Approach to the potential production of giant reed in surplus saline lands of Spain

Growing energy crops on marginal land has been promoted as a way of ensuring that biomass production involves an acceptable and sustainable use of land. Saline and saline-prone agricultural lands represent an opportunity for growing energy crops avoiding the displacement of food production and contributing to restoration of degraded land. Giant reed (Arundo donax L.) is a perennial grass that has been proposed as a promising energy crop for lignocellulosic biomass production while its tolerance to salinity has been proved. In this work, the identification of surplus saline lands that could be irrigated with saline waters for growing tolerant-energy crops (giant reed) in the mainland of Spain and the assessment of the agronomically attainable yield in these limiting growing conditions were undertaken. To this purpose, a GIS analysis was conducted using geodatabases related to saline areas, agro-climatic conditions, irrigation water requirements, agricultural land availability, restrictions regarding the range of electrical conductivity tolerated by the crop, competition with agro-food crops and irrigation water provisions. According to the approach developed, the irrigated and saline agricultural area available and suitable for biomass production from giant reed amounted up to 34 412 ha. The agronomically attainable yield in these limiting conditions was estimated at 12.7 – 22.2 t dm ha−1 yr−1 and the potential production of lignocellulosic biomass, 597 338 t dm yr−1. The methodology followed in this study can be applied to other target regions; it allows the identification of this type of marginal lands, where salinity-tolerant plant species could be grown for bioenergy purposes, avoiding competition with agro-food crops, and where soil restoration measurements should be undertaken

Herramientas de aprendizaje activo en ingeniería para docencia presencial y a distancia en el EEES

Póster presentado en: V Jornadas de Innovación Docente de la UBU, Burgos, 21-22 de octubre de 2010, organizadas por el Instituto de Formación e Innovación Educativa-IFIE de la Universidad de Burgo

El olmo de Siberia como cultivo para la producción de biomasa

Los estudios sobre el olmo de Siberia en SRC en España son relativamente recientes, y se circunscriben a las provincias de Madrid, Soria y Teruel los resultados son muy prometedores para producir biomasa leñosa en condiciones de secano en España

Iontoforesis, dosis y tratamientos

La iontoforesis es una técnica documentada desde el siglo XVII, pero aún hoy no se emplea con la precisión que requiere cualquier tratamiento. No existe un criterio común en la dosificación y en la aplicación de la técnica lo que dificulta obtener conclusiones de los estudios y tratamientos. Entre las posibilidades terapéuticas se encuentra la hiperhidrosis palmoplantar, las calcificaciones utilizando ácido acético y las induraciones, en las cuales se informa de resultados eficaces. No obstante, falta llegar a un consenso entre los profesionales para que la utilización de esta técnica deje de realizarse de forma empírica

Investigating the potential of Sentinel-2 configuration to predict the quality of Mediterranean permanent grasslands in open woodlands

The assessment of pasture quality in permanent grasslands is essential for their conservation and management, as it can contribute to making real-time decisions for livestock management. In this study, we assessed the potential of Sentinel-2 configuration to predict forage quality in high diverse Mediterranean permanent grasslands of open woodlands. We evaluated the performance of Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS) models to predict crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and enzyme digestibility of organic matter (EDOM) by using three different reflectance datasets: (i) laboratory measurements of reflectance of dry and ground pasture samples re-sampled to Sentinel-2 configuration (Spec-lab) (ii) field in-situ measurements of grasslands canopy reflectance resampled to Sentinel-2 configuration (Spec-field); (iii) and Bottom Of Atmosphere Sentinel-2 imagery. For the three reflectance datasets, the models to predict CP content showed moderate performance and predictive ability. Mean R2test = 0.68 were obtained using Spec-lab data, mean R2test decreased by 0.11 with Spec-field and by 0.18 when Sentinel-2 reflectance was used. Statistics for NDF showed worse predictions than those obtained for CP: predictions produced with Spec-lab showed mean R2test = 0.64 and mean RPDtest = 1.73. The mean values of R2test = 0.50 and RPDtest = 1.54 using Sentinel-2 BOA reflectance were marginally better than the values obtained with Spec-field (mean R2test = 0.48, mean RPDtest = 1.43). For ADF and EDOM, only predictions made with Spec-lab produced acceptable results. Bands from the red-edge region, especially band 5, and the SWIR regions showed the highest contribution to estimating CP and NDF. Bands 2, blue and 4, red also seem to be important. The implementation of field spectroscopy in combination with Sentinel-2 imagery proved to be feasible to produce forage quality maps and to develop larger datasets. This study contributes to increasing knowledge of the potential and applicability of Sentinel-2 to predict the quality of Mediterranean permanent grasslands in open woodlands

Diagnostic and assessment of specific and transversal competences in Chemistry studies in a distance education program

[EN] The current socioeconomic conditions require highly educated professional with new curricula requirements and new skills, professionals with initiative and abilities able to be adapted to different situations and contexts. Consequently, the university education system must ensure that students achieve competences that involve the combination of knowledge, attitudes and values that enable a qualified person to undertake the resolution of problems or able to evolve in a new professional or social context. To achieve this goal, universities must find and use the most suitable tools to adapt and create higher education programs to respond to the needs of today’s society, tuning academic and professional profiles. On the other hand, there is a significant growth of enrolling students in distance education universities and several distance education programs are available in most universities. Thus, the aim of this communication is to share the results obtained during the development of a teaching innovation project, which assessed interdisciplinary, specific and transversal competences, by means of a post-task objective test, in the Chemistry undergraduate studies at the National University of Distance Education, (UNED) of Spain. The results of this study have allowed to the professors board to analyse and assess the competences acquired by the students, pointing out the main deficiencies to be solved by re-designing the teaching activities and methodologies to ensure a complete success.González-Gómez, D.; Gallego-Picó, A.; Garcinuño, RM.; Morcillo, MJ.; Durand, J.; Fernández, P. (2015). Diagnostic and assessment of specific and transversal competences in Chemistry studies in a distance education program. En 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION ADVANCES (HEAD' 15). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 576-580. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd15.2015.31157658

Durum and Bread Wheat Flours. Preliminary Mineral Characterization and Its Potential Health Claims

Wheat is one of the most important cereals in terms of its role in the human diet. The distribution of the nutrients in wheat grains depends largely on their morphology, the bran fraction being the richest in minerals, thus developing important functions related to human health. The main purpose of this study was to point out the potential nutritional and health claims related to the mineral composition based on the current European legislation in order to valorize the interesting wheat varieties traditionally consumed in Spain. The mineral composition (microelements: Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn; and macrolements: Ca, Mg, Na, and K) were evaluated in different milling fractions (white flour, whole grain flour, and bran fraction) of 4 wheat varieties of durum (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum Linnaeus) and bread (Triticum aestivum Linnaeus) wheat. As expected, the mineral concentration was higher in the case of bran and whole grain flour, K and Mg being the principal minerals found. A difference between wheat genotype and harvesting year have been found. Moreover, regarding these preliminary results, some samples analysed in the present study met the conditions of use of different approved health claims that could support the possibility to consider wheat flours, especially whole grain flour and bran fraction as functional foods, but some did not.Depto. de Nutrición y Ciencia de los AlimentosFac. de FarmaciaTRUESpanish Ministry of Science and Technology (project reference AGL2012-38345)ALIMNOVA research group (UCM 252/2017)pu

Fracturas de fatiga en el deporte de alta competición: aportación de un caso clínico.

Las fracturas de fatiga se producen principalmente por microlesiones en la zona afectada que pueden solucionarse si se localiza al inicio el problema. Pero si no existen datos clínicos que puedan hacer pensar en una lesión de este tipo, las consecuencias para el paciente pueden ser de dolor, pérdida de movilidad y fuerza. Se presenta el caso de un varón de 27 años de edad, deportista de alto nivel con fractura por estrés en el cuarto metacarpiano. Se describen los hallazgos de la lesión, el diagnóstico, el tratamiento y la evolución de la misma

Modelos educactivos: del Taylorismo al e-learning

La sociedad y la educación en particular se han visto inmersas en un cambio profundo causado por la informática e Internet. Estos dos elementos han producido una recopceptualización de la sociedad y de los centros educativos que ha llevado al progresivo abandono del modelo Taylorista y marcado un nuevo enfoque hacia el e-learning. Asímismo, el modelo de Calidad Total parece quedarse atrás y la reingeniería de procesos avanza instaurandose como un marco de mejora permanete basado en la búsqueda de nuevos e imaginativos métodos de trabajo. Conceptos como versatilidad y flexibidad parecen que toman relevancia frente a marcos y conceptos rígidos que se han quedado en el pasado

The Helicase PIF1 Facilitates Resection over Sequences Prone to Forming G4 Structures

DNA breaks are complex lesions that can be repaired either by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or by homologous recombination (HR). The decision between these two routes of DNA repair is a key point of the DNA damage response (DDR) that is controlled by DNA resection. The core machinery catalyzing the resection process is well established. However, little is known about the additional requirements of DNA resection over DNA structures with high complexity. Here, we found evidence that the human helicase PIF1 has a role in DNA resection, specifically for defined DNA regions, such as those prone to form G-quadruplexes. Indeed, PIF1 is recruited to the site of DNA damage and physically interacts with proteins involved in DNA resection, and its depletion causes DNA damage sensitivity and a reduction of HR efficiency. Moreover, G4 stabilization by itself hampers DNA resection, a phenomenon suppressed by PIF1 overexpressio