La globalización de las mentes en la literatura infantil y juvenil : testimonio de una editora desde la transición hasta el siglo XXI.

Desde su propia experiencia vital como hábida y entusiasta lectora, primero, y como editora, más tarde, la autora nos lleva a través de un largo recorrido por la literatura infantil y juvenil internacional aplicando el término globalización a este campo. Primero nos habla de su experiencia como editora de la colección 'Tres Perros' de Alfaguara y continua después con la edición de la colección 'Las Tres Edades, para lectores de 8 a 88 años' de Ediciones Siruela.

Decir con dibujos.

En este trabajo se realiza un completo recorrido por las ilustraciones de los libros y cuentos infantiles y juveniles desde finales del siglo XIX hasta la década de los setenta en el siglo XX, etapa en la que comienza la renovación dentro de la ilustración infantil en España. El autor elige y analiza los trabajos de varios autores representativos de cada época partiendo de la ilustración como un lenguaje de comunicación y creativo que no necesita de palabras para hacer comprender sentimientos como el llanto o la risa.

Tono : humorismo y vanguardia.

Resumen basado en el de la revista

Aquí está lo magistral : la alternativa Ángel Ferrant.

Artículo dedicado a la vida y obra del escultor y profesor de modelado Ángel Ferrant. Defensor del dibujo infantil como forma de expresión artística natural y con vocación de permanencia, diferencia entre dibujo culto y dibujo nativo. Su trabajo con los niños lo llevó a cabo poniendo en marcha un taller artístico en 1935, en el Club Infantil de la Asociación Auxiliar del niño para niños de entre 8 y 14 años. Su proyecto de pedagogía artística tenía como objetivos estimular la inventiva y la práctica del dibujo expresivo y la renovación de la imagineria creada con dibujos y construcciones siendo uno de los procedimientos más atractivos la realización de ensamblajes. Por otra parte, diseñó un juego llamado Arsintes que consistía en varias series de plantillas de diversas formas que se prestaban a infinitas combinaciones para componer figuras.

Salvador Bartolozzi : un ilustrador para una infancia moderna.

Artículo que refleja la vida y obra de Salvador Bartolozzi, ilustrador y escritor, dedico la mayor parte de su obra a los niños. Después de ilustrar la traducción al castellano del Pinocho de Carlo Collodi comienza una serie de cuentos con este personaje y su contrario Chapete. Estos dos personajes forman parte de una corriente general que fue fruto de la inquietud de los pedagogos y artístas modernos por hacer entender a los niños la función social de la gente de la calle. En sus trabajos hace de las ilustraciones el complemento del texto. En la década de los treinta funda el Guiñol en el Teatro de la Comedia con dos nuevos personajes Pipo y Pipa. Prepara también una incursión en el cine pero la Guerra Civil lo lleva al exilio, primero en París y luego en México, lugares en los que sigue trabjando para los niños.

Milne, ¿una obra para niños?

Tras una introducción por la literatura para niños en los paises del norte de Europa la autora nos lleva a través de la vida y obra de Alan Alexander Milne para centrarse en su obra más conocida y que tiene como protagonista al oso Winnie-the-Pooh.

La piedra filosofal : las razones de Harry Potter.

El autor hace un análisis de la serie de libros que tiene como protagonista al niño Harry Potter reconociendo, por un lado, sus coincidencias con varios tópicos de la literatura infantil, y por otra lado, su utilidad para aficionar a la lectura a los niños ya que se trata de un libro infantil pero con formato de libro de adultos (sin ilustraciones).

Un modelo de reforma educativa : los Institutos-Escuelas (1918-1936).

Este artículo realiza un análisis de la reforma educativa habida en España desde finales del siglo XIX en lo referente a la enseñanza secundaria y que culmina con la creación en 1918 del primer Instituto-Escuela, al que seguiran algunos otros y cuya trayectoria se vería interrumpida por la Guerra Civil Española. Se pretende mostrar: primero, cómo la creación y organización de estos Institutos-Escuela fue resultado de un previo convencimiento, entre los hombres de la ILE (Institución Libre de Enseñanza), de la inviabilidad de las reformas educativas emprendidas; segundo, cómo dicha creación fue la tercera fase de tres estrategías diferentes con un mismo objetivo: la reforma de la segunda enseñanza; tercera, la viabilidad y eficacia de un modelo de reforma a largo plazo, basado en la formación de los profesores que la iban a llevar a cabo; cuarta, cómo el fracaso de dicha reforma se debió a un hecho externo, la Guerra Civil Española.

Gumersindo de Azcárate y el proyecto educativo de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza.

Este artículo nos muestra la trayectoria profesional de Don Gumersindo de Azcárate desde sus comienzos como estudiante en la Universidad Central, situándose dentro del grupo que seguirá la corriente krausista que desembocará, más tarde, en la creación de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza en la que toma parte desde sus comienzos, consolidándose como profesor de enseñanza superior y conferenciante, asumiendo también funciones de gestión y administración. Se destaca también su labor de defensa y difusión del proyecto educativo de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza en la sociedad española de la época.

The use of FT-IR as a screening technique for organic residue analysis of archaeological samples

A range of archaeological samples have been examined using FT-IR spectroscopy. These include suspected coprolite samples from the Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk in Turkey, pottery samples from the Roman site of Silchester, UK and the Bronze Age site of Gatas, Spain and unidentified black residues on pottery sherds from the Roman sites of Springhead and Cambourne, UK. For coprolite samples the aim of FT-IR analysis is identification. Identification of coprolites in the field is based on their distinct orange colour; however, such visual identifications can often be misleading due to their similarity with deposits such as ochre and clay. For pottery the aim is to screen those samples that might contain high levels of organic residues which would be suitable for GC-MS analysis. The experiments have shown coprolites to have distinctive spectra, containing strong peaks from calcite, phosphate and quartz; the presence of phosphorus may be confirmed by SEM-EDX analysis. Pottery containing organic residues of plant and animal origin has also been shown to generally display strong phosphate peaks. FT-IR has distinguished between organic resin and non-organic compositions for the black residues, with differences also being seen between organic samples that have the same physical appearance. Further analysis by CC-MS has confirmed the identification of the coprolites through the presence of coprostanol and bile acids, and shows that the majority of organic pottery residues are either fatty acids or mono- or di-acylglycerols from foodstuffs, or triterpenoid resin compounds exposed to high temperatures. One suspected resin sample was shown to contain no organic residues. and it is seen that resin samples with similar physical appearances have different chemical compositions. FT-IR is proposed as a quick and cheap method of screening archaeological samples before subjecting them to the more expensive and time-consuming method of GC-MS. This will eliminate inorganic samples such as clays and ochre from CC-MS analysis, and will screen those samples which are most likely to have a high concentration of preserved organic residues. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reclassification of Bacteroides putredinis (Weinberg et al., 1937) in a New Genus Alistipes gen. nov., as Alistipes putredinis comb. nov., and description of Alistipes finegoldii sp nov., from human sources

During studies on the bacteriology of appendicitis in children, we often isolated from inflamed and non-inflamed tissue samples, an unusual bile-resistant pigment-producing strictly anaerobic gram-negative rod. Phenotypically this organism resembles members of Bacteroides fragilis group of species, as it is resistant to bile and exhibits a special-potency-disk pattern (resistance to vancomycin, kanamycin and colistin) typical for the B. fragilis group. However, the production of brown pigment on media containing haemolysed blood and a cellular fatty acid composition dominated by iso-C15:0, suggests that the organism most closely resembles species of the genus Porphyromonas. However, the unidentified organism differs from porphyromonads by being bile-resistant and by not producing butyrate as a metabolic end-product. Comparative 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing studies show the unidentified organism represents a distinct sub-line, associated with but distinct from, the miss-classified species Bacteroides putredinis. The clustering of the unidentified bacterium with Bacteroides putredinis was statistically significant, but they displayed >4% sequence divergence with each other. Chromosomal DNA-DNA pairing studies further confirmed the separateness of the unidentified bacterium and Bacteroides putredinis. Based on phenotypic and phylogenetic considerations, it is proposed that Bacteroides putredinis and the unidentified bacterium from human sources be classified in a new genus Alistipes, as Alistipes putredinis comb. nov. and Alistipes finegoldii sp. nov., respectively. The type strain of Alistipes finegoldii is CCUG 46020(T) (= AHN2437(T)).

Effects of consumption of probiotics and prebiotics on serum lipid levels in humans

The objective of this article is to review existing studies concerning the effects of probiotics and prebiotics on serum cholesterol concentrations, with particular attention on the possible mechanisms of their action. Although not without exception, results from animal and human studies suggest a moderate cholesterol-lowering action of dairy products fermented with appropriate strain(s) of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria. Mechanistically, probiotic bacteria ferment food-derived indigestible carbohydrates to produce short-chain fatty acids in the gut, which can then cause a decrease in the systemic levels of blood lipids by inhibiting hepatic cholesterol synthesis and/or redistributing cholesterol from plasma to the liver. Furthermore, some bacteria may interfere with cholesterol absorption from the gut by deconjugating bile salts and therefore affecting the metabolism of cholesterol, or by directly assimilating cholesterol. For prebiotic substances, the majority of studies have been done with the fructooligosaccharides inulin and oligofructose, and although convincing lipid-lowering effects have been observed in animals, high dose levels had to be used. Reports in humans are few in number. In studies conducted in normal-lipidemic subjects, two reported no effect of inulin or oligofructose on serum lipids, whereas two others reported a significant reduction in serum triglycerides (19 and 27%, respectively) with more modest changes in serum total and LDL cholesterol. At present, data suggest that in hyperlipidemic subjects, any effects that do occur result primarily in reductions in cholesterol, whereas in normal lipidemic subjects, effects on serum triglycerides are the dominant feature.

Diet, fecal water, and colon cancer - development of a biomarker

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer incidence worldwide. Lifestyle factors, especially dietary intake, affect the risk of CRC development. Suitable risk biomarkers are required in order to assess the effect that specific dietary components have on CRC risk. The relationship between dietary intake and indicators of fecal water activity has been assessed using cell and animal models as well as human studies. This review summarizes the literature on fecal water and dietary components with a view to establishing further the potential role of fecal water as a source of CRC risk biomarkers. The literature indicates that fecal water activity markers are affected by specific dietary components linked with CRC risk: red meat, saturated fats, bile acids, and fatty acids are associated with an increase in fecal water toxicity, while the converse appears to be true for calcium, probiotics, and prebiotics. However, it must be acknowledged that the study of fecal water is still in its infancy and a number of issues need to be addressed before its usefulness can be truly gauged.

Effect of colonic bacterial metabolites on Caco-2 cell paracellular permeability in vitro

One common effect of tumor promoters is increased tight junction (TJ) permeability. TJs are responsible for paracellular permeability and integrity of the barrier function. Occludin is one of the main proteins responsible for TJ structure. This study tested the effects of physiological levels of phenol, ammonia, primary bile acids (cholic acid, CA, and chenodeoxycholic acid, CDCA), and secondary bile acids (lithocholic acid, LCA, and deoxycholic acid, DCA) on paracellular permeability using a Caco-2 cell model. Paracellular permeability of Caco-2 monolayers was assessed by transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) and the apical to basolateral flux of [C-14]-mannitol. Secondary, but not primary, bile acids increased permeability as reflected by significantly decreased TER and increased mannitol flux. Both phenol and ammonia also increased permeability. The primary bile acid CA significantly increased occludin expression (P < 0.05), whereas CDCA had no significant effect on occludin expression as compared to the negative control. The secondary bile acids DCA and LCA significantly increased occludin expression (P < 0.05), whereas phenol had no significant effect on the protein expression as compared to the negative control. This suggests that the increased permeability observed with LCA, DCA, phenol, and ammonia was not related to an effect on occludin expression. In conclusion, phenol, ammonia, and secondary bile acids were shown to increase paracellular permeability and reduce epithelial barrier function at doses typical of levels found in fecal samples. The results contribute to the evidence these gut microflora-generated products have tumor-promoting activity.

Sutterella sterconcanis sp nov., isolated from canine faeces

Morphological, biochemical and molecular genetic studies were carried out on an unknown non-spore-forming, Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium which was isolated from dog faeces. The bacterium grew under anaerobic conditions, was asaccharolytic, resistant to 20% (v/v) bile and was oxidase- and urease-negative. Phylogenetic analysis based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the unidentified bacterium clustered with Sutterella wadsworthensis, although a sequence divergence of > 5% indicated that the bacterium from dog faeces represented a previously unrecognized subline within the genus. On the basis of the presented findings, a novel species, Sutterella stercoricanis sp. nov., is described. The type strain of Sutterella stercoricanis is 5BAC4(T) ( = CCUG 47620(T) = CIP 108024(T)).