Use of tablets in Early Childhood Education: a case study

El uso de las tecnologías en el aula suponen un valor añadido al proceso educativo. No obstante, el acto de enseñar y aprender en la etapa de Educación Infantil requiere no solo de la introducción de los recursos novedosos en las aulas educativas, sino que es fundamental comenzar todo el proceso a partir de una fundamentación pedagógica que justifique su implementación didáctica en el contexto donde aprenden, desaprenden y re-aprenden el alumnado de Educación Infantil. Este es el trabajo que se está llevando a cabo en el CEIP Maruja Mallo y que presentamos en este artículo, ya que el profesorado cree que el cambio metodológico y de paradigma debe iniciarse en edades tempranas, donde se haga visible el uso de metodologías activas. El propósito de esta experiencia recae en el buen uso de diferentes recursos tecnológicos, por parte del alumnado de Educación Infantil, como la pizarra digital y la tablet, que redunden no sólo en el logro de las competencias generales y básicas de las diferentes áreas de conocimiento (Matemáticas, Lengua, …) sino también en el empleo de aquellas competencias transversales (comunicación, interacción social, educación en igualdad de oportunidades, corresponsabilidad con los otros, afectividad, …) que van a favorecer el desarrollo integral de su personalidad, y les va a habilitar para un aprendizaje permanente a lo largo de su vida.The technologies in classroom are value added in learning. However, the introduction of new technologies in classrooms is not enough to educate in the stage of preschool, but it’s necessary start with the pedagogical argument that justifies their didactic implementation in the context where they learn, unlearn, relearn the preschool children. This project which has been done in CEIP Maruja Mallo, and we present in this article that the teachers believe in the methodological change, and the paradigm should start in the early ages, where the use of active methodologies becomes visible. The purpose of this research, it is good use of different technological resources in preschool children, for example Interactive whiteboard and tablet. This purpose will help improve general and basic competences (Mathematics, Language …) also in the use of transversal competences (Communication, social interaction, equal education, co-responsibility with others, affectivity... ) these will favor the integral development of their personality, and will enable them for lifelong learning throughout their lives Keywords: Preschool, TIC, Tablet, App, Interactive whiteboard.peerReviewe

REACCIÓN PUZOLÁNICA DEL VIDRIO ÁMBAR Y SU EFECTO EN LA RESISTENCIA A COMPRESIÓN DE MORTEROS / POZOLANIC REACTION OF AMBER GLASS AND ITS EFFECT ON COMPRESSION STRENGTH OF MORTARS

Se evaluó la reacción puzolánica del polvo de vidrio color ámbar (PVa) y su efecto en la resistencia a compresión (f’c) de morteros hidráulicos base cemento portland (CP). Los morteros se diseñaron empleando 2.75 partes de arena sílica por una de material cementante (MC). El MC se formó con 80 % de CP + 20 % de PVa. Con las mezclas, se elaboraron especímenes cúbicos de 50 mm por lado y se ensayaron por triplicado a 7, 14, 28 y 56 días de edad para conocer su f’c. El PVa se caracterizó por medio de análisis de composición química (Comq), difracción de rayos x (DRX), microscopía electrónica de barrido (MEB) y difracción de rayos laser (DRL). Los resultados de CompQ indican que el PVa contiene 63 % de SiO2 y 28.4 % de Na2O como óxidos mayores, lo que implica una potencial reacción puzolánica. La f’c del mortero con PVa a 7 y a 14 días de edad fueron inferiores al control en 43.76 % y 7.56 % respectivamente, pero a 28 y 56 días superó al control en 47.38 % y 52.3 % respectivamente, este incremento se atribuye al efecto físico del tamaño de partículas del PVa que densifican la matriz y principalmente al efecto químico de la reacción puzolánica del SiO2 con el Ca(OH)₂ producido durante la hidratación del CP

Plant Biomass and Bovine Live Weight Changes in Mono-Specific and Mixed Pastures during the Rainy Season in Dry Tropical Mexico

Dry tropics suffer long drought periods each year, negatively affecting the amount and digestibility of forage for cattle production. The aim of this study was evaluate different pasture types, grazed by cattle during the rainy season. Three hectares were prepared to compare: grass monoculture, Andropogon gayanus (G); a grass-legume mixture of A. gayanus and Clitoria ternatea (GL), and a grass-legume-tree mixture of A. gayanus, C. ternatea and Morus alba (GLT). Two grazing cycles (4 d grazing followed by 32 d resting; 72 d total) were completed. Three heifers (average initial weight 192 kg) grazed each experimental unit. The amounts of forage offered, remaining after grazing, and removed by animals differed significantly among the pasture treatments. Total forage offered by period was 2007, 4089, and 4192 DM kg/ha for G, GL, and GLT, respectively. Total residual forage was 1074, 1878 and 2613 DM kg/ha respectively, while total forage removed was 934, 2209, and 1579 DM kg/ha, respectively. Differences for offered forage were detected only for residual and consumed forage for GL prairies. Differences in available forage were mainly due to differences in the amount of stem and live material. Daily weight gain was 0.138, 0.504 and 0.501 kg per animal for G, GL, and GLT, respectively. Mixed pasture treatments yielded better live weight gain due to the better quality of available forage

Selenium affects genes associated with immunity and apoptosis in in vitro follicles of ewes

Selenium plays an important role in bodily functions. It activates immune cells such as neutrophils and immunity through T cells. However, its role in ovarian follicular gene expression has not been reported. The effects of selenomethionine (SeMet) on gene expression in in vitro ewe follicles and their relationship with immunity and apoptosis were studied. Preovulatory follicles were randomly cultured, and SeMet was added to the culture, followed by incubation for 24 h. Total RNA was extracted from follicles and placed on a microarray chip. Gene expression was analyzed using GenArise and classified using the DAVID v6.8 bioinformatics program based on the Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia for Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Gene pathways were designed using Cytoscape v3.7.2. There were 2,538 differentially expressed genes (DEGs): 1,228 upregulated and 1,310 downregulated. The upregulated genes were classified into 32, 18, and 12 nodes related to biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions, respectively. KEGG assigned these genes to 41 metabolic and signaling pathways. 94 genes were involved in eight pathways associated with immune processes. The expression levels of CD8, NFAT2, and CD48 were quantified using RT-qPCR. Selenium activated gene expression in the in vitro preovulatory follicles of ewes, some of which were related to the immune system. The relationship among CD8, NFAT2, and CD48 genes suggests a possible immune pathway related to follicular apoptosis regulation

Specification and Development of a HMI for ADAS, Based in Usability and Accessibility Principles

Traditionally, the design of road vehicle HMI is based in esthetic principles, maintaining it as an attractive factor for possible clients when buying a car. Only recently, ergonomic benefits have been applied to the design of HMIs, mainly following institutional impulses like the European Union one, but whose contribution is not clearly stated nowadays in commercial products. In this paper the authors present a study of the design of an HMI, based in usability and accessibility premises, centering the design in the user, as method to improve safety, making natural the communication with the driver as well as being able to transmitting information to the driver, from basic to the generated by ADAS installed in the car. Following these specifications a set of prototypes have been designed in order to develop a testbed that could be evaluated for a large set of drivers.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (TRA2007-67786 and TRA2009-07505) and the CAM project SEGVAUTO-II.Publicad

Revealing the mechanisms of hydrogel formation by laccase crosslinking and regeneration of feruloylated arabinoxylan from wheat bran

Feruloylated arabinoxylan (FAX) from cereal brans has large potential to generate multifunctional materials with customized macromolecular and nanostructural architectures and techno-functional properties. Here we investigate the chemical and structural mechanisms of hydrogel formation of wheat bran FAX following enzymatic crosslinking by laccase and a subsequent regeneration procedure involving freeze-drying and resuspension of the crosslinked FAX in different pH buffers, using a battery of biochemical, rheological and physical techniques. The laccase crosslinking induced the conversion of ferulic acid units into a wide diversity of dimeric forms, leading to an increased molecular weight and a closer-packing of the FAX chains. The regeneration step resulted in a remarkable increase in the viscosity and viscoelasticity for all tested pH values. The amount of crystallinity of FAX increased by enzymatic crosslinking, it was however decreased by the regeneration step. The structural characterization revealed that enzymatic crosslinking, in addition to the formation of covalent crosslinks, influences the physical intermolecular interactions between adjacent FAX domains, and the regeneration forms larger clusters with higher dynamic moduli. Our results reveal that both chemical and physical mechanisms influence the network formation and multiscale assembly of wheat bran FAX hydrogels, thus modulating their rheological properties fundamental for their use in food and biomedical applications

Forage Biomass and Bovine Live Weight Changes within Monospecific and Mixed Prairies over the Dry Season in Tropical México

In the tropical systems of cattle grazing, the limited period of forage production and low forage protein content and digestibility of the same, are the main constraints to increasing live weight gain. Grass-legume pasture improves forage quantity and quality and sowing mixed swards in both the wet and dry tropics is now common practice. However, much less is known if inclusion of a fodder tree as a third component could further improve forage parameters. The aim of this study was to evaluate three types of grasslands, grazed by cattle in the dry season of the dry tropics. Swards were established to compare: grass only (PP), grass-legume (PA) and silvo-pastoral (PSP) pastures on basis of forage on-offer, residual and disappeared and bullock’s daily live-weight gain. Species used were: Andropogon gayanus Kunth, Clitoria ternatea Linn and Morus alba Linn

Integral Fractionation of Rice Husks into Bioactive Arabinoxylans, Cellulose Nanocrystals, and Silica Particles

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b06692[EN] Rice husk is an important agricultural byproduct that has not been exploited yet to full capacity for advanced applications. The feasibility of obtaining high-value products such as bioactive hemicelluloses and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from rice husk is here demonstrated in a cascade biorefinery process using subcritical water extraction (SWE) prior to bleaching and acid hydrolysis and compared to traditional alkali pretreatments. The proposed SWE process enables the isolation of bioactive arabinoxylans with phenolic acid moieties, thus preserving their antioxidant and antibacterial properties that are lost during alkaline conditions. Additionally, SWE can be combined with subsequent bleaching and acid hydrolysis to obtain CNCs with large aspect ratio, high crystallinity, and thermal stability. The hydrothermal process also enables the recovery of silica particles that are lost during the alkali step but can be recovered after the isolation of the CNCs. Our biorefinery strategy results in the integral valorization of rice husk into their molecular components (bioactive arabinoxylans, cellulose nanocrystals, and silica particles), which can be used as additives for food applications and as reinforcing agents in biocomposite materials, respectively.The authors thank the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) for the financial support provided through Project AGL2016-76699-R. Author Raquel Requena thanks the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (Spain) for the FPU (FPU13/03444) Grant. This research work was also financed with a Short Term Scientific Mission of the COST Action FP1405.Requena-Peris, R.; Jiménez Quero, A.; Vargas, M.; Moriana Torró, R.; Chiralt A.; Vilaplana Domingo, FJ. (2019). Integral Fractionation of Rice Husks into Bioactive Arabinoxylans, Cellulose Nanocrystals, and Silica Particles. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 7(6):6275-6286. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b06692S627562867