Tracking a mass mortality outbreak of pen shell Pinna nobilis populations: A collaborative effort of scientists and citizens

A mass mortality event is devastating the populations of the endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis in the Mediterranean Sea from early autumn 2016. A newly described Haplosporidian endoparasite (Haplosporidium pinnae) is the most probable cause of this ecological catastrophe placing one of the largest bivalves of the world on the brink of extinction. As a pivotal step towards Pinna nobilis conservation, this contribution combines scientists and citizens' data to address the fast- and vast-dispersion and prevalence outbreaks of the pathogen. Therefore, the potential role of currents on parasite expansion was addressed by means of drift simulations of virtual particles in a high-resolution regional currents model. A generalized additive model was implemented to test if environmental factors could modulate the infection of Pinna nobilis populations. The results strongly suggest that the parasite has probably dispersed regionally by surface currents, and that the disease expression seems to be closely related to temperatures above 13.5 degrees C and to a salinity range between 36.5-39.7 psu. The most likely spread of the disease along the Mediterranean basin associated with scattered survival spots and very few survivors (potentially resistant individuals), point to a challenging scenario for conservation of the emblematic Pinna nobilis, which will require fast and strategic management measures and should make use of the essential role citizen science projects can play

Influence of air temperature on drying kinetics and antioxidant potential of olive pomace

This work aims to evaluate the influence of olive pomace drying (a solid by-product of the olive oil industry) on both antioxidant potential and drying kinetics. The two main fractions of olive pomace (pits, PI and pulps + peels, P + P) were characterized by image analysis and density measurement. The drying process was analyzed in experiments carried out at different temperatures (from 50 to 150 C) and mathematically described from the diffusion and Weibull models. The antioxidant potential of the extracts (ethanol water 80:20 v/v, 22 ± 1 C, 170 rpm for 24 h) obtained from the dry product was analyzed by measuring the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity and the main polyphenols were quantified by HPLC DAD/MS MS. The drying behavior of olive pomace was well described by considering the diffusion in the PI and P + P fractions separately and the influence of temperature on effective moisture diffusivities was quantified by an Arrhenius type equation. The antioxidant potential was only mildly influenced by the drying temperature. However, long drying times at the highest temperature tested (150 C) significantly (p < 0.05) increased the antioxidant potentialThe authors acknowledge the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2010/062 and PROMETEO/2012/007) and Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (AGL2011-29857-C03-04) for their financial support and the Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte of Spain for the financing through the Formacion de Profesorado Universitario del Programa Nacional de Formacion de Recursos Humanos de Investigacion.Ahmad-Qasem Mateo, MH.; Barrajón Catalán, E.; Micol, V.; Cárcel Carrión, JA.; García Pérez, JV. (2013). Influence of air temperature on drying kinetics and antioxidant potential of olive pomace. Journal of Food Engineering. 119(3):516-524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2013.06.027S516524119

CONTRIBUTION TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MARINE GASTROPODS FROM ALMERIA SPAIN

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120 hours simultaneous infusion of cisplatin and fluorouracil in metastatic breast cancer

Thirty-six patients with metastatic breast cancer, 23 with documented progression of the disease after first-line chemotherapy (CAF or CMF) and 13 without prior chemotherapy, were treated with a simultaneous 120-h infusion of cisplatin (CDDP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Objective response was demonstrated in 19 patients (52.7%), stable disease in 7 patients (19.4%) and progression of the disease in 10 patients (27.7%). Similar response rate was observed according to tumor site (soft tissues, 50%; bone, 52%; lung, 63%; liver, 55%; and pleura and peritoneum, 42%) and previous treatment (previous chemotherapy, 48%; previously untreated, 61%). Median duration of response was 8 months. Toxicity was characterized by stomatitis and myelodepression and required dose adjustments in 30% of patients. CDDP and 5-FU infusion deserve further investigation because it appeared to have substantial activity in this preliminary study in metastatic breast cancer

Melittin-loaded immunoliposomes against viral surface proteins, a new approach to antiviral therapy

In this study, melittin, a well-characterized pore-forming lytic amphiphilic peptide susceptible to be vehiculized in lipid membranes, has been utilized to study their antiviral properties. For this purpose, an assay based on melittin loaded-immunoliposomes previously described by our group was adapted to antiviral purposes by means of monoclonal antibodies targeting the surface G glycoprotein of the fish viral haemorrhagic septicemia rhabdovirus (VHSV). We also studied the antiviral action of these immunoliposomes in vitro and the results showed that they are capable of inhibiting the VHSV infectivity by 95.2% via direct inactivation of the virus. Furthermore, the inhibition of the infectivity when treatments were added at different times post-infection and the analysis of the infection foci sizes suggested altogether that they also act by reducing the VHSV spread in cell culture and by killing the infected cells which express the G glycoprotein in their plasmatic membranes