Ability of the isas3fun method to detect sperm acrosome integrity and its potential to discriminate between high and low field fertility bulls

The objective of the present study was to investigate whether fertility differences in bulls are reflected in variations of sperm quality when analysing only one ejaculate per male. Two experiments were performed. In the first experiment, frozen semen samples from 20 adult bulls were tested; 10 bulls had high field fertility and 10 bulls had low field fertility. Analyses of sperm motility, membrane integrity, and membrane–acrosome integrity with the ISAS3Fun method were performed. Sperm morphometry of the fluorescence sperm subpopulations obtained with the ISAS3Fun method was also analysed. Significant differences between high-and low-fertility groups were only found with the ISAS3Fun technique, specifically in sperm acrosome integrity, the proportion of spermatozoa with an intact acrosome and damaged membrane, and in sperm head width of spermatozoa with intact structures. Discriminant analyses allowed us to correctly classify 90% of sperm samples in their fertility group using sperm quality parameters. Given that only the results obtained with the ISAS3Fun technique were related to bull fertility, we performed a second experiment aimed to validate the efficacy of this technique to detect the acrosomal integrity of bull spermatozoa, comparing them with the conventional FITC-PNA/propidium iodide (PNA/PI) combination under capacitating conditions. The results indicated that the ISAS3Fun combination provided an accurate assessment of both viability and acrosomal integrity for ejaculated spermatozoa, while the PNA/PI combination underestimated the extension of acrosomal damage due to false negatives. It was concluded that the simultaneous assessment of sperm plasma membranes and acrosome integrity with the ISAS3Fun method is precise and seems to have a greater potential to discriminate between high-and low-fertility bulls than more conventional in vitro sperm quality tests. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Panorámicas para un corte de la vertiente surpirenaica en la zona de estructuras oblicuas de Aínsa – Valle del Cinca

En la vertiente meridional de los Pirineos, la franja comprendida entre las latitudes 0º9’30’’O y 0º26’30’’E, que tiene su eje en torno al valle del río Cinca, tiene caracteres peculiares en su estructura: la dirección de los pliegues y cabalgamientos se aparta de la dirección pirenaica dominante..

The Accreditation of Industrial Engineering in Spain: Teaching and Learning the Skills of Manufacturing Engineering

AbstractThe purpose of this work is twofold. First, it aims to analyze the teaching and learning processes applied to degrees that enable regulated professional activities for both Technical Industrial Engineering and Industrial Engineering. More precisely, it examines the competences related to Manufacturing Engineering, either at the Bachelor's or Master's Level. Second, it intends to establish a simple and easy process to evaluate the competences acquired in a certain Bachelor's or Master's degree. As a result, it will be possible to identify current weaknesses in the study plans. This could be the universities’ starting point in the definition of procedures and areas for improvement that allow for a better match among study plans, the acquisition of competences, and the learning results finally achieved

Primeros datos paleomagnéticos del anticlinal de Barbastro-Balaguer (Pirineo Meridional Central): Implicaciones cinemáticas

El anticlinal de Barbastro-Balaguer se sitúa en el sector central del frente pirenaico meridional. En este trabajo se presentan los primeros datos paleomagnéticos realizados en esta estructura que buscan aclarar si existen rotaciones de eje vertical durante su emplazamiento. Se han realizado 19 estaciones distribuidas homogéneamente a lo largo del anticlinal y, mayoritariamente en la Fm Peraltilla (Priaboniense). La desmagnetización térmica revela una componente característica de alta temperatura (hasta 650°C o más) que, si bien presenta cierta dispersión, tiene dos polaridades y es preplegamiento. Además, las rotaciones observadas son dominantemente antihorarias, lo que nos hace ser optimistas a la hora de abordar futuros trabajos y que aporten información sobre la cinemática del emplazamiento de esta estructura en relación al frente surpirenaico