Use of wood and cork in biofilters for the simultaneous removal of nitrates and pesticides from groundwater

About 13% and 7% of monitored groundwater stations in Europe exceed the permitted levels of nitrates (50 mg NO3− L−1) or pesticides (0.1 μg L−1), respectively. Although slow sand filtration can remove nitrates via denitrification when oxygen is limited, it requires an organic carbon source. The present study evaluates the performance of the use of wood pellets and granulated cork as carbon sources in bench-scale biofilters operated under water-saturated and water-unsaturated conditions for more than 400 days. The biofilters were monitored for nitrate (200 mg L−1) and pesticide (mecoprop, diuron, atrazine, and bromacil, each at a concentration of 5 μg L−1) attenuation, as well as for the formation of nitrite and pesticide transformation products. Microbiological characterization of each biofilter was also performed. The water-saturated wood biofilter achieved the best nitrate removal (>99%), while the cork biofilters lost all denitrification power over time (from 38% to no removal). The unsaturated biofilter columns were not effective for removing nitrates (20–30% removal). As for pesticides, all the biofilters achieved high removal rates of mecoprop and diuron (>99% and >75%, respectively). Atrazine removal was better in the wood-pellet biofilters than the cork ones (68–96% vs. 31–38%). Bromacil was only removed in the water-unsaturated cork biofilter (67%). However, a bromacil transformation product was formed there. The water-saturated wood biofilter contained the highest number of denitrifying microorganisms, with Methyloversatilis as the characteristic genus. Microbial composition could explain the high removal of pesticides and nitrates achieved in the wood-pellet biofilter. Overall, the results indicate that wood-pellet biofilters operated under water-saturated conditions are a good solution for treating groundwater contaminated with nitrates and pesticides.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Preweaning piglet survival on commercial farms

Preweaning piglet mortality (PWM), a trait highly related to litter size, is one of the main concerns associated with productive efficiency and animal welfare in commercial pig farms. The objectives of this work were to study piglet survival at the farm level, to establish a survival rate (SR) as a target indicator to be improved, and to model it based on other reproductive parameters. Analyzed data corresponded to 580 Spanish commercial farms with a total inventory of 809,768 sows. These farms showed a mean SR of 85.70% piglets born alive (BA), which decreased to 81.81% when total piglets born (TB) were considered. The SR was strongly associated with prolificacy (P < 0.01), the parities with the highest prolificacy being those that had the lowest SR. Thus, the highest correlations were for the SR of piglets BA in the third and fourth parities (r = −0.460 and r = −0.452, respectively, P < 0.01), and for the SR of piglets TB in the fourth parity (r = −0.546, P < 0.01), which was the one with the highest prolificacy. The values corresponding to the quartile of farms with the highest SR within the most productive farms were established as targets to be improved, which were ≥88.5% of piglets BA and 83.2% of piglets TB. Nevertheless, the direct associations shown between the piglet’s survival and prolificacy and other productive factors, such as the age of piglets at weaning, the farrowings per sow and year and the farrowing interval, suggest the convenience of modeling the risk of PWM on farms to have its own target of survival index to be improved.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Evaluación de nuevas variedades de trigo blando de primavera

En este artículo se presentan los resultados de la evaluación de nuevas variedades comerciales de trigo blando de primavera en España realizados por el Grupo para la Evaluación de Nuevas Variedades de Cultivos Extensivos (Genvce) durante la campaña 2022/23 y un análisis conjunto con los resultados de la campaña anterior.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Debaryomyces hansenii CBS 8339 promotes larval development in Seriola rivoliana

