Slackwater sediments record the increase in sub-daily rain flood due to climate change in a European Mediterranean catchment

In this work we propose an original method to determine the magnitude of the discharge, the intensity of the precipitation and the duration of short-rain floods in small torrential basins (< 2000 km2), extending our earlier approach for long-rain floods in larger basins (Water 2016, 8, 526; Remote Sens. 2017, 9, 727). The studied areas are located in ungauged catchments with high erosion rates where torrents deposit slackwater sediments near the outlet of the basins. Such deposits and erosive morphologies allow us to analyse sub-daily extreme hydrological events by combining standard techniques in paleohydrology, the kinematic wave method and remote-sensed paleostage indicators. The formulation was correctly verified in extreme events through reliable gauge measurements and a high-resolution distributed hydrological model showing the accuracy of our calculations (10% ≤ relative error ≤ 22%). In catchments of the European Mediterranean region where the frequency and magnitude of short-rain floods are increasing (e.g. the Guadalquivir Basin), the main hydrological variables can thus be quantified post-event using the proposed approach. The outputs may serve to construct a new database for this kind of events complementary to the existing daily database for long-rain floods (> 24 h). The need is evident for safety designs of civil infrastructures and flood risk mitigation strategies in the current climate change scenario.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICINN/FEDER, UE) under Grant SEDRETO CGL2015-70736-R. J.D.d.M.E. was supported by the PhD scholarship BES-2016-079117 (MINECO/FSE, UE) from the Spanish National Programme for the Promotion of Talent and its Employability (call 2016)

Flood hazard mapping with distributed hydrological simulations and remote-sensed slackwater sediments in ungauged basins

We present a basin-scale method to assimilate hydrological data from remote-sensed flood evidence and map civil infrastructures with risk of flooding. As in many rural areas with a semi-arid climate, the studied catchments do not contain stream gauge, and precipitation data does not capture the spatial variability of extreme hydrological events. Remote-sensed flood evidence as slackwater sediments were available at the whole basin, allowing the paleohydrological reconstruction at many sites across the catchment. The agreement between the predicted and observed inundation area was excellent, with an error lower than 15% on average. In addition, the simulated elevations overlapped the observed values in the flooded areas, showing the accuracy of the method. The peak discharges that provoked floods recorded the spatial variability of the precipitation. The variation coefficients of the rainfall intensity were 30% and 40% in the two studied basins with a mean precipitation rate of 3.1 and 4.6 mm/h, respectively. The assumption of spatially uniform precipitation leads to a mean error of 20% in evaluating the local water discharges. Satellite-based rainfall underpredicted the accumulated precipitation by 30–85.5%. Elaborating an inventory of the civil infrastructures at risk was straightforward by comparing the water surface elevation and transport network. The reconstructed maps of rainfall rate were used in the distributed hydrological model IBERPLUS to this end. Recent flood events that overtopped the infrastructures at risk verified our predictions. The proposed research methods can be easily applied and tested in basins with similar physical characteristics around the Mediterranean region.This work was funded by “Programa Operativo FEDER 2014-2020” and “Conserjería de Economía y Conocimiento de la Junta de Andalucía” under Grant No. 1380967. J.D.d.M.-E. was supported by the PhD scholarship BES-2016-079117 (MINECO/FSE, UE) from the Spanish National Programme for the Promotion of Talent and its Employability (call 2016)

Impact of gilt immunocastration on weight losses and instrumental and chemical characteristics of Teruel dry-cured ham

A total of 32 fresh hams intended for the Spanish Protected Designation of Origin “Teruel ham” were used to evaluate the impact of gilt immunocastration (vs. entire gilts) on weight losses during the dry-curing process. After processing, 20 dry-cured hams (10 of each group) were chosen at random to assess instrumental and chemical characteristics. Hams from immunocastrated gilts tended (P = 0.057) to present lower weight losses, they were fattier (P 0.05). It can be concluded that, in general, immunocastration could be a good strategy in gilts to improve the quality of Teruel dry-cured ham.Jamón de TeruelPublishe

