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RESUMEN Objetivo Reportar los resultados del proceso de adaptación y evaluación psicométrica de dos escalas para medir la solastalgia en contextos relacionados con la construcción de embalses. Métodos Primero se adaptó al español la escala Environmental Distress Scale de Higginbotham et ál., que fue probada con una población ribereña del río San Jorge (Córdoba, Colombia). Luego se hicieron grupos focales y entrevistas con habitantes cercanos a Hidrosogamoso para comprender el concepto de solastalgia, asociado a la construcción de embalses. Finalmente se construyeron dos escalas, de 8 y 13 ítems, que fueron usadas con residentes cercanos a las centrales hidroeléctricas de Sogamoso (Santander) y El Quimbo (Huila), respectivamente. La validación incluyó la evaluación de unidimensionalidad con componentes principales y la evaluación de confiabilidad con alfa de Cronbach. Resultados Participaron 103 individuos de los alrededores del embalse de Hidrosogamoso y 277 individuos del embalse de El Quimbo. En ambas escalas se identificó un factor con eigenvalue de 3,95 y 8,12 en Hidrosogamoso y El Quimbo, respectivamente. Los coeficientes de Cronbach fueron de 0,8515 y 0,9441 para los grupos Hidrosogamoso y El Quimbo, respectivamente. Conclusiones Los resultados permitieron tener dos escalas en español de 8 y 13 ítems, siendo esta última la de mejor desempeño psicométrico. Así, no es posible tener solo una escala de solastalgia, debido a que debe ser adaptada al ambiente deteriorado o contaminado relacionado con la solastalgia.
ABSTRACT Objective To report the results of the adaptation process and psychometric evaluation of two scales to measure solastalgia in contexts related to the construction of dams. Methods First, the Environmental Distress Scale of Higginbotham et al was adapted to Spanish, which was tested with a riverine population of the San Jorge River (Córdoba). Then there were focus groups and interviews with residents near to Hidrosogamoso dam to understand the concept of solastalgia associated with the construction of reservoirs. Finally, two scales were built, of eight and 13 items, which were used with residents near the Sogamoso (Santander) and El Quimbo (Huila) hydroelectric dams, respectively. The validation included the one-dimensionality assessment with principal components, and the reliability assessment with Cronbach's alpha. Results 103 individuals from the surroundings of the Hidrosogamoso dam and 277 indivi-duals from the El Quimbo reservoir participated in the study. In both scales, a factor with an eigenvalue of 3.95 and 8.12 was identified in Hidrosogamoso and El Quimbo, respectively. The Cronbach coefficients were 0.8515 and 0.9441 for the Hidrosogamoso and El Quimbo groups, respectively. Conclusions The results allowed two scales of 8 and 13 items in Spanish, the latter being the one with the best psychometric performance. It is not possible to have a solastalgia scale, because it must be adapted to the deteriorated or polluted environment related to solastalgia.
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Pediococcus ethanolidurans CUPV141 is an exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing lactic acid bacterium, first isolated from Basque Country cider (Spain). Physicochemical analysis of the EPS synthesized by the bacterium revealed that CUPV141 produces mostly a homopolysaccharide (HoPS), characterized as a 2-substituted (1,3)-ß-D-glucan, together with a small quantity of a heteropolysaccharide (HePS) composed of glucose, galactose, glucosamine, and glycerol-3-phosphate, this being the first Pediococcus strain described to produce this kind of polymer. On the contrary, an isogenic strain CUPV141NR, generated by chemical mutagenesis of CUPV141, produced the HePS as the main extracellular polysaccharide and a barely detectable amount of 2-substituted (1,3)-ß-D-glucan. This HoPS is synthesized by the transmembrane GTF glycosyltransferase (GTF), encoded by the gtf gene, which has been previously reported to be located in the pPP2 plasmid of the Pediococcus parvulus 2.6 strain. Southern blot hybridization revealed that in CUPV141 the gtf gene is located in a plasmid designated as pPE3, whose molecular mass (34.4 kbp) is different from that of pPP2 (24.5 kbp). Analysis of the influence of the EPS on the ability of the producing bacteria to adhere to the eukaryotic Caco-2 cells revealed higher affinity for the human enterocytes of CUPV141NR compared to that of CUPV141. This result indicates that, in contrast to the 2.6 strain, the presence of the HoPS does not potentiate the binding ability of P. ethanolidurans. Moreover, it supports that the phosphate-containing bacterial HePS improved the interaction between P. ethanolidurans and the eukaryotic cells.
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Some physicochemical and rheological properties of the exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by Pediococcus parvulus 2.6 were examined. Structural characterization by NMR ((1)H and 2D-COSY) showed that the same EPS, a 2-substituted (1,3)-beta-D-glucan, was synthesized irrespective of sugar source used for growth (glucose, fructose, or maltose). The molecular masses of these beta-glucans were always very high (>10(6) Da) and influenced by the culture medium or sugar source. The steady shear rheological experiments showed that all concentrations of the beta-glucan aqueous solutions exhibited a pseudoplastic behavior at high shear rates. Viscoelastic behavior of beta-glucan solutions was determined by dynamic oscillatory analysis. A critical concentration of 0.35% associated with the appearance of entanglements was calculated. The beta-glucan adopts an ordered hydrogen bond dependent helical conformation in neutral and slightly alkaline aqueous solutions, which was partly denatured under more alkaline conditions.
