Gonzalo Miguel Angel Bermudez

Heavy metal and trace element concentrations in wheat grains: assessment of potential non-carcinogenic health hazard through their consumption.

Heavy metal and trace element concentrations were examined in wheat grains and straw to elucidate associations between air pollution sources and soil variables. The mean wheat grain concentrations of Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn surpassed the tolerance limits stated in the international legislation for wheat grain and foodstuffs. When topsoil Ba, Co, Cr and Zn concentrations were higher than the legislation thresholds for agricultural and residential soils, wheat grain concentrations were also increased. In addition, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn revealed an immobilization effect of a cement plant and the atmospheric deposition input, with Cd in wheat grains being associated with a cement plant and industrial waste incinerator. The health risks arising from wheat grain consumption indicated that the inhabitants of Argentina are experiencing significant non-carcinogenic risks (Hazard Index = 3.311), especially when consuming wheat grains affected by metallurgical or chemical factories, as well as by air transportation from big cities.

Comparison of the air pollution biomonitoring ability of three Tillandsia species and the lichen Ramalina celastri in Argentina

Bioaccumulation ability and response to air pollution sources were evaluated for Tillandsia capillaris Ruíz and Pav. f. capillaris, T. recurvata L., T. tricholepis Baker and the lichen Ramalina celastri (Spreng.) Krog. and Swinsc. Epiphyte samples collected from a non contaminated area in the province of Córdoba were transplanted to a control site and three areas categorised according to agricultural, urban and industrial (metallurgical and metal-mechanical) emission sources. Bioindicators were exposed for 3-, 6- and 9-month periods. A foliar damage index was established for Tillandsia and a pollution index for the lichen, and S, Fe, Mn and Zn concentrations were determined. An order of efficiency for the species and conditions studied is proposed taking into account heavy metal accumulation: T. recurvata >T. tricholepis >R. celastri >T. capillaris. All species studied showed Mn to be related to agricultural activity and Fe to industries and soil particles, and Zn was related to urban and industrial sources. As far as physiological response is concerned, T. tricholepis and T. capillaris were more sensitive to agricultural activities, whereas T. recurvata was sensitive to urban and industrial sources, and only partially to agricultural sources. No relationship was found for R. celastri.

Heavy metal pollution in topsoils near a cement plant: the role of organic matter and distance to the source to predict total and HCL-extracted heavy metal concentrations.

Heavy metal and trace element concentrations were examined in topsoils to evaluate a cement plant and an industrial waste incinerator as pollution sources. As, Ba, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb and Zn were measured by Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), and Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn by a 0.5M-hydrochloric extraction technique using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The Cr total concentration and HCl-extracted Co and Mn were possibly related to wind transportation from an industrial area in the north of Córdoba city (Argentina). Cu, Pb and Zn in partial HCl extraction were influenced by the cement plant and the industrial area in the north of Córdoba city. The mean total Ba concentration was above the residential and agricultural land use limits stated in national and international legislation and was related to the distance to the cement plant. The concentrations of HCl-extracted heavy metals could be predicted by the organic matter percentage and the distance to the cement plant (with R(2) values of 0.50-0.74). The Ca total concentration was seen to have little influence whereas the organic matter percentage strongly affected HCl-extracted heavy metals according to the correlation analysis and multiple regression models. According to soil quality guidelines for environmental health, the human and wildlife populations in Yocsina might be experiencing toxic Ba and Cr effects.

Antioxidant Response of Three Tillandsia Species Transplanted to Urban, Agricultural, and Industrial Areas

To evaluate the physiological response of Tillandsia capillaris Ruiz & Pav. f. capillaris, T. recurvata L., and T. tricholepis Baker to different air pollution sources, epiphyte samples were collected from a noncontaminated area in the province of Córdoba (Argentina) and transplanted to a control site as well as three areas categorized according to the presence of agricultural, urban, and industrial (metallurgical and metal-mechanical) emission sources. A foliar damage index (FDI) was calculated with the physiological parameters chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydroperoxyconjugated dienes, sulfur (S) content, and dry weight-to-fresh weight ratio. In addition, electrical conductivity (E-cond), relative water content (RWC), dehydration kinetics (Kin-H2O), total phenols (T-phen), soluble proteins (S-prot), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase were determined. The parameters E-cond, FDI, SOD, RWC, and Kin-H2O can serve as suitable indicators of agricultural air pollution for T. tricholepis and T. capillaris, and CAT, Kin-H2O, and SOD can do the same for T. recurvata. In addition, MDA, T-phen, and S-prot proved to be appropriate indicators of urban pollution for T. recurvata. Moreover, FDI, E-cond, and SOD for T. recurvata and MDA for T. tricholepis, respectively, could be used to detect deleterious effects of industrial air pollution.

La enseñanza monumentalista y utilitarista de las causas de la biodiversidad y de las estrategias para su conservación: un estudio sobre la transposición didáctica de los manuales de la Educación Secundaria española

This paper studies the presence and complexity of the treatment of the causes of biodiversity and the reasons for its conservation in Spanish secondary education textbooks. To this purpose, a conceptual and axiological framework defined by an expert community was reviewed, the treatment proposed in the Spanish national curriculum was described and a total of 50 textbooks were analyzed (27 from middle and 30 from high schools). The results showed that the process of didactic transposition makes the teaching of biodiversity monumental, since it omits the reasons for its existence. Consequently, teaching becomes entrenched in biologicist and utilitarian connotations about the motives for its conservation, thereby leaving aside the ethical, philosophical and cultural dimensions. Furthermore, the treatment of the causes and reasons for biodiversity conservation in textbooks revealed a marked distance from the curriculum of Spain, especially for the first year of middle and high school.

A teaching strategy for education in health in Brazil: dialogic problematizing inquiry

Centro de Desenvolvimento do Ensino Superior em Saude (Cedess), Universidade Federal do Estado de Sao Paulo (Cedess/Unifesp). Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil. patricia.abensur@unifesp.br; lidia.ruiz@unifesp.br This paper presents a teaching strategy for education of health professionals called “Dialogic Problematizing Inquiry” (DPI), which was evaluated in the course “Teaching Methodology in Health Education”, promoted by the Development of Higher Education in Health Center, at Federal University of Sao Paulo. It was designed in the framework of a bilateral project between Brazil and Argentina, and was developed in presencial and virtual format. The implementation of DPI generated a communication dynamic that was coherent with a constructivist perspective and enabled a change in teacher and students communication manners, which were guided by close-to-student-problematizing situations. The implementation of this teaching innovation was consistent with the curriculum changes stemming from current health policies in Brazil. Keywords: Problematization. Higher education. Communication. Health education. Teaching.El trabajo presenta una propuesta didactica para la formacion docente de profesionales del area de la salud denominada “Indagacion Dialogica Problematizadora” (IDP) y probada en el espacio curricular “Formacion didactico-pedagogica en salud” del Centro de Desarrollo de la Ensenanza Superior en Salud (CEDESS), Universidad Federal de San Pablo. La misma se diseno en el marco de un proyecto binacional entre Brasil y Argentina, y se desarrollo en formato presencial y virtual. La implementacion de IDP permitio generar una dinamica comunicacional coherente con el posicionamiento constructivista y posibilitar un cambio en las formas comunicativas del docente y de los alumnos, guiadas desde la problematizacion de situaciones cercanas a las experiencias de los mismos. La implementacion de esta innovacion educativa fue coherente con los cambios curriculares derivados de las actuales politicas de salud para Brasil.

Una estrategia didáctica para la formación de educadores de salud en Brasil: la indagación dialógica problematizadora

Centro de Desenvolvimento do Ensino Superior em Saude (Cedess), Universidade Federal do Estado de Sao Paulo (Cedess/Unifesp). Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil. patricia.abensur@unifesp.br; lidia.ruiz@unifesp.br This paper presents a teaching strategy for education of health professionals called “Dialogic Problematizing Inquiry” (DPI), which was evaluated in the course “Teaching Methodology in Health Education”, promoted by the Development of Higher Education in Health Center, at Federal University of Sao Paulo. It was designed in the framework of a bilateral project between Brazil and Argentina, and was developed in presencial and virtual format. The implementation of DPI generated a communication dynamic that was coherent with a constructivist perspective and enabled a change in teacher and students communication manners, which were guided by close-to-student-problematizing situations. The implementation of this teaching innovation was consistent with the curriculum changes stemming from current health policies in Brazil. Keywords: Problematization. Higher education. Communication. Health education. Teaching.El trabajo presenta una propuesta didactica para la formacion docente de profesionales del area de la salud denominada “Indagacion Dialogica Problematizadora” (IDP) y probada en el espacio curricular “Formacion didactico-pedagogica en salud” del Centro de Desarrollo de la Ensenanza Superior en Salud (CEDESS), Universidad Federal de San Pablo. La misma se diseno en el marco de un proyecto binacional entre Brasil y Argentina, y se desarrollo en formato presencial y virtual. La implementacion de IDP permitio generar una dinamica comunicacional coherente con el posicionamiento constructivista y posibilitar un cambio en las formas comunicativas del docente y de los alumnos, guiadas desde la problematizacion de situaciones cercanas a las experiencias de los mismos. La implementacion de esta innovacion educativa fue coherente con los cambios curriculares derivados de las actuales politicas de salud para Brasil.

Uma estratégia didática para a formação de educadores em saúde no Brasil: a indagação dialógica problematizadora

Centro de Desenvolvimento do Ensino Superior em Saude (Cedess), Universidade Federal do Estado de Sao Paulo (Cedess/Unifesp). Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil. patricia.abensur@unifesp.br; lidia.ruiz@unifesp.br This paper presents a teaching strategy for education of health professionals called “Dialogic Problematizing Inquiry” (DPI), which was evaluated in the course “Teaching Methodology in Health Education”, promoted by the Development of Higher Education in Health Center, at Federal University of Sao Paulo. It was designed in the framework of a bilateral project between Brazil and Argentina, and was developed in presencial and virtual format. The implementation of DPI generated a communication dynamic that was coherent with a constructivist perspective and enabled a change in teacher and students communication manners, which were guided by close-to-student-problematizing situations. The implementation of this teaching innovation was consistent with the curriculum changes stemming from current health policies in Brazil. Keywords: Problematization. Higher education. Communication. Health education. Teaching.El trabajo presenta una propuesta didactica para la formacion docente de profesionales del area de la salud denominada “Indagacion Dialogica Problematizadora” (IDP) y probada en el espacio curricular “Formacion didactico-pedagogica en salud” del Centro de Desarrollo de la Ensenanza Superior en Salud (CEDESS), Universidad Federal de San Pablo. La misma se diseno en el marco de un proyecto binacional entre Brasil y Argentina, y se desarrollo en formato presencial y virtual. La implementacion de IDP permitio generar una dinamica comunicacional coherente con el posicionamiento constructivista y posibilitar un cambio en las formas comunicativas del docente y de los alumnos, guiadas desde la problematizacion de situaciones cercanas a las experiencias de los mismos. La implementacion de esta innovacion educativa fue coherente con los cambios curriculares derivados de las actuales politicas de salud para Brasil.