The present study aimed to know the effect of the administration of Debaryomyces hansenii yeast on growth, development and skeletal deformities, through the quantification of molecular and morphophysiological indicators in longfin yellowtail larvae. Larvae from the yeast group were fed with the rotifers and Artemia metanaupli half enriched with D. hansenii (50% of live prey) and half enriched with Origreen® (50% of live prey) and were compared to control (100% Origreen®) from 5 to 30 days post-hatching (DPH). Each treatment had two methodological replicates. Studies on bone mineralization, skeletal deformities, intestinal histological analysis, digestive enzyme activity, differential gene expression (RT-qPCR) and transcriptome analysis (RNA-Seq) were performed in whole larvae. Results showed that larvae fed D. hansenii encapsulated within enriched live preys had higher survival and growth, higher intestinal mucin secretion, as well as higher activity of alkaline phosphatase, pepsin and α-amylase. The degree of bone mineralization in the cranial and caudal fin complex was higher in larvae fed D. hansenii and a lower incidence of deformities at the vertebral column was also observed. In general, the gene expression throughout the development fluctuated between the control group and the yeast treatment; however, at 30 DPH, a higher expression of the bone morphogenetic protein type 2 (bmp2), collagen type 1α1 (col1α1) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (pcna) genes was detected in larvae fed with yeast. The transcriptomic analyses using RNA-Seq revealed that the main genes related to bone mineralization degree and digestive tract maturation, were overrepresented in the D. hansenii treatment, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (3) 24-hydroxylase (cyp24), cytochrome P450 family 27 subfamily A (cyp27a), protein 5 related to the low-density lipoprotein receptor (lrp5), myocyte-specific enhancing factor 2C (mef2), enterokinase (entk), pepsin and alkaline phosphatase. Based on the results, S. rivoliana larvae supplemented with the yeast D. hansenii presented higher growth and survival, a higher degree of maturation of the digestive tract, a higher degree of bone mineralization and a reduction in skeletal deformities, for which the continuous use of yeast is recommended as a food supplement to larvae from 5 days post-hatching onwards.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Assessing consumers' preferences for beef and lamb meat linked to wildfire prevention services

Meat from silvopastoral systems, due to its provision of numerous ecosystem services such as wildfire risk reduction in Mediterranean forests, can address societal growing demands for meat produced with lower environmental impacts. Differentiation of meat from these systems may contribute to their economic sustainability and hence to reverse their decline in the Mediterranean. This study investigated consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for beef and lamb meat from silvopastoral systems associated to the provision of wildfire prevention service and explored two alternative ways of labelling this service. Through a choice experiment survey considering type of pasture, length of grazing period, production distance and price, we gathered data from 1209 meat consumers in two Spanish cities. We considered forest grazing with a target purpose as a level in the type of pasture attribute and it was presented either as grazing to prevent wildfires or grazing to reduce biomass in two alternative versions of the valuation survey. The random parameter logit model revealed the highest preferences and WTP towards nearby production distances, followed by targeted grazing and forest grazing, while the length of grazing period was less relevant. No significant differences in consumers WTP were found between conveying targeted grazing either as fire prevention or biomass reduction. Our findings also suggest that consumers' preferences varied with location, attitudes towards local food and environmental role of grazing and consumption habits. Knowledge gathered in our work contributes to understand consumers perceptions on the beneficial environmental impacts of meat production.This research was undertaken within the project: “Silvopastoralism as an adaptation strategy for integrated rural development in the Mediterranean” (RTA2017-00036-C01/02) funded by Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Spain. A. Lecegui is grateful to the European Social Fund for the pre-doctoral fellowship (PRE2018-084779). E. Varela is grateful to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for her senior postdoctoral fellowship. Finally, we are grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions that significantly contributed to improve the quality of the manuscript.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Exploring large-scale gene coexpression networks in peach (Prunus persica L.): a new tool for predicting gene function

Peach is a model for Prunus genetics and genomics, however, identifying and validating genes associated to peach breeding traits is a complex task. A gene coexpression network (GCN) capable of capturing stable gene–gene relationships would help researchers overcome the intrinsic limitations of peach genetics and genomics approaches and outline future research opportunities. In this study, we created four GCNs from 604 Illumina RNA-Seq libraries. We evaluated the performance of every GCN in predicting functional annotations using an algorithm based on the ‘guilty-by-association’ principle. The GCN with the best performance was COO300, encompassing 21 956 genes. To validate its performance predicting gene function, we performed two case studies. In case study 1, we used two genes involved in fruit flesh softening: the endopolygalacturonases PpPG21 and PpPG22. Genes coexpressing with both genes were extracted and referred to as melting flesh (MF) network. Finally, we performed an enrichment analysis of MF network and compared the results with the current knowledge regarding peach fruit softening. The MF network mostly included genes involved in cell wall expansion and remodeling, and with expressions triggered by ripening-related phytohormones, such as ethylene, auxin, and methyl jasmonate. In case study 2, we explored potential targets of the anthocyanin regulator PpMYB10.1 by comparing its gene-centered coexpression network with that of its grapevine orthologues, identifying a common regulatory network. These results validated COO300 as a powerful tool for peach and Prunus research. This network, renamed as PeachGCN v1.0, and the scripts required to perform a function prediction analysis are available at https://github.com/felipecobos/PeachGCN.We acknowledge financial support through the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0533 and CEX2019-000902-S). Also, this work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Estate Agency of Research: Project PID2020-118612RR-I00 (Better Almonds) and PID2019-110599RR-I00. Authors F.P. C., I. E., I. B. are grateful to CERCA Program from Generalitat of Catalonia for its support. F. P. C. wishes to acknowledge the receipt of a FPI doctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. This work was also supported by grants PID2021-128865NB-I00 and RYC- 2017-23645 awarded to J.T.M. and the PRE2019-088044 fellowship awarded to L.O. from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU, Spain), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, Spain), and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, European Union).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Field evaluation of an automated mosquito surveillance system which classifies Aedes and Culex mosquitoes by genus and sex

