¿Qué dimensiones se pueden abordar para analizar un proceso de Alfabetización Ambiental?

Presentamos las dimensiones que actúan como modelo teórico para indagar sobre el grado de Alfabetización Ambiental en el contexto de formación inicial del profesorado. Tras la revisión bibliográfica pertinente, hemos determinado las siguientes dimensiones: a) conocimientos y habilidades; b) actitudes y emociones; y c) comportamientos; consideradas claves para el diseño de un cuestionario como instrumento de análisis del grado de Alfabetización Ambiental

Estabilidad de los compuestos bioactivos de fresa sometida a tratamientos postcosecha oxidativos y atmosféricos

[SPA] La fresa es un fruto muy perecedero que necesita de tratamientos de postcosecha para prolongar su vida útil. En este estudio, se ha evaluado el uso de distintos tratamientos postcosecha: ozono (O3) gas, luz ultravioleta (UV-C) y el envasado en atmósferas modificadas (EAM), enriquecidas en O2 y/o CO2, en los constituyentes bioactivos de la fresa. En un primer ensayo, fresa de la variedad Camarosa fue sometida a diferentes dosis de luz UV-C (1, 5, 10 y 15 kJ m-2) y O3 gas (5000, 10000, 150000, 20000 ppm) con el objetivo de seleccionar las dosis óptimas de los tratamientos oxidativos. Se observó que las dosis más bajas de luz UV-C y O3 gas fueron los únicos tratamientos que no perjudicaron la calidad organoléptica del fruto, por lo que 1 kJ m-2 de luz UV-C y 5000 ppm de O3 gas se seleccionaron para los ensayos de conservación en atmósfera modificada. La estabilidad de los compuestos bioactivos presentes en fresa tratada con distintos tratamientos postcosecha se evaluaron a lo largo de 12 días de conservación a 2ºC. En los dos estudios llevados a cabo se observó que dosis de 1 kJ m-2 de luz UV-C y 5000 ppm O3 gaseoso redujeron de una forma significativa el contenido fenólico de las fresas, al igual que la conservación en alto O2 (≥ 60 kPa) y alto CO2 (≥10 kPa) a partir del quinto día de conservación. La calidad organoléptica de la fresa fue puntuada como buena a lo largo de la conservación, excepto por el sabor de las fresas conservadas en EAM, evaluada como regular al cabo de 9 y 12 días de conservación. [ENG] The short postharvest self-life of strawberries encourages the use of decay-control techniques. In this study, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), gaseous ozone (O3), and ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light have been evaluated as novel postharvest techniques to prolong self-life and maintain quality of strawberries. In the first experience, strawberries of the variety Camarosa were treated with different doses of UV-C light (1, 5, 10 and 15 kJ m-2) and gaseous O3 (5000, 10000, 150000, 20000 ppm) to adjust the optimal doses of theses oxidative treatments. The lowest UV-C (1 kJm-2) and gaseous O3 (5000 ppm) doses were selected for the storage assays, as the rest of the doses provoked browning and drying of the strawberry calyx. The effect of UV-C light, gaseous O3, superatmospheric O2 and CO2-enriched atmospheres applied individually and in combination on the bioactive constituents and selflife of strawberries were evaluated during 12 days at 2ºC. In general, phenolic content of UVC and gaseous O3 treated strawberries was significantly reduced when compared to untreated samples. After 5 days, strawberries stored under superatmospheric O2 (≥ 60 kPa) and CO2- enriched (≥10 kPa) concentration showed lower total phenolic content. In general, overall quality was good in all samples throughout the self-life except for flavour scores of MAP strawberries, which were clearly lower than air-stored samples after 9 and 12 days of storage.Agradecimientos a la Comisión Europea FLAVO (Flavonoids in fruits and vegetables: their impact on food quality, nutrition and human health) y al proyecto AGL2004-03060 por la financiación económica

Validación de un cuestionario sobre Alfabetización Ambiental mediante juicio de expertos

Present and future socio-environmental problems force us to undertake urgent strategies to prepare a critical, responsible and resilient citizenry, hence environmental education in and for degrowth becomes relevant. We consider the commitment of the educational system to be a key element in citizen training, as well as preservice teachers, whose environmental literacy seems to be poor. The work presented reflects how an instrument has been designed and validated by expert judgement that aims to detect the degree of environmental literacy of future Early Childhood and Primary Education teachers based on three environmental dimensions: a) knowledge and skills, b) attitudes and emotions and c) behaviours. Each of them is made up of categories and sub-categories. After the pertinent evaluations and modifications, the statistical reliability of the instrument was analysed by carrying out a pilot test with preservice teachers. Finally, a validated questionnaire has been obtained which includes 88 items, to assess the degree of Environmental Literacy in preservice teachers in Early Childhood and Primary Education. Keywords: Environmental Literacy; preservice teachers; questionnaire; validation; expert judgement.Los problemas socioambientales presentes y futuros, nos obligan a emprender estrategias urgentes para formar a ciudadanas y ciudadanos críticos, responsables y resilientes, de ahí que adquiera relevancia una educación ambiental en y para el decrecimiento. Para la formación ciudadana, consideramos una pieza clave el compromiso del sistema educativo, así como la formación inicial docente, cuya Alfabetización Ambiental parece ser baja. El trabajo presentado, refleja cómo se ha validado mediante juicio de expertos un instrumento que persigue detectar el grado de Alfabetización Ambiental de los futuros docentes de Educación Infantil y Primaria en base a tres dimensiones ambientales: a) conocimientos y habilidades, b) actitudes y emociones y c) comportamientos. Cada una de ellas conformada por categorías y subcategorías. Después de las valoraciones y modificaciones pertinentes, se analizó la confiabilidad estadística del instrumento realizando una prueba piloto con docentes en formación inicial. Finalmente, se ha obtenido un cuestionario validado que incluye 88 ítems, para evaluar el grado de Alfabetización Ambiental en la formación inicial docente en Educación Infantil y Primaria. Palabras clave: Alfabetización Ambiental; formación inicial docente; cuestionario; validación; juicio de expertos. Validation of a questionnaire about Environmental Literacy through expert judgement. Abstract: Present and future socio-environmental problems force us to undertake urgent strategies to prepare a critical, responsible and resilient citizenry, hence environmental education in and for degrowth becomes relevant. We consider the commitment of the educational system to be a key element in citizen training, as well as preservice teachers, whose environmental literacy seems to be poor. The work presented reflects how an instrument has been designed and validated by expert judgement that aims to detect the degree of environmental literacy of future Early Childhood and Primary Education teachers based on three environmental dimensions: a) knowledge and skills, b) attitudes and emotions and c) behaviours. Each of them is made up of categories and sub-categories. After the pertinent evaluations and modifications, the statistical reliability of the instrument was analysed by carrying out a pilot test with preservice teachers. Finally, a validated questionnaire has been obtained which includes 88 items, to assess the degree of Environmental Literacy in preservice teachers in Early Childhood and Primary Education. Keywords: Environmental Literacy; preservice teachers; questionnaire; validation; expert judgement

Differences in biochemical, gas exchange and hydraulic response to water stress in desiccation tolerant and sensitive fronds of the fern Anemia caffrorum

Desiccation tolerant plants can survive extreme water loss in their vegetative tissues. The fern Anemia caffrorum produces desiccation tolerant (DT) fronds in the dry season and desiccation sensitive (DS) fronds in the wet season, providing a unique opportunity to explore the physiological mechanisms associated with desiccation tolerance. Anemia caffrorum plants with either DT or DS fronds were acclimated in growth chambers. Photosynthesis, frond structure and anatomy, water relations and minimum conductance to water vapour were measured under well-watered conditions. Photosynthesis, hydraulics, frond pigments, antioxidants and abscisic acid contents were monitored under water deficit. A comparison between DT and DS fronds under well-watered conditions showed that the former presented higher leaf mass per area, minimum conductance, tissue elasticity and lower CO2 assimilation. Water deficit resulted in a similar induction of abscisic acid in both frond types, but DT fronds maintained higher stomatal conductance and upregulated more prominently lipophilic antioxidants. The seasonal alternation in production of DT and DS fronds in A. caffrorum represents a mechanism by which carbon gain can be maximized during the rainy season, and a greater investment in protective mechanisms occurs during the hot dry season, enabling the exploitation of episodic water availability.This work was supported by the projects CTM2014-53902-C2-1-P from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and PGC2018-093824-B-C41/PGC2018-093824-B-C44 from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MCIU, Spain) and the ERDF; and the Basque Government (grant UPV/EHU IT-1018-16, Spain). MN was supported by the MINECO and the European Social Fund (predoctoral fellowship BES-2015-072578). AVP-C was supported by the Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte (MECD; pre-doctoral fellowship FPU-02054). MIA was supported by a pre-doctoral grant from the Basque Government. We thank the technical support for microscopy preparation provided by the Universitat de Valencia (Seccio de Microscopia Electrnica, SCSIE), Dr. Ferran Hierro (UIB, Serveis Cientificotecnics) and Margalida Roig Oliver (UIB). JMF provided funding for work conducted in South Africa from her South African Department of Science and Innovation, National Research Foundation Research Chair, grant no. 9840

Temocillin versus meropenem for the targeted treatment of bacteraemia due to third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales (ASTARTÉ): protocol for a randomised, pragmatic trial

Introduction: Alternatives to carbapenems are needed in the treatment of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales (3GCR-E). Temocillin is a suitable candidate, but comparative randomised studies are lacking. The objective is to investigate if temocillin is non-inferior to carbapenems in the targeted treatment of bacteraemia due to 3GCR-E. Methods and analysis: Multicentre, open-label, randomised, controlled, pragmatic phase 3 trial. Patients with bacteraemia due to 3GCR-E will be randomised to receive intravenously temocillin (2 g three times a day) or carbapenem (meropenem 1 g three times a day or ertapenem 1 g once daily). The primary endpoint will be clinical success 7–10 days after end of treatment with no recurrence or death at day 28. Adverse events will be collected; serum levels of temocillin will be investigated in a subset of patients. For a 10% non-inferiority margin, 334 patients will be included (167 in each study arm). For the primary analysis, the absolute difference with one-sided 95% CI in the proportion of patients reaching the primary endpoint will be compared in the modified intention-to-treat population. Ethics and dissemination: The study started after approval of the Spanish Regulatory Agency and the reference institutional review board. Data will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number: NCT04478721.Instituto de Salud Carlos III ICI19/00093Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad y Fondos FEDER RD16/0016/0001, 0002, 0004, 0008, 0009, 0010, 0011, 0013, 001

Perceptions of Change in the Natural Environment produced by the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic across Three European countries. Results from the GreenCOVID study

Although different studies have evaluated the positive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown mea- sures on reducing noise pollution and traffic levels and improving air quality, how populations have perceived such changes in the natural environment has not been adequately evaluated. The present study provides a more in-depth exploration of human population perception of enhanced natural exposure (to animal life and nature sounds) and reduced harmful exposure (by improved air quality and reduced traffic volume) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The data is drawn from 3,109 unselected adults who participated in the Green COVID survey from April to July 2020 in England, Ireland, and Spain. The findings suggest that the positive impacts to the natural environment as a result of the lockdown have been better received by the population in Spain and Ireland, in comparison to England. Participants who resided in urban areas had better perceived improvements in nature sounds, air quality, and traffic volume compared to those in rural areas. Older pop- ulations and those with lower smoking and alcohol consumption were found to perceive this improvement the most. Furthermore, the greater perception of improvements in environmental elements was also associated with better self-perceived health and improved wellbeing. In the binary logistic regression, living in Ireland or Spain, urban areas, female gender, older age, and good overall wellbeing were associated with a greater perception of improvements in the natural environment, while the factors most associated with a greater perception of reduced harmful exposure were living in Spain, had a good self-perceived health status and older age

An amino acid substitution found in animals with low susceptibility to prion diseases confers a protective dominant-negative effect in prion-infected transgenic mice

While prion diseases have been described in numerous species, some, including those of the Canidae family, appear to show resistance or reduced susceptibility. A better understanding of the factors underlying prion susceptibility is crucial for the development of effective treatment and control measures. We recently demonstrated resistance to prion infection in mice overexpressing a mutated prion protein (PrP) carrying a specific amino acid substitution characteristic of canids. Here, we show that coexpression of this mutated PrP and wild-type mouse PrP in transgenic mice inoculated with different mouse-adapted prion strains (22 L, ME7, RML, and 301C) significantly increases survival times (by 45 to 113%). These data indicate that this amino acid substitution confers a dominant-negative effect on PrP, attenuating the conversion of PrPC to PrPSc and delaying disease onset without altering the neuropathological properties of the prion strains. Taken together, these findings have important implications for the development of new treatment approaches for prion diseases based on dominant-negative proteins

A field portable method for the semi-quantitative estimation of dehydration tolerance of photosynthetic tissues across distantly related land plants.

Preprint sustituido por postprint 9-12-2019Desiccation tolerant (DT) plants withstand complete cellular dehydration (reaching relative water contents below 30% in their photosynthetic tissues), while desiccation sensitive (DS) plants exhibit different degrees of dehydration tolerance (DHT), never surviving water loss >70%. To date, no procedure for the quantitative evaluation of DHT extent exists that is able to discriminate DS species with different degrees of DHT from truly DT plants. We developed a simple, feasible, and portable protocol to differentiate between constitutive DT and different degrees of DHT in photosynthetic tissues. The protocol is based on (i) controlled desiccation inside Falcon tubes equilibrated at three different relative humidities (RH: 80%, 50% and <10%) and (ii) evaluation of the average recovery level of maximal photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) after rehydration. Applying the method to 10 bryophytes and 28 tracheophytes from various locations, we found that (i) imbibition of absorbent material with saturated salt solutions inside the tubes provides stable RH and avoids direct contact with samples; (ii) for 50 mL capacity tubes, the optimal initial plant amount is 50–200 mg FW; (iii) the tubes can be re-used up to three times with very little changes in RH; (iv) the method is useful in remote locations due to minimal instrumental requirements; (v) a threshold of 30% recovery of the initial Fv/Fm correctly categorises DT species with a few exceptions among tracheophytes: poikilochorophyllous DT-species and some DS herbs and gymnosperms. The protocol provides a semi-quantitative expression of DHT that facilitates comparisons of species with different morpho-physiological traits and/or ecological attributes.Basque Government (UPV/EHU IT-1018-16); Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and the ERDF (FEDER) (CTM2014-53902-C2-2-P to JIGP and BFM, CGL2014-54127-P to ENO and JMA, and CTM2014-53902-C2-1-P to JF and JG); Juan de la Cierva-Incorporation fellowship IJCI-2014-22489 to BFM and Juan de la Cierva-Formación FPDI-2013-18167 and FPDI-2013-17135 to MJCM and JoG respectively); MC was supported by a predoctoral fellowship FPI/1700/2014 from the Conselleria d’Educació, Cultura i Universitats (Govern de les Illes Balears) and ESF; MN was supported by a predoctoral fellowship BES-2015-072578 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) co-financed by the ESF. APC was supported by Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (MECD) fellowship (FPU15/02054). MLP was supported by a pre-doctoral grant from the Basque Government. Authors also wish to thank for giving access to the living plant collection of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Jill M. Farrant acknowledges funding from the South African Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation (grant number 98406

Pregnancy Outcomes and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: The Spanish Obstetric Emergency Group Study

Pregnant women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. With this study, we aimed to better understand the relationship between maternal infection and perinatal outcomes, especially preterm births, and the underlying medical and interventionist factors. This was a prospective observational study carried out in 78 centers (Spanish Obstetric Emergency Group) with a cohort of 1347 SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive pregnant women registered consecutively between 26 February and 5 November 2020, and a concurrent sample of PCR-negative mothers. The patients' information was collected from their medical records, and the association of SARS-CoV-2 and perinatal outcomes was evaluated by univariable and multivariate analyses. The data from 1347 SARS-CoV-2-positive pregnancies were compared with those from 1607 SARS-CoV-2-negative pregnancies. Differences were observed between both groups in premature rupture of membranes (15.5% vs. 11.1%, p < 0.001); venous thrombotic events (1.5% vs. 0.2%, p < 0.001); and severe pre-eclampsia incidence (40.6 vs. 15.6%, p = 0.001), which could have been overestimated in the infected cohort due to the shared analytical signs between this hypertensive disorder and COVID-19. In addition, more preterm deliveries were observed in infected patients (11.1% vs. 5.8%, p < 0.001) mainly due to an increase in iatrogenic preterm births. The prematurity in SARS-CoV-2-affected pregnancies results from a predisposition to end the pregnancy because of maternal disease (pneumonia and pre-eclampsia, with or without COVID-19 symptoms)

Manejo Integral de Agua y Suelo en Centroamérica. Bases científicas para el desarrollo rural comunitario.

Este libro recoge los frutos de la colaboración y trabajo conjunto de un grupo de Universidades Iberoamericanas entre 2007 y 2012 el marco de las actividades del Programa de Cooperación Comunidad, Agua y Bosque en Centroamérica (CAB Centroamérica, http://www2.caminos.upm.es/Departamentos/imt/Topografia/Cab/cab.html ). Las actividades se han realizado con el apoyo del Programa de Cooperación Universitaria PCI-AECID IBEROAMÉRICA, de la Dirección de Cooperación para el Desarrollo de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid y de los fondos propios de las Universidades latinoamericanas, con especial mención a la Universidad de Costa Rica, coordinadora de los trabajos en Centroamérica. El inicio de esta colaboración se produjo en 2007 a partir de la identificación de un objetivo común: profundizar la investigación sobre la dinámica agua-suelo-planta para mejorar la producción y la calidad del agua de los sistemas de abastecimiento comunitarios en Centroamérica