The evolution of Arbequina olive oil quality during ripening in a commercial super-high density orchard in north-east Spain

The objective of this work was to follow the maturity of the olives in a commercial Arbequina super-high density orchard and to study the evolution of the olive oil quality. For this objective, the physicochemical, nutritional and sensory parameters were studied. The free acidity was found to be similar during ripening whereas the peroxide index and K232, K270 decreased. The total phenol content and oxidative stability showed a similar trend. First, it increased and then decreased. alpha-tocopherol, saturated fatty acid and pungency decreased. The polyunsaturated content increased while the MUFAS/PUFAS ratio decreased. In 2010, the crop maturity was quicker, and the maturity indexes were higher than in the 2009 crop for the same picking date. Even in the same orchard, the maturity is changing in each crop season. For this reason, it is necessary to choose the optimal harvesting date

RICORS2040 : The need for collaborative research in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent and poorly known killer. The current concept of CKD is relatively young and uptake by the public, physicians and health authorities is not widespread. Physicians still confuse CKD with chronic kidney insufficiency or failure. For the wider public and health authorities, CKD evokes kidney replacement therapy (KRT). In Spain, the prevalence of KRT is 0.13%. Thus health authorities may consider CKD a non-issue: very few persons eventually need KRT and, for those in whom kidneys fail, the problem is 'solved' by dialysis or kidney transplantation. However, KRT is the tip of the iceberg in the burden of CKD. The main burden of CKD is accelerated ageing and premature death. The cut-off points for kidney function and kidney damage indexes that define CKD also mark an increased risk for all-cause premature death. CKD is the most prevalent risk factor for lethal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the factor that most increases the risk of death in COVID-19, after old age. Men and women undergoing KRT still have an annual mortality that is 10- to 100-fold higher than similar-age peers, and life expectancy is shortened by ~40 years for young persons on dialysis and by 15 years for young persons with a functioning kidney graft. CKD is expected to become the fifth greatest global cause of death by 2040 and the second greatest cause of death in Spain before the end of the century, a time when one in four Spaniards will have CKD. However, by 2022, CKD will become the only top-15 global predicted cause of death that is not supported by a dedicated well-funded Centres for Biomedical Research (CIBER) network structure in Spain. Realizing the underestimation of the CKD burden of disease by health authorities, the Decade of the Kidney initiative for 2020-2030 was launched by the American Association of Kidney Patients and the European Kidney Health Alliance. Leading Spanish kidney researchers grouped in the kidney collaborative research network Red de Investigación Renal have now applied for the Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientadas a Resultados en Salud (RICORS) call for collaborative research in Spain with the support of the Spanish Society of Nephrology, Federación Nacional de Asociaciones para la Lucha Contra las Enfermedades del Riñón and ONT: RICORS2040 aims to prevent the dire predictions for the global 2040 burden of CKD from becoming true

Human practices behind the aquatic and terrestrial ecological decoupling to climate change in the tropical Andes

Anthropogenic climate change and landscape alteration are two of the most important threats to the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the tropical Americas, thus jeopardizing water and soil resources for millions of people in the Andean nations. Understanding how aquatic ecosystems will respond to anthropogenic stressors and accelerated warming requires shifting from short-term and static to long-term, dynamic characterizations of human-terrestrial-aquatic relationships. Here we use sediment records from Lake Llaviucu, a tropical mountain Andean lake long accessed by Indigenous and post-European societies, and hypothesize that under natural historical conditions (i.e., low human pressure) vegetation and aquatic ecosystems' responses to change are coupled through indirect climate influences—that is, past climate-driven vegetation changes dictated limnological trajectories. We used a multi-proxy paleoecological approach including drivers of terrestrial vegetation change (pollen), soil erosion (Titanium), human activity (agropastoralism indicators), and aquatic responses (diatoms) to estimate assemblage-wide rates of change and model their synchronous and asynchronous (lagged) relationships using Generalized Additive Models. Assemblage-wide rate of change results showed that between ca. 3000 and 400 calibrated years before present (cal years BP) terrestrial vegetation, agropastoralism and diatoms fluctuated along their mean regimes of rate of change without consistent periods of synchronous rapid change. In contrast, positive lagged relationships (i.e., asynchrony) between climate-driven terrestrial pollen changes and diatom responses (i.e., asynchrony) were in operation until ca. 750 cal years BP. Thereafter, positive lagged relationships between agropastoralism and diatom rates of changes dictated the lake trajectory, reflecting the primary control of human practices over the aquatic ecosystem prior European occupation. We interpret that shifts in Indigenous practices (e.g., valley terracing) curtailed nutrient inputs into the lake decoupling the links between climate-driven vegetation changes and the aquatic community. Our results demonstrate how rates of change of anthropogenic and climatic influences can guide dynamic ecological baselines for managing water ecosystem services in the Andes

Human practices behind the aquatic and terrestrial ecological decoupling to climate change in the tropical Andes

Anthropogenic climate change and landscape alteration are two of the most important threats to the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the tropical Americas, thus jeopardizing water and soil resources for millions of people in the Andean nations. Understanding how aquatic ecosystems will respond to anthropogenic stressors and accelerated warming requires shifting from short-term and static to long-term, dynamic characterizations of human-terrestrial-aquatic relationships. Here we use sediment records from Lake Llaviucu, a tropical mountain Andean lake long accessed by Indigenous and post-European societies, and hypothesize that under natural historical conditions (i.e., low human pressure) vegetation and aquatic ecosystems' responses to change are coupled through indirect climate influences—that is, past climate-driven vegetation changes dictated limnological trajectories. We used a multi-proxy paleoecological approach including drivers of terrestrial vegetation change (pollen), soil erosion (Titanium), human activity (agropastoralism indicators), and aquatic responses (diatoms) to estimate assemblage-wide rates of change and model their synchronous and asynchronous (lagged) relationships using Generalized Additive Models. Assemblage-wide rate of change results showed that between ca. 3000 and 400 calibrated years before present (cal years BP) terrestrial vegetation, agropastoralism and diatoms fluctuated along their mean regimes of rate of change without consistent periods of synchronous rapid change. In contrast, positive lagged relationships (i.e., asynchrony) between climate-driven terrestrial pollen changes and diatom responses (i.e., asynchrony) were in operation until ca. 750 cal years BP. Thereafter, positive lagged relationships between agropastoralism and diatom rates of changes dictated the lake trajectory, reflecting the primary control of human practices over the aquatic ecosystem prior European occupation. We interpret that shifts in Indigenous practices (e.g., valley terracing) curtailed nutrient inputs into the lake decoupling the links between climate-driven vegetation changes and the aquatic community. Our results demonstrate how rates of change of anthropogenic and climatic influences can guide dynamic ecological baselines for managing water ecosystem services in the Andes

Maduración sexual de tres stocks de cherna (Poyprion americanus) en Galicia

Se estudió mensualmente la evolución de la maduración sexual en 3 stocks de cherna (Polyprion americanus) ubicados en Galicia durante los meses de Marzo-Junio. Se obtuvieron muestras de ovocitos mediante canulación, y de esperma por presión abdominal. El análisis del diámetro de los ovocitos muestra que la maduración alcanza su máximo nivel entre finales de abril y mediados de mayo, cuando comienza una leve regresión. En el caso de los machos, la concentración y la movilidad de los espermatozoides del esperma sigue el mismo patrón, sincronizándose con el estado de maduración de las hembras. Estos datos se ajustan a los registros obtenidos en pesquerías naturales para esta especie (Brick y Klippel, 2003).Se estudió mensualmente la evolución de la maduración sexual en 3 stocks de cherna (Polyprion americanus) ubicados en Galicia durante los meses de Marzo-Junio. Se obtuvieron muestras de ovocitos mediante canulación, y de esperma por presión abdominal. El análisis del diámetro de los ovocitos muestra que la maduración alcanza su máximo nivel entre finales de abril y mediados de mayo, cuando comienza una leve regresión. En el caso de los machos, la concentración y la movilidad de los espermatozoides del esperma sigue el mismo patrón, sincronizándose con el estado de maduración de las hembras. Estos datos se ajustan a los registros obtenidos en pesquerías naturales para esta especie (Brick y Klippel, 2003)

First experiences of wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) larval husbandry in NW Atlantic and East Mediterranean

This 5-year-long project (2013-2018) has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration (KBBE-2013-07 single stage, GA 603121, DIVERSIFY). The consortium includes 38 partners from 12 European countries –including 9 SMEs, 2 Large Enterprises, 5 professional associations and 1 Consumer NGO- and is coordinated by the Hellenic Center for Marine Research, Greece. Further information may be obtained from the project site at “www.diversifyfish.eu”.One of the priority target within the European project DIVERSIFY is to set the optimal conditions for larval rearing of wreckfish (Polyprion americanus), as well as the development of a general culture protocol that ensures high larval survival. For this reason, the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR, Greece), Aquarium Finisterrae (MC2, Galicia, NW Spain), Instituto Galego de Formación en Acuicultura (HCMR, NW Spain) and Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO, NW Spain) are working with their respective broodstocks, to achieve viable sets and perform experiments commissioned in the project. In this work the first experiments that allowed wreckfish larvae to survive until day 24 of life and to collect growth data, as well as valuable information on larval ontogeny, are described.European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration (KBBE-2013-07 single stage, GA 603121, DIVERSIFY)

Biomethric Parámeters of Wild Wreckfish (Polyprion americanus)

The wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) is a much appreciated species from the gastronomic point of view. The renowned quality this fish is well known, both nationally as in the international market. This makes wreckfish a good candidate for marine aquaculture diversification. Preliminary results on the biology (Wakefield et al., 2013) and culture (Peleteiro et al., 2014) of this species suggest that this is a fast grower. Wreckfish also acclimates easily to captivity and handling, and despite their large sizes, no mortality related to handling has been observed. This species readily accepts prepared diets in captivity, and is characterized by its low metabolism and inhabiting great water depths. The present research was designed to obtain information on biochemical composition, biometric parameters, sexual differentiation and maturity of wild caught wreckfish, which are important for a success culture of this species