Background Mosquito‑borne diseases are a major concern for public and veterinary health authorities, highlighting the importance of efective vector surveillance and control programs. Traditional surveillance methods are labor‑ intensive and do not provide high temporal resolution, which may hinder a full assessment of the risk of mosquito‑ borne pathogen transmission. Emerging technologies for automated remote mosquito monitoring have the potential to address these limitations; however, few studies have tested the performance of such systems in the feld. Methods In the present work, an optical sensor coupled to the entrance of a standard mosquito suction trap was used to record 14,067 mosquito fights of Aedes and Culex genera at four temperature regimes in the laboratory, and the resulting dataset was used to train a machine learning (ML) model. The trap, sensor, and ML model, which form the core of an automated mosquito surveillance system, were tested in the feld for two classifcation purposes: to discriminate Aedes and Culex mosquitoes from other insects that enter the trap and to classify the target mosqui‑ toes by genus and sex. The feld performance of the system was assessed using balanced accuracy and regression metrics by comparing the classifcations made by the system with those made by the manual inspection of the trap. Results The feld system discriminated the target mosquitoes (Aedes and Culex genera) with a balanced accuracy of 95.5% and classifed the genus and sex of those mosquitoes with a balanced accuracy of 88.8%. An analysis of the daily and seasonal temporal dynamics of Aedes and Culex mosquito populations was also performed using the time‑stamped classifcations from the system. Conclusions This study reports results for automated mosquito genus and sex classifcation using an optical sensor coupled to a mosquito trap in the feld with highly balanced accuracy. The compatibility of the sensor with commer‑ cial mosquito traps enables the sensor to be integrated into conventional mosquito surveillance methods to provide accurate automatic monitoring with high temporal resolution of Aedes and Culex mosquitoes, two of the most con‑ cerning genera in terms of arbovirus transmission.This research was supported by the project VECTRACK. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and inno‑ vation programme under grant agreement no. 853758. This research was also supported by the project IDAlert. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101057554.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reviving Europe's rivers: Seven challenges in the implementation of the Nature Restoration Law to restore free-flowing rivers

The EU Nature Restoration Law represents an important opportunity for freshwater habitat restoration and, consequently, freshwater biodiversity protection. However, a number of challenges must be anticipated in its implementation, which may compromise its success. Some aspects, particularly those relating to freshwater ecosystems, require more clarification. We use riverine ecosystems to illustrate existing ambiguities in the proposed legislation and the potential consequences of leaving these aspects open to interpretation during the implementation process. We also discuss potential solutions to these problems which could help ensure that the law's objectives are met. We argue that river network structure and connectivity dimensions, which result into river meta-ecosystems, must be explicitly considered. For that purpose, we ask for clear definitions of the critical terms “free-flowing rivers,” “barriers,” and “reference areas.” In addition, we recommend developing methods for integrated assessment of connectivity across river networks. As a key property of river ecosystems, this must be used to prioritize actions to increase the length and number of free-flowing rivers. Adequate restoration planning at larger spatial scales will benefit from a meta-ecosystem perspective and accurate representation of aquatic-terrestrial linkages, which will significantly improve the efficacy of restoration efforts. Furthermore, stakeholder and citizen engagement offer important opportunities at local, national, and European scales, and should be fostered to ensure inclusive decision-making. The conservation challenges outlined here are particularly important for rivers, but they also have implications for other ecosystems. These considerations are useful for policymakers, conservationists, and other stakeholders involved in the Nature Restoration Law and related policy initiatives.This study was supported by the following funding sources: the MERLIN project funded under the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme, Grant agreement No. 101036337; the DANUBE4ALL project funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 101093985; the BioAgora project funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 101059438; the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and the Christian Doppler Research Association (CD Laboratory MERI); the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) project RIMECO (I 5006); a Hungarian ANN-OTKA 141884 grant; project FLUFLUX (ERC-STG 716196); and the Leibniz Competition project “Freshwater Megafauna Futures” (P74/2018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Immunization with V987H-stabilized Spike glycoprotein protects K18-hACE2 mice and golden Syrian hamsters upon SARS-CoV-2 infection

Safe and effective severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) vaccines are crucial to fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Most vaccines are based on a mutated version of the Spike glycoprotein [K986P/V987P (S-2P)] with improved stability, yield and immunogenicity. However, S-2P is still produced at low levels. Here, we describe the V987H mutation that increases by two-fold the production of the recombinant Spike and the exposure of the receptor binding domain (RBD). S-V987H immunogenicity is similar to S-2P in mice and golden Syrian hamsters (GSH), and superior to a monomeric RBD. S-V987H immunization confer full protection against severe disease in K18-hACE2 mice and GSH upon SARS-CoV-2 challenge (D614G or B.1.351 variants). Furthermore, S-V987H immunized K18- hACE2 mice show a faster tissue viral clearance than RBD- or S-2P-vaccinated animals challenged with D614G, B.1.351 or Omicron BQ1.1 variants. Thus, S-V987H protein might be considered for future SARS-CoV-2 vaccines development.This work was supported by Grifols pharmaceutical, the CERCA Program (2021 SGR 00452 to B.C.; Generalitat de Catalunya), Direcció General de Recerca i Innovació en Salut (Generalitat de Catalunya) (projects SLD0015 to J.C. and SLD0016 to J.B.), the Carlos III Health Institute (PI17/ 01518 to J.B. and PI18/01332 to J.C.). J.B. is supported by the Health Department of the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya). In addition, the project was also supported by the crowdfunding projects “YomeCorono” (to A.V., V.G., J.C., B.C., J.B. and N.I.-U.), BonPreu/Esclat, and Correos (to J.B.). CAN was supported by a predoctoral grant from Generalitat de Catalunya and Fons Social Europeu (2020 FI_B_0742). A.P.G. was supported by a predoctoral grant from Generalitat de Catalunya and Fons Social Europeu (2022 FI_B_00698). P.A.R. was funded by a predoctoral fellowship from the Government of Catalonia (2020FI_B2_00138). E.P. was supported by a doctoral grant from National Agency for Research and Development of Chile (ANID: 72180406). N.I.-U. is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant PID2020-117145RB-I00), EU HORIZON-HLTH-2021- CORONA-01 (grant 101046118). This study was also supported by CIBER—Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CB 2021), Carlos III Health Institute, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Unión Europea—NextGenerationEU. We would like to thank Foundation Dormeur that support the acquisition of the QuantStudio-5 real time PCR system, an Eclipse Ts2R-FL Inverted Research Microscope, and an ÄKTA go protein purification system. Funders had no role in study design, data analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation. We thank to Ismael Valera, the CMCiB’s staff (Sara Capdevila, Jordi Grifols, Rosa Maria Ampudia, Jorge Diaz, Yaiza Rosales and Sergi Sunye) and the BSL3 IRTA-CReSA staff (Xavier Abad, Ivan Cordon, Anna Pou, Oscar García, Joanna Wiacek, Maria Angeles Osuna, Luís Ribas and Claudia Pereira Sunyé) for their technical assistance with in vivo animal studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cell immunolocalization of ciguatoxin-like compounds in the benthic dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus australes M. Chinain & M.A. Faust by confocal microscopy

Dinoflagellates of the genera Gambierdiscus and Fukuyoa are able to produce potent neurotoxins like ciguatoxins (CTXs), which, after biooxidation in fish, are responsible for ciguatera intoxication. An isolate of G. australes from the Canary Islands, that revealed the presence of CTX-like compounds by immunosensing tools, was studied by immunocytochemistry to localize intracellular CTX-like compounds, using 8H4 monoclonal antibody that specifically recognizes the right wing of CTX1B and CTX3C analogues. Confocal microscopy observations of immunostained whole cells revealed a strong positive reaction on cell surface and all along the cell outline, while no reaction was detected inside the cells, probably because the antibody was not able to pass through thecal plates. Cell sections showed a positive antibody staining not only on thecal plates, but also inside cytoplasm, with numerous small dots and larger tubule-like reticulate structures. Small fluorescent dots were detected also on the nuclear surface. These observations indicate that CTX-like compounds are present in G. australes cytoplasm, and then are, at least in part, released to cover the cell surface.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio