Trace elements and C and N isotope composition in two mushroom species from a mine-spill contaminated site

Fungi play a key role in the functioning of soil in terrestrial ecosystems, and in particular in the remediation of degraded soils. The contribution of fungi to carbon and nutrient cycles, along with their capability to mobilise soil trace elements, is well-known. However, the importance of life history strategy for these functions has not yet been thoroughly studied. This study explored the soil-fungi relationship of two wild edible fungi, the ectomycorrhizal Laccaria laccata and the saprotroph Volvopluteus gloiocephalus. Fruiting bodies and surrounding soils in a mine-spill contaminated area were analysed. Isotope analyses revealed Laccaria laccata fruiting bodies were 15N-enriched when compared to Volvopluteus gloiocephalus, likely due to the transfer of 15N-depleted compounds to their host plant. Moreover, Laccaria laccata fruiting bodies δ13C values were closer to host plant values than surrounding soil, while Volvopluteus gloiocephalus matched the δ13C composition to that of the soil. Fungal species presented high bioaccumulation and concentrations of Cd and Cu in their fruiting bodies. Human consumption of these fruiting bodies may represent a toxicological risk due to their elevated Cd concentrations

Attractors in almost periodic Nicholson systems and some numerical simulations

Producción CientíficaThe existence of a global attractor is proved for the skew-product semiflow induced by almost periodic Nicholson systems and new conditions are given for the existence of a unique almost periodic positive solution which exponentially attracts every other positive solution. Besides, some numerical simulations are included to illustrate our results in some concrete Nicholson systems.Ana M. Sanz: MICIIN/FEDER under project PID2021-125446NB-I00 and by Universidad de Valladolid under project PIP-TCESC-2020Víctor M. Villarragut: MICIIN/FEDER under project PID2021- 125446NB-I0

Lower and middle Cambrian trilobites of the central Ossa-Morena zone: paleoecological implications

[Resumen] El presente trabajo ofrece datos relacionados con los trilobites y otros invertebrados asociados, que se encuentran en los materiales cámbricos (inferior y medio) en la zona de Ossa-Morena (SO de España), así como las implicaciones paleoecológicas que pueden deducirse de la información que tenemos hasta el momento.[Abstract] In the present paper are given sorne data related to Trilobites and other invenebrate fauna from Lower and Middle Cambrian deposits in Ossa-Morena (SW, Spain) area. Moreover, considerations on paleoecologic implications are deduced from these data

Longitudinal associations between cardiovascular biomarkers and metabolic syndrome during puberty: the PUBMEP study

Puberty has been described as a life stage of considerable metabolic risk specially for those with obesity. The low-grade systemic inflammatory status associated with obesity could be one of the connections with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Thus, we aimed to assess the relationship between inflammatory and cardiovascular biomarkers and the development of MetS during puberty. Seventy-five children from the PUBMEP study (33 females), aged 4–18 years, were included. Cardiovascular and inflammatory biomarkers were measured in the prepubertal and pubertal stage, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), leptin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukin 8 (IL8), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), total plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (tPAI), resistin, adiponectin, myeloperoxidase (MPO), and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1). MetS was diagnosed at each measurement point. Mixed-effects and logistic regressions were performed. Those children with MetS in puberty presented higher prepubertal values of several cardiometabolic biomarkers in comparison to those without MetS (z-score body mass index (zBMI), waist circumference, insulin, HOMA-IR, leptin, and tPAI (p < 0.05)). For prepubertal children with obesity, the odds of developing MetS in puberty were significantly higher in those having high zBMI (OR = 4.27; CI: 1.39–22.59) or high concentrations of tPAI (OR = 1.19; CI: 1.06–1.43). Conclusion: Those with obesity with higher prepubertal tPAI plasma levels had 19% higher odds of having MetS at puberty highlighting the existence of association between MetS, obesity, and inflammation already in puberty. Thus, assessing cardiometabolic and inflammatory status in children with obesity already at prepuberty is key to avoiding future comorbidities.CRUE-CSIC agreementSpringer NaturePlan Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica, Desarrollo e Innovacion Tecnologica (I + D + I), Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Health Research PI11/01425 PI11/02042 PI11/02059 PI16/01301 PI16/01205 PI16/00871 PI20/00563CIBEROBN Network CB15/00131 CB15/00043Redes tematicas de investigacion cooperativa RETIC Red SAMID RD12/0026/001

