The Europa lander is a concept for a potential future planetary exploration mission which purpose is to characterize the icy shell of Europa and to search for organics. To achieve this objective, the current concept of the lander includes a Raman spectrometer, such as RLS instrument, that could be able to analyze (sub) surface targets in their solid and liquid form. Knowing that ice and brines of Europa are potentially enriched by sulfate and chlorides, this work seeks to evaluate if Raman spectroscopy could be used to semi quantify the saline content of water solutions using space-like instrumentation. To do so, MgSO4 and MgCl2 were used to prepare three sets of water solutions. Raman analyses were then performed by the laboratory simulator of the ExoMars Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS), which has been defined as the threshold system for the Europa Lander. After data analysis, two different semi-quantification approaches were tested, and their results compared. Although univariate calibration curves proved to successfully quantify the content of SO4 2- and Cl- anions dissolved in mono-analyte water solutions, this strategy provided very poor results when applied to binary saline mixtures. Overcoming this issue, the non-linearity prediction ability of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) in combination with bandfitting allows to successfully resolve the complexity of the vibrational perturbation suffered by the OH region, which is caused by the cross interaction of H2O molecules with different anions.

The SuperCam and SHERLOC instruments onboard the NASA/Perseverance rover are returning the first Raman spectra to be ever collected from another planet. Similarly, the RLS instrument onboard the ESA/Rosalind Franklin rover will collect Raman spectra from powdered rocks sampled from the subsurface of Mars. To optimize the scientific exploitation of Raman spectra returned from planetary exploration missions, tailored chemometric tools are being developed that take into account the analytical capability of the mentioned Raman spectrometers. In this framework, the ERICA research group is using laboratory simulators of SuperCam and RLS to perform representative laboratory studies that will enhance the scientific outcome of both Mars2020 and ExoMars missions. On one hand, preliminary studies proved the chemometric analysis of RLS datasets could be used to obtain a reliable semi‐quantitative estimation of the main mineral phases composing Martian geological samples. On the other hand, it was proved the data fusion of Raman and LIBS spectra gathered by SuperCam could be used to enhance the discrimination of mineral phases from remote geological targets. Besides describing the models developed by the ERICA group, this work presents an overview of the complementary chemometric approaches so far tested in this field of study and propose further improvements to be addressed in the future.

The Raman laser spectrometer (RLS) instrument onboard the Rosalind Franklin rover of the ExoMars 2022 mission will analyze powdered samples on Mars to search for traces of life. To prepare for the mission, the RLS scientific team has developed the RLS ExoMars Simulator (RLS Sim), a flexible model of RLS that operates similarly to the actual instrument, both in laboratory and field conditions, while also emulating the rover operational constraints in terms of sample distribution that are relevant to the Raman analysis. This system can operate autonomously to perform RLS-representative analysis in one or several samples, making it very useful to perform heavy experimental tasks that would otherwise be impossible using a flight-representative model of the instrument. In this work, we introduce the current configuration of the RLS Sim that has incorporated new hardware elements such as the RAman Demonstrator 1 (RAD1) spectrometer with the objective of approaching its performance to that of the actual RLS instrument. To evaluate the scientific capability of the RLS Sim, we have compared it with a replica model of RLS, the RLS Flight Spare (FS). Several acquisition aspects have been evaluated based on the analysis of select samples, assessing the performance in terms of spectral range and resolution and also studying several issues related to the evolution of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with different acquisition parameters, especially the number of accumulations. This performance analysis has shown that the RLS Sim in its updated configuration will be a key model to perform support science for the ExoMars mission and the RLS instrument on the Rosalind Franklin rover. Designed to work intensively, the use of the RLS Sim in combination with the RLS FS will facilitate maximizing the scientific return of the RLS spectrometer during Martian operations.

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of three key analytical instruments incorporated within the body of the ExoMars 2022 rover. The rover will collect samples from different sites on the Oxia Planum plain, using a drill capable of penetrating the near subsurface and rocky outcrops to a depth of 2 m. Samples are passed to the Analytical Laboratory Drawer (ALD) in the heart of the rover vehicle, where the Sample Preparation and Distribution System (SPDS) processes and transports the crushed material into a refillable container (RC), which is then presented to the analytical instruments for exobiology and geological investigation. The final sample grain distribution of the powder sample following the crushing and flattening processes is a critical aspect of the RLS instrument that has a direct impact on its overall performance, related to its mineral identification and operational capabilities. This paper provides a comparative overview of the performance of a set of Raman instruments, the RLS micro-Raman Laboratory Equipment, the RLS ExoMars Simulator, and the RLS Engineering and Qualification Model (EQM) using Martian representative crushed samples, along with an evaluation of instrument performance as a function of the operational scenario. The results from the work performed by the RLS team confirm the capability of the RLS instrument performances, by acquiring good-quality spectra from crushed samples provided by the SPDS, whose science return can be further optimized when improving the RLS instrument operation sequence.

The 2020s could be called, with little doubt, the "Mars decade". No other period in space exploration history has experienced such interest in placing orbiters, rovers and landers on the Red Planet. In 2021 alone, the Emirates' first Mars Mission (the Hope orbiter), the Chinese Tianwen-1 mission (orbiter, lander and rover), and NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover reached Mars. The ExoMars mission Rosalind Franklin rover is scheduled for launch in 2022. Beyond that, several other missions are proposed or under development. Among these, MMX to Phobos and the very important Mars Sample Return can be cited. One of the key mission objectives of the Mars 2020 and ExoMars 2022 missions is the detection of traces of potential past or present life. This detection relies to a great extent on the analytical results provided by complementary spectroscopic techniques. The development of these novel instruments has been carried out in step with the analytical study of terrestrial analogue sites and materials, which serve to test the scientific capabilities of spectroscopic prototypes while providing crucial information to better understand the geological processes that could have occurred on Mars. Being directly involved in the development of three of the first Raman spectrometers to be validated for space exploration missions (Mars 2020/SuperCam, ExoMars/RLS and RAX/MMX), the present review summarizes some of the most relevant spectroscopy-based analyses of terrestrial analogues carried out over the past two decades. Therefore, the present work describes the analytical results gathered from the study of some of the most

A curricular Delphi study was carried out to help improve and develop scientific training for secondary school students in Spain. Using the Delphi method, the authors analyzed the degree of consensus among more than 100 stakeholders' answers to the question, "What aspects of science education are considered desirable for a (Spanish) citizen?" From their answers, the authors identified a set of five "concepts." Of these, the most relevant was "Science education related to environmental issues and human health, through the use of strategies based on discussion/debate and inquiry-based science learning." This study compares these results with those of previous studies and makes proposals for educational reform based on the implications of its findings.

The Scientific Competence is evaluated by the PISA tests, and for that, it requires the confluence between the different types of knowledge and the subcompetences evaluated through them, in order to know the grade of qualification of the students for contributing effectively to society. Thus, the results of this three-year test can show the development of a specific country. For this reason, studies which analyse each subcompetence and clarify its components, and show their theoretical foundations with a large number of examples, are needed for teachers. For this purpose, 164 items released by PISA were reviewed using content analysis, characterized and categorized according to the specific skills they assess and the types of knowledge they use. As a part of that, in this study, the subcompetence Interpreting scientifically data and evidences is analyzed from the released items, finding that it gives special importance to the student's ability to use the most common forms of abstraction and presentation of data, as well as to use the knowledge of content, procedural and epistemic to generate or choose the most appropriate conclusion. This study aims to be a guide for the teacher, since it provides detailed and relevant information about the characteristics of tables, graphs, figures and text in order to build, read, analyze and understand the data properly, and also be a tool for a diagnostic evaluation, and let to visualize the deficiencies in the student knowledge's and to improve the interventions in the classroom.

