Development and validation of a teaching competences profile in compulsory education

El contexto socioeducativo actual, marcado por momentos de crisis e incertidumbre, necesita más que nunca un sistema educativo que permita abordar con seguridad y eficacia los grandes retos a los que se enfrenta, fundamentalmente resumidos en la idea de ofrecer una educación que forme a los futuros ciudadanos en competencias básicas para la vida que les permitan integrarse y contribuir a la mejora de la sociedad a la que pertenecen. Sin duda, alcanzar esta meta exige al sistema educativo atender rigurosamente a las diferentes variables que influyen y contribuyen a su logro. En este sentido, es necesario cuidar la calidad de la docencia, y concretamente, velar por que el profesorado de educación obligatoria disponga de las competencias que se precisen para abordar este reto. A través de esta comunicación, se presenta el proceso de elaboración y validación de un perfil de competencias docentes del Profesorado de Educación Obligatoria que se ajuste a las necesidades educativas actuales. En este sentido, las competencias docentes deben permitir al profesorado actuar con eficacia no solamente en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje que se producen en el espacio de aula, sino que deberán sobrepasar este contexto para dar respuestas solventes a las diferentes realidades y situaciones que se producen en el contexto escolar en su relación con los diferentes agentes educativos y en torno a las diferentes funciones y tareas que supone la acción docente

Targeting to porcine sialoadhesin receptor improves antigen presentation to T cells

Antibody-mediated targeting of antigen to specific antigen presenting cells (APC) receptors is an attractive strategy to enhance T cell immune responses to weak immunogenic antigens. Here, we describe the characterization of two monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against different epitopes of porcine sialoadhesin (Sn) and evaluate in vitro the potential of targeting this receptor for delivery of antigens to APC for T cell stimulation. The specificity of these mAb was determined by amino acid sequence analysis of peptides derived from the affinity purified antigen. Porcine Sn is expressed by macrophages present in the border between white and red pulp of the spleen and in the subcapsular sinus of lymph nodes, an appropriate location for trapping blood and lymph-borne antigens. It is also expressed by alveolar macrophages and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDC). Blood monocytes are negative for this molecule, but its expression can be induced by treatment with IFN-a. MAb bound to Sn is rapidly endocytosed. MAb to sialoadhesin induced in vitro T cell proliferation at concentrations 100-fold lower than the non-targeting control mAb when using T lymphocytes from pigs immunized with mouse immunoglobulins as responder cells and IFN-a treated monocytes or MoDC as APC, suggesting a role of sialoadhesin in antigen uptake and/or delivery into the presentation pathway in APC

Competencias profesionales del profesorado de educación obligatoria

La asunción de un modelo educativo que orienta al alumnado al desarrollo de competencias para la vida, conlleva un cambio de rumbo en los planteamientos y acciones a desarrollar en los centros escolares, y la transformación de las funciones a desempeñar por el profesorado. La revisión y análisis previos sobre las tareas que la normativa y la investigación educativa consideran ha de realizar el profesorado de educación obligatoria, han posibilitado en este estudio definir y validar a través del juicio de expertos, las competencias docentes ajustadas al contexto educativo actual. A partir de los resultados obtenidos se proponen nueve competencias docentes clasificadas en dos tipologías. Por un lado, unas competencias clave asociadas a las funciones que promueven el aprendizaje y el desarrollo de competencias para la vida en el alumnado. Y por otro, unas competencias genérico-transversales, que, sin estar directamente relacionadas con los procesos de aprendizaje, contribuyen a su mejora. El juicio de expertos constata la relevancia de las competencias propuestas, la precisión de sus definiciones y la adecuación de sus dimensiones. El trabajo realizado tiene importantes implicaciones para la formación y práctica docente, dado que permite establecer unas metas educativas ajustadas a las demandas que la sociedad actual hace a la educación obligatori

Acute and long-term exercise differently modulate plasma levels of oxylipins, endocannabinoids, and their analogues in young sedentary adults: A sub-study and secondary analyses from the ACTIBATE randomized controlled-trial

Background Fatty acid-derived lipid mediators including oxylipins, endocannabinoids (eCBs), and their analogues, have emerged as key metabolites in the inflammatory and immune response to physiological stressors. Methods This report was based on a sub-study and secondary analyses the ACTIBATE single-center unblinded randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02365129). The study was performed in the Sport and Health University Research Institute and the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital of the University of Granada. Eligible participants were young, sedentary adults with no chronic diseases. Here, we performed both an acute endurance and resistance exercise sub-studies (n = 14 and 17 respectively), and a 24-week supervised exercise intervention, combining endurance and resistance exercise training at moderate-intensity (MOD-EX) or vigorous-intensity (VIG-EX) exercise groups, in young sedentary adults. Randomization was performed by unrestricted randomization. Plasma levels of oxylipins, eCBs, and their analogues were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Findings Both endurance and resistance exercise increased by +50% the plasma levels of dihomo-γ-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid (AA) omega-6 derived oxylipins, as well as eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid omega-3 derived after 3 and 120 min of the bout of exercise (all η2 ≥ 0.219 and P ≤ 0.039). These exercise modalities also increased the levels of anandamide and eCBs analogues (+25%). 145 young sedentary adults were assigned to a control (CON, n = 54), a MOD-EX (n = 48) or a VIG-EX (n = 43). 102 participants were included in the final longterm analyses (CON, n = 36; MOD-EX, n = 33; and VIG-EX, n = 33) of the trial. After 24-week of supervised exercise, MOD-EX decreased plasma levels of omega-6 oxylipins, concretely linoleic acid (LA) and adrenic acid derived oxylipins, and the eCBs analogues OEA and LEA in comparison to the CON (all P ≤ 0.021). VIG-EX decreased LA-derived oxylipins and LEA compared to CON. No relevant adverse events were recorded. Interpretation Endurance and resistance exercises acutely increased plasma levels of oxylipins, eCBs, and their analogues, whereas 24 weeks of exercise training decreased fasting plasma levels of omega-6 oxylipins, and eCBs analogues in young, sedentary adults

Tongue Abnormalities Are Associated to a Maternal Folic Acid Deficient Diet in Mice

It is widely accepted that maternal folic acid (FA) deficiency during pregnancy is a risk factor for abnormal development. The tongue, with multiple genes working together in a coordinated cascade in time and place, has emerged as a target organ for testing the effect of FA during development. A FA-deficient (FAD) diet was administered to eight-week-old C57/BL/6J mouse females for 2–16 weeks. Pregnant dams were sacrificed at gestational day 17 (E17). The tongues and heads of 15 control and 210 experimental fetuses were studied. In the tongues, the maximum width, base width, height and area were compared with width, height and area of the head. All measurements decreased from 10% to 38% with increasing number of weeks on maternal FAD diet. Decreased head and tongue areas showed a harmonic reduction (Spearman nonparametric correlation, Rho = 0.802) with respect to weeks on a maternal FAD diet. Tongue congenital abnormalities showed a 10.9% prevalence, divided in aglossia (3.3%) and microglossia (7.6%), always accompanied by agnathia (5.6%) or micrognathia (5.2%). This is the first time that tongue alterations have been related experimentally to maternal FAD diet in mice. We propose that the tongue should be included in the list of FA-sensitive birth defect organs due to its relevance in several key food and nutrition processes

How are the ancient cystic fibrosis patients?: Cystic fibrosis diagnosed over 60 years-old

Background and aims To specify the prevalence of patients diagnosed with CF at age of ≥60 year-old and to analyze their characteristics. Patients and methods Observational study of CF patients which were diagnosed at age ≥60 year-old. The analyzed variables were: age, sex, nationality, lung function parameters, conditions present at diagnosis, microbiological characteristics and genetic findings. Results eight patients were included. 7 patients were female (87.5%) with a mean age of 70.6 years (median 71.5 years, range 60–78 years). The most important findings were: sweat test > 60 mEq/l; heterozygotes F508del; bronchiectasis in CT; methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (50%) in sputum. The most patients presented a normal or mild obstructive lung function. Conclusions CF must also be considered a disease diagnosed in adulthood, incorporating the sweat test within the usual techniques of differential diagnosis in patients with different diseases associated with CF, because genetic counselling is esencial

Alteration of medial-edge epithelium cell adhesion in two Tgf-β3 null mouse strains

Although palatal shelf adhesion is a crucial event during palate development, little work has been carried out to determine which molecules are responsible for this process. Furthermore, whether altered palatal shelf adhesion causes the cleft palate presented by Tgf-β3 null mutant mice has not yet been clarified. Here, we study the presence/distribution of some extracellular matrix and cell adhesion molecules at the time of the contact of palatal shelves in both wild-type and Tgf-β3 null mutant palates of two strains of mice (C57/BL/6J (C57), and MF1) that develop cleft palates of different severity. We have performed immunohistochemistry with antibodies against collagens IV and IX, laminin, fibronectin, the α5- and β1-integrins, and ICAM-1; in situ hybridization with a Nectin-1 riboprobe; and palatal shelf cultures treated or untreated with TGF-β3 or neutralizing antibodies against fibronectin or the α5-integrin. Our results show the location of these molecules in the wild-type mouse medial edge epithelium (MEE) of both strains at the time of the contact of palatal shelves; the heavier (C57) and milder (MF1) alteration of their presence in the Tgf-β3 null mutants; the importance of TGF-β3 to restore their normal pattern of expression; and the crucial role of fibronectin and the α5-integrin in palatal shelf adhesion. We thus provide insight into the molecular bases of this important process and the cleft palate presented by Tgf-β3 null mutant mice

Folic acid deficiency induces premature hearing loss through mechanisms involving cochlear oxidative stress and impairment of homocysteine metabolism

Nutritional imbalance is emerging as a causative factor of hearing loss (HL). Epidemiological studies have linked HL to elevated plasma homocysteine (pHcy) and folate deficiency, and showed that folate supplementation lowers pHcy levels potentially ameliorating age-related HL. The purpose of this study was to address the potential impact of folate deficiency in HL and to unveil the underlying mechanisms. For this purpose, two-month old C57BL/6J-mice (Animalia Chordata Mus musculus) were randomly divided in two groups (n=65 each) that were fed folate-deficient or standard diets for 8 weeks. HPLC analysis demonstrated 7-fold decline in serum folate and 3-fold increase in pHcy levels. Auditory brainstem recordings showed that only folate-deficient mice exhibited severe HL and cochlear TUNEL+-apoptotic cells. RTqPCR and Western-blotting showed reduced levels of enzymes involved in Hcy production and recycling, together with 30% increased protein homocysteinylation. Redox stress was evidenced by decreased expression of Cat, Gpx4 and Gss genes, increased levels of the proteins MnSOD and the NOX-complex adaptor p22phox, and elevated concentrations of glutathione species. Altogether, our findings show for the first time that the relationship between folate-induced hyperhomocysteinemia and premature HL involves impairment of cochlear Hcy metabolism and associated oxidative stress

Desarrollo de competencias emocionales en los futuros profesionales de la salud en contexto de pandemia. (Revisión)

In the current pandemic scenario, generated by COVID-19, several situations show that the Health Science students need to know how to respond emotionally to them personally and professionally. The development of emotional competencies in them will depend on the awareness of this need and the expertise of the group of teachers in charge. With the desire to contribute to the formation of more comprehensive and emotionally competent trainees, this work aims at developing an educational guidance program to develop emotional skills in the students, future professionals, of the Faculty of Health Sciences, at the Technical University of Babahoyo, Los Rios, Ecuador. For the study of the theoretical methodological foundations that support the proposal, theoretical methods were used such as: analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction and modeling for the development of the program. The results achieved will be validated through the Focused Testimony. This article provides a guiding proposal for teachers and other educational agents to use in terms of the development of emotional competencies in their students for the benefit of their health and that of others.En el escenario actual de pandemia, generado por la COVID-19, diversas situaciones muestran la necesidad de que los estudiantes de Ciencias de la Salud sepan cómo responder emocionalmente ante ellas de manera personal y profesional. El desarrollo de competencias emocionales en ellos dependerá de la conciencia que se tenga de dicha necesidad y de la pericia del colectivo de profesores a cargo. Con el afán de contribuir a la formación de educandos más integrales y competentes en el plano emocional, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo elaborar un programa de orientación educativa para desarrollar competencias emocionales en los estudiantes, futuros profesionales de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Técnica de Babahoyo, Los Ríos, Ecuador. Para el estudio de los fundamentos teóricos metodológicos que sustentan la propuesta, se emplearon métodos teóricos como los de análisis-síntesis, inducción-deducción y de modelación para la elaboración del programa. Los resultados que se alcancen serán validados mediante el Testimonio Focalizado. El presente artículo brinda una propuesta orientadora para que los docentes y otros agentes educativos la utilicen en función del desarrollo de competencias emocionales en sus estudiantes para beneficio de su salud y la de los demás

Municipal Solid Waste Management in a Decentralized Composting Scenario: Assessment of the Process Reproducibility and Quality of the Obtained Composts

Over the last several years, the models for organic waste management have changed to implement circular economy in the productive cycle. In this context, new scenarios have emerged, where the management of different organic waste streams by composting is conducted with decentralized models that manage organic wastes in a more local way. However, in these new models, the standardization of the process control and of the end-product characteristics is necessary to guarantee the quality and agronomic value of the compost obtained, avoiding potential risks for human health and the environment. Thus, the aim of this work was to study two different scenarios of community composting of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste separately collected in order to guarantee the effectiveness and reproducibility of the composting processes and the quality of the composts obtained. For this, the development of the process and the characteristics of the composts at agronomic, hygienic–sanitary and environmental levels were assessed in real conditions and during three cycles of the process. The results obtained show high similarity among the different composting cycles, indicating an important degree of reproducibility among the processes. In addition, the composts obtained showed a good sanitary quality, absence of phytotoxicity and low contents of potentially toxic elements, which guarantee their use in agriculture without posing any risk to human health and to the environment.EEA Hilario AscasubiFil: Álvarez-Alonso, Cristina. Universidad Miguel Hernández. Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH); EspañaFil: Pérez-Murcia, María Dolores. Universidad Miguel Hernández. Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH); EspañaFil: Sánchez-Méndez, Silvia. Universidad Miguel Hernández. Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH); EspañaFil: Martínez-Sabater, Encarnación. Universidad Miguel Hernández. Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH); EspañaFil: Irigoyen, Ignacio. Public University of Navarre. Department of Agricultural Production; EspañaFil: López, Marga. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). Campus del Baix Llobregat. Department d‘Enginyeria Agroalimentària i Biotecnologia; EspañaFil: Nogués, Isabel. National Research Council. Research Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems; ItaliaFil: Paredes, Concepción. Universidad Miguel Hernández. Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH); EspañaFil: Orden, Luciano. Universidad Miguel Hernández. Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH); EspañaFil: Orden, Luciano. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: García-Rández, Ana. Universidad Miguel Hernández. Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH); EspañaFil: Bustamante, María Ángeles. Universidad Miguel Hernández. Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH); Españ