Manual for inspection of sprayers in use and PRITEAF, dedicated software for inspection of sprayers: success tools developed for the inspector’s training process in Spain

Software dedicated to inspection of sprayers in use has been developed with the aim to facilitate the accomplishment of the mandatory requirements from EU Directive for a Sustainable Use of Pesticides, specifically those concerning the inspection of sprayers in use. The software- PRITEAF- has been developed according to the European standards EN 13790 concerning mandatory inspection of sprayers in use and it is ready to be used not only for inspectors among all the EU members but also for training purposes all over the world. The software is ready to be on line –after minor arrangements - with the recently approved new international inspection standards ISO 16122, and its main features are: to facilitate the sprayer’s inspection procedure, to manage, storage and transfer all the information to the official bodies in charge of the procedure, and to be used as a support tool to improve the training activities during the process, according the European Directive 2009/128/CE for a Sustainable Use of Pesticides. For this purpose, PRITEAF has been designed for three different types of users: inspection teams, inspection workshops and regional authorities. PRITEAF has been developed using the File Maker Pro package and it is composed of three databases – inspections activities, database on sprayers already inspected, and owners or official responsible for the agricultural activity. The software is completed with specific modules for data acquisition and for generating official reports, files and communications. For its implementation, PRITEAF uses specific hardware (a PC server, a tablet and local Wi-Fi) necessary to ensure proper data collection in the field. After data collection, the software generates an official inspection report and an inspection certificate, as required by law. Using PRITEAF reduces inspection time by 33% compared to traditional sprayer inspection systems. Following its validation, PRITEAF has been made available to regional authorities and inspection workshops across Spain, and is also being used to train all inspection teams in the country. More than 800 inspectors have been officially trained using the developed software, resulting in an interesting tool to improve the daily activities to be executed in all the inspection’s workshops in Europe

Invarianza longitudinal del IPAE en escolares españoles de primer curso de primaria

A study was conducted to analyze the factorial structure and longitudinal invariance of the Indicators of Basic Early Writing Skills (IPAE) as Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in Spanish 1st grade students. The proposed model is a one-factor model in which the five IPAE tasks (i.e. allograph selection, dictation of words with arbitrary spelling, dictation of words with regulated spelling, dictation of pseudowords, and dictation of sentences) serve as observable indicators for a single underlying factor (i.e., transcription). The IPAE is composed of three parallel forms (i.e., A, B, and C), and it was administered at three different times to 231 Spanish first-grade students during the school year (beginning, middle, and end). It is concluded that the IPAE presents an adequate construct validity and measurement equivalence that allows the evaluation of first-grade transcription ability over time.Se realizó un estudio para analizar la estructura factorial y la invarianza longitudinal de medida de los Indicadores de Progreso de Aprendizaje en Escritura (IPAE) como medición basada en el currículo en estudiantes españoles de 1º grado. El modelo propuesto es de un factor en el que las cinco tareas del IPAE (i.e., escritura de alógrafos, dictado de palabras con ortografía arbitraria, dictado de palabras con ortografía reglada, dictado de pseudopalabras y dictado de frases) sirven como indicadores observables para un solo factor subyacente (i.e., transcripción). El IPAE está compuesto de tres formas paralelas (i.e., A, B y C), y se administró en tres ocasiones diferentes a 231 estudiantes españoles de primer grado durante el año escolar (inicio, medio y fin). Se concluye que el IPAE presenta una adecuada validez de constructo y equivalencia de medida que permite evaluar la habilidad de transcripción en primer grado a lo largo del tiempo

Invarianza longitudinal del IPAE en escolares españoles de primer curso de primaria