The hydrogen bonds involving sulfur in the furfuryl mercaptan monohydrate are compared with the interactions originating from the hydroxyl group in furfuryl alcohol. The dimers with water were created in a supersonic jet expansion and characterized using microwave spectroscopy and supporting molecular orbital calculations. In furfuryl alcohol-water, a single isomer is observed, in which the water molecule forms an insertion complex with two simultaneous hydrogen bonds to the alcohol (O-H⋅⋅⋅Ow ) and the ring oxygen (Ow -H⋅⋅⋅Or ). When the alcohol is replaced by a thiol group in furfuryl mercaptan-water, two isomers are observed, with the thiol group preferentially behaving as proton donor to water. The first isomer is topologically equivalent to the alcohol analog but the stronger hydrogen bond is now established by water and the ring oxygen, assisted by a thiol S-H⋅⋅⋅Ow hydrogen bond. In the second isomer the sulfur group accepts a proton from water, forming a Ow -H⋅⋅⋅S hydrogen bond. Binding energies for the mercaptan-water dimer are predicted around 12 kJ mol-1 weaker than in the alcohol hydrate (B3LYP-D3(BJ)). The non-covalent interactions in the furfuryl dimers are dominantly electrostatic according to a SAPT(0) energy decomposition, but with increasing dispersion components in the mercaptan dimers, which are larger for the isomer with the weaker Ow -H⋅⋅⋅S interaction.

Numerous authors have agreed on the importance of improving and intensifying scientific culture in society in general, and more particularly among the students before university. It is known that scientific competence in secondary school students plays a very important role both in intellectual development and in its various applications for everyday life. However, the last PISA evaluations taken place in 2015 show that the degree of competence in science of the secondary students in Spain is low. However, it is difficult to unravel what fails in educational practice as well as what are the topics of a good culture and science education. For this reason, it is a matter of greater concern at this educational level to know how the students should be trained in science. This study is focus to find the clues for the scientific training of students to achieve the relevant level of competence in science. Through the use of the Delphi technique, taking place in three rounds, we collect the views of more than one hundred individuals belonging to the different groups related to the field of science and teaching. From the cluster analysis which has been taken place in the second round, a set of five concepts or ideas has been found. Later on, from the third round, we found that one of these five concepts seems very important for the four groups of stakeholders, which is Concept E: Science related with the interest to preserve the Earth and human health.

The analysis of the atomic spectra emitted by highly ionized atoms isCharro, M. E. Nieto, L. M. a field of extraordinary richness and a part of atomic physics with applications in astrophysics, engineering, fusion plasma and materials research. Certain elements have attracted considerable attention because they are useful for spectroscopic diagnostics in fusion plasmas, where a prediction of the experimental spectra is required. Taking into account this fact, the Relativistic Quantum Defect Orbital (RQDO) method has been applied to calculate relevant atomic data, as transition rates for emission lines, in a high number of atoms and ions. This formalism, unlike sophisticated and costly self-consistent-field procedures, is a simple but reliable analytical method based on exactly solvable model potentials, a type of problems that always attracted Professor March’s attention. The method has the great advantage of a low computational cost, which is not increased as the atomic system becomes heavier. In this work, a highlight of this method is presented, together with an overview of the main atomic data obtained using it, which are useful in engineering for fusion plasma diagnostic.

Este trabajo trata de identificar en que y como se debe formar a los ciudadanos en ciencias a su paso por las aulas de educacion secundaria. Mediante un estudio estructurado, basado en el uso de la tecnica Delphi, se busca conocer la opinion de un grupo de encuestados (elegidos en base a su relacion con las ciencias y su ensenanza) en relacion a los motivos, contenidos basicos, asignaturas, estrategias y habilidades sobre la ensenanza-aprendizaje de las ciencias para lograr una formacion adecuada de los estudiantes de educacion secundaria. Los resultados del estudio muestran que entre las principales motivaciones esta el desarrollo integral de la persona, entre los contenidos y asignaturas se mencionan la Biologia, Ciencias de la Tierra y Matematicas y entre las estrategias de ensenanza se apuesta por el aprendizaje interdisciplinar y la indagacion.

The main purpose of this work is to show the influence of vegetation in the storage and stabilisation of organic carbon in semi-arid Juniperus thurifera (J. thurifera) forest soil in central Spain. The variability of the organic matter storage with factors such as sex, trunk diameter and the protection of the canopy of the tree has been analysed. The distribution of the soil organic carbon (SOC) into different fractions has also been determined, in order to estimate the stability of the organic matter. The results show that the SOC concentration has no dependence on the sex of the tree, but it increases with the diameter of the trunk and under the protection of the tree canopy. This study found that the organic matter of the J. thurifera forest soil has a high proportion of recalcitrant organic fraction, humin, which suggests that, given its organic matter stability, J. thurifera forest soils could be a real carbon sink. Consequently, the conservation of this type of old forest ecosystem is important for promoting carbon sequestration.

The main objective of this work is to investigate the uptake of several radionuclides by the vegetation characteristic of a dehesa ecosystem in uranium mining-impacted soils in Central-West of Spain. The activity concentration for 238U, 226Ra, 210Pb, 232Th, and 224Ra was measured in soil and vegetation samples using a Canberra n-type HPGe gamma-ray spectrometer. Transfer factors of natural radionuclides in different tissues (leaves, branches, twigs, and others) of native plants were evaluated. From these data, the influence of the mine, the physicochemical parameters of the soils and the type of vegetation were analyzed in order to explain the accumulation of radionuclides in the vegetation. A preferential uptake of 210Pb and 226Ra by plants, particularly by trees of the Quercus species (Quercus pyrenaica and Quercus ilex rotundifolia), has been observed, being the transfer factors for 226Ra and 210Pb in these tree species higher than those for other plants (like Pinus pinaster, Rubur ulmifolius and Populus sp.). The analysis of radionuclide contents and transfer factors in the vegetation showed no evidence of influence of the radionuclide concentration in soils, although it could be explained in terms of the type of plants and, in particular, of the tree's species, with special attention to the tree's rate of growth, being higher in slow growing species.

The Green function for a singular one-dimensional potential is explicitly obtained in the relativistic context of the Dirac equation, using Dyson's equation. From it, two bound states are easily found, one for the particle and another for the antiparticle, both depending on the δ potential intensity. When a second δ perturbation is introduced at a different point, the problem can also be solved analytically, for the possible bound states. A transcendental equation is obtained, which can be considered as a relativistic generalization of the well-known Lambert equation.

El desarrollo de habilidades cientificas requiere de un razonamiento adecuado que debe fundamentarse en un corpus de conocimientos de contenido, procedimentales y epistemicos de la ciencia. Sin embargo, actualmente es habitual que en la practica docente se sigan ensenando y evaluando en el aula solo conocimientos de contenido -al margen de los otros dos mencionados- desconectados de todo contexto que permita un verdadero desarrollo de la competencia cientifica. Para identificar estos conocimientos y favorecer la confluencia con sus habilidades en algunos contextos es necesario que el docente disponga de recursos que faciliten su comprension. A partir de una extensa revision bibliografica, se genero una base de items PISA que fueron caracterizados y categorizados a partir de las habilidades especificas que evaluan y los tipos de conocimientos que utilizan. En este trabajo, se presenta el analisis de algunos de los items PISA liberados que se corresponden con la subcompetencia Evaluar y disenar la investigacion cientifica, con el fin de poder ser utilizados por el docente como herramienta de reconocimiento, autoaprendizaje y retroalimentacion de los conocimientos y habilidades cientificas que lo orienten a una mejor comprension de la competencia cientifica y que a su vez se vean reflejados en los procesos de aprendizaje de sus estudiantes. Palabras clave: Items PISA; Conocimientos y habilidades cientificas; Competencias. PISA items as a tool for teachers in identifying scientific knowledge and skills The development of scientific skills requires adequate reasoning that must be based on a body of content, procedural and epistemic science knowledge. However, it is now a common teaching practice to continue teaching and focusing only on content knowledge -apart from the two previously mentioned- disconnected from any context that allows for true development of scientific competence. To identify this knowledge and to promote the confluence of these skills it is necessary in some contexts that the educational resources be available to facilitate its understanding. From an extensive literature review, a base of PISA items that were characterized and categorized from assessing specific skills and types of knowledge used was generated. This paper presents the analysis of some of the items released by PISA that correspond to the competence Evaluate and Design Scientific Research, with the explicit goal of it being used by teachers as a tool for recognition, self-learning and feedback of knowledge and scientific skills to guide them to a better understanding of scientific competence and which, in turn, are reflected in the learning processes of their students. Keywords: PISA items; Scientific knowledge and skills; Competences.

La Educación para la Salud (EpS) es la materia que fomenta la vida sana en las escuelas, y que ha de ser incorporada por los docentes. Dada la importancia que tiene la salud en nuestra sociedad, se espera que los profesores estén debidamente preparados, pero desafortunadamente, hoy en día la asignatura de EpS es la mayoría de las veces una materia optativa o inexistente en los planes de estudio del Grado de Maestro en Educación Primaria en las universidades españolas. En este trabajo, tras un análisis de la situación actual en relación a la Salud y su educación, se propone que la asignatura de EpS sea considerada un pilar necesario para adquirir las competencias por los profesores en formación.

Un adecuado desarrollo de la competencia científica en los alumnos de secundaria es una necesidad urgente para el futuro avance de cualquier sociedad.Por tanto, siendo el docente un participante activo en su proceso de formación, debe estar a la vanguardia de los requerimientos nacionales e internacionales sobre las habilidades científicas que debe potenciar en sus alumnos. Con este fin, se presenta una extensa base de ítems liberados de las pruebas internacionales PISA para dar a conocer y ejemplificar cada una de las tres competencias científicas que evalúan estas pruebas. Este trabajo hace parte de una investigación doctoral que busca la implementación de estos ítems como instrumento de evaluación diagnóstica en el aula para orientar las prácticas docentes a partir de la retroalimentación que pueda generar los resultados de su aplicación. Como producto inicial del proceso de investigación se hace una revisión bibliográfica, contrastando los ítems originales en inglés y en algunos casos la traducción completa de ellos, obteniendo como resultado una lista de 164 ítems liberados de PISA, categorizados de acuerdo a cada competencia, lo que permitió abordarlas mediante un gran número de ejemplos y reconocer las habilidades principales que caracterizan a cada competencia.

This paper is a study of the radiological impact of a coal-fired power plant in Spain. Activity concentrations of six natural radionuclides were determined in coal, ash, mine wastes and sediments by gamma-ray spectrometry. The average activity concentrations of (238)U, (226)Ra, (224)Ra, (210)Pb, (232)Th and (40)K in coal were 24, 30, 28, 41, 23 and 242 Bq kg(-1)  and in ash were 103, 128, 101, 124, 88 and 860 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The enrichment factor, radium equivalent activity and alpha index in the ash sample have been estimated. For the five waste pile samples, the absorbed dose rate was higher than the world average dose rate (60 nGy h(-1)). The dependence of radionuclide concentration on the grain size of nine sediments was also studied. The analysis of the radionuclides in waste and sediment samples will demonstrate the distribution and mobility of these elements through the environment, where a potential risk of contamination can be detected.

In this work we try to identify the key points in the various fields of science that can improve the scientific culture in today’s society. Numerous authors have agreed on the importance of improving and intensifying scientific culture in society in general, and more particularly among the students before university. However, it is difficult to unravel what fails in educational practice as well as what are the topics of a good culture and science education. Through the use of the Delphi technique we collect the views of more than one hundred individuals belonging to the different groups related to the field of science and teaching. In this paper we present preliminary results of what will be a more extensive study.