The effects of temperature (25–40°C), H2SO4 concentration (31–70% (w/v)) and the acid/substrate relationship (1–5 cm3 of H2SO4 per g−1 of cellulose) on the solubilization rate of microcrystalline cellulose and on the glucose production rate have been analysed. The solubilization process was by determining reducing groups present in solution. For acid/substrate relationships of more than 1 cm3 g−1 and H2SO4 concentrations of greater than 62% (w/v), the acid promoted the total solubilization of the cellulose in the form of chains with a low degree of polymerization within 4 h. The solubilization demonstrated zero‐order kinetics in which the specific rate and time of total solubilization are a function of the variables in operation. Glucose was produced according to a mechanism of two consecutive first‐order pseudo‐homogeneous reactions. The values of the kinetic constants k1 and k2 have been correlated with temperature, the H2SO4 concentration and the acid/substrate relationship.

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Introduction: Nowadays, education is immersed in a process of constant renewal due to the inference of two fundamental facts: The emergence of new technologies and the development of new active methodologies that lead the teaching and learning processes. Methods: A case study was developed to analyze the effects caused in these processes by the implementation of “flipped learning” and “gamification” as teaching models; after the implementation of each one, variables such as learning achievement, learning anxiety, motivation, and autonomy were compared. This work was carried out with secondary school subjects (n = 60) of an educational center of the Autonomous City of Ceuta. A descriptive experimental study was carried out. Gamification and flipped learning effects were compared to analyze both their potentials as educational methodologies. Results: The results show the benefits of both methodologies. All measured dimensions increased positively, in accordance with previous studies on the subject. Conclusion: The implementation of both methodologies in the classroom causes an improvement in the students’ learning processes, in their achievements, and in their enthusiasm.

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Wildfires are frequent in the forests of the Mediterranean Basin and have greatly influenced this ecosystem. Changes to the physical and chemical properties of the soil, due to fire and post-fire conditions, result in alterations of both the bacterial communities and the nitrogen cycle. We explored the effects of a holm oak forest wildfire on the rhizospheric bacterial communities involved in the nitrogen cycle. Metagenomic data of the genes involved in the nitrogen cycle showed that both the undisturbed and burned rhizospheres had a conservative nitrogen cycle with a larger number of sequences related to the nitrogen incorporation pathways and a lower number for nitrogen output. However, the burned rhizosphere showed a statistically significant increase in the number of sequences for nitrogen incorporation (allantoin utilization and nitrogen fixation) and a significantly lower number of sequences for denitrification and dissimilatory nitrite reductase subsystems, possibly in order to compensate for nitrogen loss from the soil after burning. The genetic potential for nitrogen incorporation into the ecosystem was assessed through the diversity of the nitrogenase reductase enzyme, which is encoded by the nifH gene. We found that nifH gene diversity and richness were lower in burned than in undisturbed rhizospheric soils. The structure of the bacterial communities involved in the nitrogen cycle showed a statistically significant increase of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes phyla after the wildfire. Both approaches showed the important role of gram-positive bacteria in the ecosystem after a wildfire.

Innovation has allowed for and developed new ways of teaching and learning. Gamification is among the new training methodologies, which is a didactic approach based on the game structure with an attractive component for students. Within gamification, flipped learning and problem-based learning, escape rooms can be found as a technical aspect, which is focused on providing enigmas and tracks for the various educational content that students have assimilated through learning based on problem solving. The aim of this study is to identify how the use of gamification with the use of educational escape rooms affects activation and absence of a negative effect on students. 61 Master students of the Autonomous City of Ceuta participated in this case study. They were divided into three study groups (1 control group; 2 experimental groups) that followed different formative actions (control group—traditional; experimental groups—escape rooms). To achieve the objectives, a mixed research design based on quantitative and qualitative techniques was followed. The instrument used for data collection was the GAMEX (Gameful Experience Scale). The results reveal that the students who had taken a gamified formative action through escape rooms obtained better assessment results in the indicators concerning motivation, teamwork, commitment, activation, and absence of a negative effect on the learning process than those with the traditional methodology.