Are feeding traits and habitat responsible of microplastics ingestion in fish, crustaceans and elasmobranches at the western Mediterranean?

Marine litter loads are increasing worldwide and impacts and effects on marine ecosystems and their inhabitants are still unknown [1,2]. Whereas interaction effects of macrolitter, especially on species as sea turtles and marine mammals has been more investigated, the microscopic fraction has been less addressed. Therefore, several key species of fish, crustaceans and elasmobranches have been studied to assess microplastics ingestion in the Western Mediterranean. Mean ingested microplastics (MPs) ranged up to 2.3 MPs/ind indicating a threat of this man made contaminant on species which are commercialised

Revising interactions of plastics with marine biota: evidence from the Mediterranean

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Cancer incidence in young people in Saudi Arabia: relation to socioeconomic status and population mixing

This study describes cancer incidence in under 24 year olds, particularly leukaemias, lymphomas and central nervous system tumours. It also describes the socioeconomic status (SES) of the geographically delimited Governorates in Saudi Arabia, by deriving two indices – the first time this has been done in the country. It also sought to determine whether SES and Hajj (occurring in Makkah) as a measure of population mixing has an association with the incidence of these cancers. During 1994 to 2008, 17,150 cases were identified from the Saudi Cancer Registry. Census data were accessed for 2004 and included 29 indicators. A continuous SES index was constructed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a categorical index using latent class analysis (LCA). Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated for cancers in Makkah compared to other Governorates by year to assess the effect of Hajj, and for all Governorates to assess the effect of SES. The Hajj had no significant effect on the incidence for all cancer groups. The continuous index produced by EFA consisted of scores ranging from 100 to 0, for affluent to deprived Governorates. The LCA found a four-class model as the best model fit. Class 1 was termed ‘affluent’, Class 2 ‘upper-middle’, Class 3 ‘lower-middle’ and Class 4 ‘deprived’. The urbanised Governorates were affluent, whereas the rural Governorates were on average more deprived. For SES, an elevated risk was found for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the affluent class (IRR=1.38, 95%CI=1.23-1.54), and was reduced in the deprived class (IRR=0.17, 95%CI=0.10-0.29). Similar associations were observed for all cancer groups. The findings are not supportive of the PM hypothesis, but give support to the delayed infection hypothesis, suggesting that delayed exposure to infections may prevent immune system modulation, although results may be exacerbated by poor case-ascertainment/under-diagnosis in deprived areas. Similarities between the two indices suggest validity

Directing the Assembly of Multicomponent Organic Crystals. Synthesis, characterisation and structural analysis of multicomponent organic systems formed from dynamic processes.

Directed assembly of molecular solids continues to attract widespread interest with its fundamental application in a wide range of commercial settings where control of the crystalline state of materials corresponds with product performance. These arenas include pharmaceuticals, personal care formulations, foods, paints and pigments and explosives. In recent times, the assembly of multicomponent organic systems has achieved considerable impetus with the widespread interest in co-crystal systems. However, cogent assembly (or engineering) of multicomponent materials is still in its infancy. Considerable advances in crystal design have been made through consideration of intermolecular ‘synthons’ – identifiable motifs utilising hydrogen bonds – but the translation of other molecular information (conformation, chirality, etc.) into solid state properties (e.g. long-range (translational) symmetry, crystal chirality) remains poorly understood. In this study, we have attempted to evaluate the influence of a chiral centre adjacent to molecular synthons to identify potential translation of information into the solid form. We have compared the co-crystallisation of nicotinamide with both the racemic mixture of malic acid against that with an enantiomerically pure form of the acid (L-malic acid). As well as DL-phenyllactic acid and L-phenyllactic acid. iii It is apparent that recognition between enantiomeric molecular forms play a significant role in the assembly of these systems. This mechanism can be considered independently from the H-bonding networks supporting the hetero-molecular interactions (e.g. acid-amide recognition). Discrimination and control of such interactions may play a role in transmitting chiral molecular information into solid state multi-component assemblies. In order to develop an understanding of co-crystal formation in chiral and achiral forms with intermolecular interactions, the CSD and crystal structures were obtained to do the analysis of how co-crystals pack. This study has also investigated the use of boronic acids. The aim of this study was to investigate the modification of the hydrogen bonding environment within the hydrogen bonded multi-component systems of boroxines. The study also attempted to determine how the starting materials drive the systems between the boronic acid co-crystal and the boroxine adduct

Spatial and temporal distribution of marine debris in seafloor habitats of the Balearic Islands

The weight and distribution of marine macrodebris in benthic habitats (continental shelves and upper slopes) from bottom trawl scientific surveys at the Balearic Islands was investigated. A time series of 15 years (2001 -2015) was studied at mesoscale level. Most abundant debris were glass, plastic and fishing material. The plastic fraction, which is highly persistent and resistant to biodegradation, showed a high variability in space and time with no clear trend

Residuos en el mar Balear

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Isotopic tissue fractionation at bivalve Pinna nobilis, a non-invasive approach

Carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of muscle and mantle in Mediterranean endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis individuals have been analyzed to study tissue fractionation. Muscle tissue is enriched in both δ13C and δ15N compared to mantle on average 1.11 ‰ and 0.71 ‰, respectively. Analyses of mantle tissue do not involve sacrifice of individuals and are therefore proposed as a conservation tool in the study of P. nobilis