A study was conducted to analyze the factorial structure and longitudinal invariance of the Indicators of Basic Early Writing Skills (IPAE) as Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in Spanish 1st grade students. The proposed model is a one-factor model in which the five IPAE tasks (i.e. allograph selection, dictation of words with arbitrary spelling, dictation of words with regulated spelling, dictation of pseudowords, and dictation of sentences) serve as observable indicators for a single underlying factor (i.e., transcription). The IPAE is composed of three parallel forms (i.e., A, B, and C), and it was administered at three different times to 231 Spanish first-grade students during the school year (beginning, middle, and end). It is concluded that the IPAE presents an adequate construct validity and measurement equivalence that allows the evaluation of first-grade transcription ability over time.Se realizó un estudio para analizar la estructura factorial y la invarianza longitudinal de medida de los Indicadores de Progreso de Aprendizaje en Escritura (IPAE) como medición basada en el currículo en estudiantes españoles de 1º grado. El modelo propuesto es de un factor en el que las cinco tareas del IPAE (i.e., escritura de alógrafos, dictado de palabras con ortografía arbitraria, dictado de palabras con ortografía reglada, dictado de pseudopalabras y dictado de frases) sirven como indicadores observables para un solo factor subyacente (i.e., transcripción). El IPAE está compuesto de tres formas paralelas (i.e., A, B y C), y se administró en tres ocasiones diferentes a 231 estudiantes españoles de primer grado durante el año escolar (inicio, medio y fin). Se concluye que el IPAE presenta una adecuada validez de constructo y equivalencia de medida que permite evaluar la habilidad de transcripción en primer grado a lo largo del tiempo

Dogs as a source of Salmonella spp. in apparently healthy dogs in the Valencia Region. Could it be related with intestinal lactic acid bacteria?

Altres ajuts: Banco Santander (ES), FUSPBS-PPC 15/2016Although salmonellosis is considered one of the most important food-borne zoonotic diseases in Europe, close contact between dogs and their owners can also be a potential source of Salmonella spp. for humans. This study assessed the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella spp. in apparently healthy dogs in the Valencian Region, eastern Spain. Moreover, a macroscopic comparison of lactic acid bacteria in both Salmonella -positive and Salmonella -negative dogs was carried out. Of a total of 325 dogs sampled, 6 (1.85%) were positive for Salmonella spp. with 3 different serotypes, Havana (3), Mikawasima (2) and monophasic Typhimurium (1). All isolates were susceptible to all antimicrobials tested except monophasic S. Typhimurium, which was resistant to ampicillin. Finally, macroscopic results revealed that lactic acid bacteria had higher heterogeneity in the Salmonella -negative dogs than in the Salmonella -positive dogs. Although the results in our study showed a low prevalence of Salmonella spp., raw food has been suggested as a risk factor for bacteria in dog faeces. Public awareness campaigns on good hygiene practices, especially after handling canine faeces or raw food, are necessary. Furthermore, to reduce the potential transmission of bacteria, dogs should be fed food that has been properly cooked, as raw or undercooked food can be a source of zoonotic pathogens. Moreover, further studies must be performed to determine the relationship between lactic acid bacteria and Salmonella spp. in dog faeces

A staging scheme for the development of the scuttle fly Megaselia abdita

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Model organisms, such as Drosophila melanogaster, provide powerful experimental tools for the study of development. However, approaches using model systems need to be complemented by comparative studies for us to gain a deeper understanding of the functional properties and evolution of developmental processes. New model organisms need to be established to enable such comparative work. The establishment of new model system requires a detailed description of its life cycle and development. The resulting staging scheme is essential for providing morphological context for molecular studies, and allows us to homologise developmental processes between species. In this paper, we provide a staging scheme and morphological characterisation of the life cycle for an emerging non-drosophilid dipteran model system: the scuttle fly Megaselia abdita. We pay particular attention to early embryogenesis (cleavage and blastoderm stages up to gastrulation), the formation and retraction of extraembryonic tissues, and the determination and formation of germ (pole) cells. Despite the large evolutionary distance between the two species (approximately 150 million years), we find that M. abdita development is remarkably similar to D. melanogaster in terms of developmental landmarks and their relative timing.Funding: The laboratory of Johannes Jaeger and this study in particular was funded by the MEC-EMBL agreement for the EMBL/CRG Research Unit in Systems Biology, by SGR grant 406 from the Catalan funding agency AGAUR, by grants BFU2009-10184 & BFU2012-33775 from the Spanish Ministry of Science (MICINN, now called MINECO), and by ERANet: ERASysBio+ grant EUI2009-04045 (MODHEART). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript