Influence of the storage procedure on the trace element content measured in the aquatic moss Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw

Aquatic bryophytes have been used as pollution biomonitors for decades. Despite this, sample collection and preparation methods have not been standardized, which makes it difficult to compare the results of different studies. Most times, the samples have to be stored before processing, for example, when many of them are collected in a short time, as occurs in extensive pollution studies. Storage must be done in a way that does not change the pollutant concentrations in the samples. We studied whether the concentrations of Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the aquatic moss Fontinalis antipyretica were affected by three storage procedures: dry at room temperature, fresh (in refrigerator at 6°C), and frozen at −20°C. In addition, we evaluated whether the subsequent washing of the samples affected the concentrations of these elements differently depending on the storage method. Our results showed that the three methods were, in general, adequate since the concentrations did not change, and we did not observe differences between washed and unwashed samples either. Since the simplest method is refrigeration, we concluded that this is the best of them. However, the concentrations of Hg increased steadily over time in the fresh material, probably because of redistribution after volatilization from the basal parts of the mosses. We believe that the respiration of the plants lowered the concentrations of oxygen inside the hermetically sealed bags containing the samples, thus promoting the reduction of the Hg and its posterior volatilization and redistribution. We did not observe interactions between the storage method and the posterior washing of the samplesMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad(Spain), Grant/Award Number: CTM2015-70578-P; FEDER (EU)S

An efficient method to wash out the particulate matter trapped by aquatic mosses

This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Investigación y Universidades (Spain) project CTM2015-70578-P. The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC/GPC2016-002. These programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU). The sources of funding did not intervene in the preparation of the research or the paperS

Optimization of the Biomonitoring Technique with the Aquatic Moss Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw.: Selection of Shoot Segment Length for Determining Trace Element Concentrations

Bryophytes, including Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw., are widely used for biomonitoring aquatic environments. However, some methodological aspects, such as the fraction of shoot analysed, have not yet been standardized. The main objective of this study was to establish the length of segments of F. antipyretica shoots that should be used for trace element determination in monitoring studies. For this purpose, we determined the concentrations of 12 different trace elements (11 metals and one metalloid) in five successive 1 cm-long segments of the shoots of F. antipyretica collected from four different locations. We found that the concentrations of most elements increased steadily towards the basal part of the shoots without becoming stable. Sometimes, these increasing trends were concealed by another underlying trend of increasing dry/fresh weight ratios, caused by morphological changes (leaf density, shoot thickness) related with shoot development. The concentration trends were due to factors such as the deposition of Mn oxides on the moss surface. This element showed the largest increases in concentration towards the basal part of the shoot and its concentrations were closely correlated with those of most of the other elements. Considering the results obtained, we recommend the use of 3 cm-long apical segments for determining trace element concentrations in F. antipyretica. This recommendation is based on the following: (1) The change in dry weight beyond this length of segment is small; (2) the workload and the quantity of material to collect in the river is acceptable; (3) Most previous studies have used shoot segments of similar lengthsThis research was funded by MINECO project CTM2015-70578-P. The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC/GPC2016-002 and to the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2015/02). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU)S

La inspección educativa en los conservatorios superiores de música de Galicia: presente y futuro

Este trabajo tiene como principal objetivo realizar una profunda reflexión sobre la perspectiva de la función y competencias de la inspección educativa en los conservatorios superiores de música de Galicia, en el contexto del avance educativo de las enseñanzas de régimen especial, su consideración social y con una finalidad de mejorar la intervención en dichos centros, respecto de la recogida y análisis de información exhaustiva y rigurosa, atendiendo a la normativa vigente, en convivencia con las demandas y necesidades reales de estos centros, añadiendo el reto de adecuar estos últimos a la realidad actual de los conservatorios en cuanto a: la formación académica y preparación profesional de su alumnado, su diversidad, características e internacionalización; la formación académica y profesional continuas de su profesorado, y, finalmente y sobre todo, a la contextualización de las enseñanzas que estos centros imparten en una sociedad que está en cambio permanente y constante, atendiendo a sus demandas respetando el marco de la normativa vigente

Locust-inspired vision system on chip architecture for collision detection in automotive applications

This paper describes a programmable digital computing architecture dedicated to process information in accordance to the organization and operating principles of the four-layer neuron structure encountered at the visual system of Locusts. This architecture takes advantage of the natural collision detection skills of locusts and is capable of processing images and ascertaining collision threats in real-time automotive scenarios. In addition to the Locust features, the architecture embeds a Topological Feature Estimator module to identify and classify objects in collision course.European Commission IST2001 - 38097Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC2003 - 09817- C02 - 0

Perfeccionamiento de los servicios genéticos a gestantes y recién nacidos mediante la Red Informatizada de Salud SALGEN

La red informatizada de salud SALGEN se utiliza desde el 2009 en la atención genética a la gestante y el recién nacido en la provincia de Sancti Spíritus, insertada en las facilidades de conexión en tiempo real entre todas las instituciones de salud que brinda INFOMED. Se han atendido 34 452 gestantes hasta septiembre 2015, realizando evaluación de riesgo genético, pesquisa de anemia de hematíes falciformes, dosificación de alfafetoproteína, diagnóstico prenatal citogenético, ultrasonido de cada trimestre, características del parto y del recién nacido, pesquisas metabólicas neonatales y evaluación genético clínica del lactante. El software brinda160 reportes que han permitido evaluar la calidad de todos los procederes del programa de la atención genética a gestantes y recién nacidos y otras acciones organizativas del programa de atención materno infantil además de indicadores evaluativos para ecografía prenatal de acuerdo a estándares internacionales que son visualizados online por los especialistas como forma de autoevaluación. Los resultados validan al sistema informático para su utilización a nivel de cualquier policlínico, municipio o provincia del país. Este trabajo tiene por objetivo evidenciar la utilidad de SALGEN en el perfeccionamiento de la atención genética a gestantes y recién nacidos y en el control de calidad de acciones del Programa de Atención Materno Infantil (PAMI).Palabras Clave: redes informáticas de salud, diagnostico prenatal, servicios genéticos.</p

Psychological Profile and Consumption of Healthcare Resources in Actively Employed People, Pre-Retirees, and Retirees

Research on personality variables and consumption of health services in actively employed people or retirees has been extensive, but the group of pre-retirees has hardly been studied. This work attempts to determine the mental health and use of health resources of the three groups, hypothesizing that, as the group of pre-retirees does not receive the social stigma of work exclusion, it will present better mental health. A sample of 1332 Spanish participants aged between 51 and 69 years was randomly chosen, and various personality tests were applied, and consumption of healthcare resources was determined. Pairwise analysis of the three work situations using binary logistic regressions showed that pre-retirees present better mental health, although there were no differences in the consumption of healthcare resources. The implications of this study for the creation of health promotion policies targeting older people, depending specifically on their employment status, are discussedS

Social media and eating disorder psychopathology: a systematic review

The relationship between socialization through social media (SM) and eating disorders (EDs) is a serious problem for public health, largely affecting the mental health of younger people. This work aimed to identify scientific works addressing ED psychopathologies, studying their relationship with SM usage. In this systematic review, we analyze the available scientific evidence, thereby providing tools for intervention, prevention, and treatment. A systematic review and PRISMA analysis of narrative syntheses was carried out. Works were selected from the databases of Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and PsycINFO. Out of a total of 257 references, 19 articles were identified and selected; among them, correlational studies predominated. A growing interest in the subject matter was identified, as it is undergoing constant changes. The investigations found that EDs and SM usage are influenced by the time spent on SM, the type of interactions, and shared photographs, as well as gender and sociocultural context

A Low-Latency, Low-Power CMOS Sun Sensor for Attitude Calculation Using Photovoltaic Regime and On-Chip Centroid Computation

The demand for sun sensors has skyrocketed in the last years due to the huge expected deployment of satellites associated with the New Space concept. Sun sensors compute the position of the sun relative to the observer and play a crucial role in navigation systems. However, the sensor itself and the associated electronics must be able to operate in harsh environments. Thus, reducing hardware and post-processing resources improves the robustness of the system. Furthermore, reducing power consumption increases the lifetime of microsatellites with a limited power budget. This work describes the design, implementation, and characterization of a proof-of-concept prototype of a low-power, high-speed sun sensor architecture. The proposed sensor uses photodiodes working in the photovoltaic regime and event-driven vision concepts to overcome the limitations of conventional digital sun sensors in terms of latency, data throughput, and power consumption. The temporal resolution of the prototype is in the microsecond range with an average power consumption lower than 100 μW. Experimental results are discussed and compared with the state-of-the-art.Junta de Andalucía AT21_00096Office of Naval Research (ONR) N00014-19-1-2156Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo AEI-010500- 2022b-