Dietary Patterns and Their Association with Body Composition and Cardiometabolic Markers in Children and Adolescents: Genobox Cohort

Diet is a key factor for obesity development; however, limited data are available on dietary cluster analysis in children with obesity. We aimed to assess the associations between dietary patterns and obesity and several cardiometabolic markers. Anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance, blood pressure and plasma biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation and endothelial damage were determined in 674 Caucasian children, aged 5–16, with normal or excess weight. Using a food frequency questionnaire and cluster analysis, two consistent dietary patterns were shown, labeled as health conscious (HC) and sweet and processed (SP). The HC pattern included a greater proportion of participants with overweight/obesity than the SP cluster (80.1% vs. 63.8%). However, children with obesity within the HC cluster, showed less abdominal fat, through waist to hip (0.93 vs. 0.94) and waist to height (0.61 vs. 0.63) indexes (p < 0.01). Univariate general models showed several additional di erences in cardiometabolic risk biomarkers in the global and stratified analyses, with a healthier profile being observed mainly in the HC cluster. However, multivariate models questioned these findings and pointed out the need for further studies in this field. Anyhow, our findings support the benefits of a healthy diet and highlight the importance of dietary patterns in the cardiometabolic risk assessment of children with overweight/obesity, beyond weight control.Plan Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica, Desarrollo e Innovacion Tecnologica (I+D+I), Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Health Research Funding (FONDOS FEDER) PI05/1968 PI11/01425 PI11/02042 PI11/02059 PI16/01301 PI16/01205 PI1600871CIBEROBN Network CB15/00131 CB15/00043Juan de la Cierva-Formacion from the Spanish Government FJCI-2017-34967 FJCI-2014-19795Vice-Rectorate of Research and Transfer of the University of Granada, Spai

TRANSFORMAR LA CULTURA DE ENSEÑANZA Y APRENDIZAJE EN LA EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR DESDE UNA PERSPECTIVA DIY

This article focuses in part of the results of the implementation of the European project DIYLab in five bachelor’s degrees at the University of Barcelona (Primary Education, Early Childhood Education, Social Education, Education and Fine Art). The project was carried out in six elementary and secondary schools and two Universities of Spain, Finland and the Czech Republic. The main focus was to incorporate learning modalities related to the Do it Yourself (DIY) culture, fostering creativity, collaboration, self-regulation, authorship and a critical use of digital technology. Following a methodology based on the principles of participatory action-research (PAR), we first organized discussion groups with teachers, students and, in the case of elementary and secondary schools, families. Then, we defined the implementation, based on the characteristics of each institution and the formative actions organized with the teachers. During the teacher’s professional development, the participants proposed that students create audio-visual productions collaboratively about their learning and the processes that propitiated it. Simultaneously, we created the open digital platform DIYLabHub with the aim of sharing the productions created by students. During the implementation at the University of Barcelona, 471 students collaboratively created and shared 76 audio-visual objects in the Hub and the researchers carried out observations, recordings, field notes and discussion groups. In this article, we present the results of the analysis and the conclusions of how teaching and learning practices were transformed, how teachers’ and students’ attitudes and roles were reconfigured, and the possibilities of sustainability of the DIY culture in Higher Education.Este artículo se basa en el proyecto europeo DIYLab y da cuenta de partede los resultados de su implementación en cinco grados de la Universidadde Barcelona (Educación Primaria, Educación Infantil, Educación Social,Pedagogía y Bellas Artes). El proyecto se desarrolló en centros de educación primaria, secundaria y superior de España, Finlandia y la Chequia. Su foco era incorporar en las instituciones implicadas, modalidades de aprender relacionadas con la cultura Do it Yourself (DIY), fomentando la creatividad, la colaboración, la autorregulación, la autoría, la compartición y el uso crítico de tecnologías digitales. Siguiendo una metodología basada en la investigación-acción participativa (IAP), organizamos grupos de discusión con profesorado, alumnado y familias y definimos la implementación a partir de las características de cada contexto y de acciones formativas con el profesorado. Durante la formación, se propuso que los estudiantes realizaran de forma colaborativa producciones audiovisuales sobre sus aprendizajesy los procesos que los habían propiciado. Simultáneamente, creamos laplataforma digital abierta DIYLabHub, con el objetivo de compartir lasproducciones creadas por los estudiantes. Durante la implementación enla Universidad de Barcelona, 471 estudiantes crearon colaborativamente ycompartieron en el Hub 76 producciones audiovisuales, y los investigadores realizamos observaciones, grabaciones, notas de campo y grupos de discusión. En este artículo, presentamos los resultados del análisis y las conclusiones sobre cómo se transformaron las prácticas de enseñanza y de aprendizaje y se resignificaron las actitudes y los roles del profesorado y alumnado, y sobre la sostenibilidad de la cultura DIY en educación superior

Citizen participation: key in the development of a nation

La participación es condición sine qua non para la democracia. Con el paso del tiempo, las dinámicas relacionadas con la intervención de la ciudadanía en los asuntos públicos ha pasado de ser una participación limitada a los procesos electorales donde se define la representatividad del pueblo ante los entes gubernamentales, para convertirse en un proceso donde el mismo ciudadano se organiza y toma vocería en la defensa de sus intereses mediante la presentación de propuestas encaminadas a convertirse en políticas públicas. De igual modo, su participación trasciende el concepto convencional para convertirse en “incidencia” en los procesos que comprometen el bienestar general. Este artículo es una reflexión acerca de la importancia de la inclusión de los ciudadanos en los procesos de construcción social y de los retos que las sociedades emergentes y los nuevos modelos de administración pública imponen a los gobiernos actuales al momento de presentar los resultados de su gestión.Abstract: The participation is a sine qua non for democracy. Over time, the dynamics related to the involvement of citizens in public affairs have grown from a limited participation in electoral processes where the representativeness of the town was defined before the government entities to become a process where citizens organize themselves and act on behalf of other citizens in defense of their interests by submitting proposals to become public policies. Also, the idea of participation extends from conventional to become “incidence” in the processes that involve the general welfare. This article is a meditation about the importance of the inclusion of citizens in the processes related to social construction and the challenges that both emerging communities and new models of public administration represent to today’s governments when presenting the results of their management

Primera cita de un Blastoideo Coronado en el Ordovícico Superior de Sierra Morena Oriental

En este trabajo se describe y figura el primer hallazgo de un Blastoideo Coronado en los sedimentos del Caradoc Superior de El Viso del Marqués (provincia de Ciudad Real). El nuevo material descrito nos permite analizar la filogenia de los Coronados, su posición sistemática y su modo de vida. El sistema respiratorio, los procesos coronales, se considera como un tipo primitivo de hidrospira, homólogo al definido en Eublastoideos; Por otro lado, se describe el primer caso documentado de alometría en Coronados

Novel strategy for the revalorization of olive (Olea europaea) residues based on the extraction of bioactive peptides

This work proposes a new strategy for the revalorization of residual materials from table-olive and olive oil production based on the extraction of bioactive peptides. Enzymatic hydrolysates of olive seed protein isolate were prepared by treatment with five different proteases: Alcalase, Thermolysin, Neutrase, Flavourzyme and PTN. Although all hydrolysates presented antioxidant properties, Alcalase was the enzyme that yielded the hydrolysate with the highest antioxidant capacity. All hydrolysates showed antihypertensive capacity, obtaining IC50 values from 29 to 350 mu g/ml. Thermolysin was the enzyme which yielded the hydrolysate with the highest ACE-inhibitory capacity. Hydrolysates were fractionated by ultrafiltration showing a high concentration of short chain peptides, which exhibited significantly higher antioxidant and antihypertensive capacities than fractions with higher molecular weights. Peptides in most active fractions were identified by LC-MS/MS, observing homologies with other recognized antioxidant and antihypertensive peptides. Finally, their antioxidant and antihypertensive capacities were evaluated after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved