Eva Bussalleu

La universitat travessa un moment de transformació profunda. La digitalització, els canvis socials, la diversitat creixent de l’estudiantat i l’impacte de la intel·ligència artificial estan redefinint el sentit mateix de la docència universitària. En aquest context, les pràctiques tradicionals ja no són suficients: cal repensar com s’ensenya, com s’aprèn i quin paper ha d’assumir el professorat en la formació de persones crítiques, compromeses i capaces d’afrontar un món complex. Aquest llibre aborda els principals reptes de la docència universitària contemporània: la motivació i la participació de l’estudiantat, l’equilibri entre rigor acadèmic i innovació pedagògica, la incorporació crítica de les tecnologies digitals, la promoció de la igualtat de gènere i la necessitat de consolidar una universitat inclusiva, justa i socialment responsable. Lluny de receptes simplistes, les aportacions que recull defensen una pedagogia de l’acompanyament, del pensament crític i de l’aprenentatge significatiu, connectat amb la realitat i els valors democràtics. Les reflexions que s’hi presenten neixen de la pràctica i del debat col·lectiu del professorat implicat en les xarxes i els grups d’innovació docent de la Universitat de Girona. Des d’aquesta experiència compartida, el llibre ofereix mirades, preguntes i propostes que conviden a repensar la identitat docent i a reforçar el paper de la universitat com a espai de transformació social. No es tracta només d’innovar metodologies, sinó de renovar el compromís educatiu amb el coneixement, la igualtat i el bé comú.

Trueperella abortisuis is a gram-positive bacterium that has been previously identified in aborted porcine feti and placentae located in Asia and Europe. Routine microbiological screening of extended boar semen from a US mid-Atlantic stud identified delayed growth of very small white colonies on both brain-heart infusion and sheep-blood agars after 48 to 72 hours incubation at 37°C under aerobic conditions. Isolate identification was performed using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, with T abortisuis identified (MALDI biotyper score = 2.103). After storage at 16°C and 72 hours post collection, total and progressive motility parameters had decreased in extended semen samples positive for T abortisuis. Further work is needed to elucidate the role T abortisuis may play in extended boar semen quality, extended semen longevity, and sow reproductive performance.

Contents: The presence of bacteria adversely affects boar sperm quality of seminal doses intended for artificial insemination. Currently, the most common measure to prevent bacteriospermia is the addition of antibiotics in semen extenders; however, mounting evidence shows that microbial resistance exists. A promising alternative to replace antibiotics are antimicrobial peptides. In this study, the effects of the antimicrobial peptide protegrine 1 (PG1) on the sperm viability and bacterial load of boar seminal doses were evaluated. Three different concentrations of PG1 (2.5, 25 and 100 μg/ml) were tested over a storing period of 10 days at 17°C. Sperm viability was analysed by fluorescence microscopy (SYBR14/propidium iodide), and bacterial load was assessed by plating 100 μl of each sample in Luria–Bertani medium and incubated at 37°C for 72 hr under aerobic conditions. Protegrine 1 was effective in controlling the bacterial load in all the assessed concentrations (p < .05), reaching the lowest values at the highest concentrations of the antimicrobial peptide. Nevertheless, sperm viability was significantly (p < .05) reduced by all tested concentrations of this peptide, the most cytotoxic effects being observed at the highest PG1 concentrations. Despite these results, the use of PG1 as an alternative to antibiotics cannot be totally discarded, as further studies using the truncated form of this peptide are needed.

SUMMARY: In vitro culture conditions and certain events during the earliest stages of development are linked to embryonic survival, possibly in a sex‐related manner. In vitro‐produced (IVP) porcine embryos cultured with glucose (IVC‐Glu) or pyruvate–lactate (IVC‐PL) were tested for any relationship between the timing of the first embryonic cleavage and development and sex ratio. The embryos were assigned to IVC‐Glu or IVC‐PL groups and classified depending on the timing of their first cleavage: 24, 26, 30, and 48 hr post‐insemination (hpi). They were cultured separately in vitro and evaluated for cleavage rate and pattern, blastocyst rate and stage, cell number, apoptosis, and sex ratio. Regardless of energy source, the percentage of two‐cell stage and fragmented embryos at the time of their first cleavage was, respectively, higher and lower in early‐cleaving embryos. Those embryos cleaved by 24 hpi developed to blastocysts at a higher rate (IVC‐Glu: 37.90 ± 3.06%; IVC‐PL: 38.73 ± 4.08%) than those cleaved between 30 and 48 hpi (IVC‐Glu: 5.87 ± 3.02%; IVC‐PL: 8.41 ± 3.50%). Furthermore, a shift toward males was seen among embryos first cleaved before 30 hpi, versus towards females among those cleaved later. The early‐cleaving embryos, only from the IVC‐PL group, had a higher proportion of expanded blastocysts (81.05 ± 6.54% vs. 13.33 ± 13.33%) with higher cell numbers than their late‐cleaving counterparts. Moreover, a shift toward males only appeared at the blastocyst stage in IVC‐PL embryos. These findings confirm that the timing of the first cleavage influences development of IVP porcine embryos in a sex‐related manner, and it depends on the main energy source of the in vitro culture medium. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 80: 924–935, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.