Genome analysis of RSO7 depicted the robustness of this bacterial strain which showed resilience to multiple stresses (heat, cold, UV radiation, several xenobiotics). Together with wide metabolic versatility, genes conferring resistance to oxidative stress were identified. Many genes involved in metal resistance (As, Cu, Ni, Co, Zn, Se, Te) and in tolerance toward high osmolality (production of a battery of osmoprotectans) were also found. Regarding plant growth promoting properties, traits for phosphate solubilization, synthesis of a battery of siderophores and production of IAA were detected. In addition, the bacterium has genes related to key processes in the rhizosphere including flagellar motility, chemotaxis, quorum sensing, biofilm formation, plant-bacteria dialog, and high competitiveness in the rhizosphere. Our results suggest the high potential of this bacterium as bioinoculant for an array of crops. However, the classification in biosecurity group 2 prevents its use according to current European regulation. Alternative formulations for the application of the bioinoculant are discussed.Junta de Andalucía P11-RNM-7274-MOFIUS, University of Seville FIUS19/0065FEDER, Junta de Andalucía US-1262036University of Seville AE2-1