The thirty gigahertz instrument receiver for the Q-U-I Joint Tenerife experiment: concept and experimental results

This paper presents the analysis, design, and characterization of the thirty gigahertz instrument receiver developed for the Q-U-I Joint Tenerife experiment. The receiver is aimed to obtain polarization data of the cosmic microwave background radiation from the sky, obtaining the Q,U, and I Stokes parameters of the incoming signal simultaneously. A comprehensive analysis of the theory behind the proposed receiver is presented for a linearly polarized input signal, and the functionality tests have demonstrated adequate results in terms of Stokes parameters, which validate the concept of the receiver based on electronic phase switching

Genome Economization in the Endosymbiont of the Wood Roach Cryptocercus punctulatus Due to Drastic Loss of Amino Acid Synthesis Capabilities

Cockroaches (Blattaria: Dictyoptera) harbor the endosymbiont Blattabacterium sp. in their abdominal fat body. This endosymbiont is involved in nitrogen recycling and amino acid provision to its host. In this study, the genome of Blattabacterium sp. of Cryptocercus punctulatus (BCpu) was sequenced and compared with those of the symbionts of Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana, BBge and BPam, respectively. The BCpu genome consists of a chromosome of 605.7 kb and a plasmid of 3.8 kb and is therefore approximately 31 kb smaller than the other two aforementioned genomes. The size reduction is due to the loss of 55 genes, 23 of which belong to biosynthetic pathways for amino acids. The pathways for the production of tryptophan, leucine, isoleucine/threonine/valine, methionine, and cysteine have been completely lost. Additionally, the genes for the enzymes catalyzing the last steps of arginine and lysine biosynthesis, argH and lysA, were found to be missing and pseudogenized, respectively. These gene losses render BCpu auxotrophic for nine amino acids more than those corresponding to BBge and BPam. BCpu has also lost capacities for sulfate reduction, production of heme groups, as well as genes for several other unlinked metabolic processes, and genes present in BBge and BPam in duplicates. Amino acids and cofactors that are not synthesized by BCpu are either produced in abundance by hindgut microbiota or are provisioned via a copious diet of dampwood colonized by putrefying microbiota, supplying host and Blattabacterium symbiont with the necessary nutrients and thus permitting genome economization of BCpu

Characterization of individuals at high risk of developing melanoma in Latin America: bases for genetic counseling in melanoma

PURPOSE: CDKN2A is the main high-risk melanoma-susceptibility gene, but it has been poorly assessed in Latin America. We sought to analyze CDKN2A and MC1R in patients from Latin America with familial and sporadic multiple primary melanoma (SMP) and compare the data with those for patients from Spain to establish bases for melanoma genetic counseling in Latin America. METHODS: CDKN2A and MC1R were sequenced in 186 Latin American patients from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay, and in 904 Spanish patients. Clinical and phenotypic data were obtained. RESULTS: Overall, 24 and 14% of melanoma-prone families in Latin America and Spain, respectively, had mutations in CDKN2A. Latin American families had CDKN2A mutations more frequently (P = 0.014) than Spanish ones. Of patients with SMP, 10% of those from Latin America and 8.5% of those from Spain had mutations in CDKN2A (P = 0.623). The most recurrent CDKN2A mutations were c.-34G>T and p.G101W. Latin American patients had fairer hair (P = 0.016) and skin (P < 0.001) and a higher prevalence of MC1R variants (P = 0.003) compared with Spanish patients. CONCLUSION: The inclusion criteria for genetic counseling of melanoma in Latin America may be the same criteria used in Spain, as suggested in areas with low to medium incidence, SMP with at least two melanomas, or families with at least two cases among first- or second-degree relatives.Genet Med 18 7, 727-736

Land- and water-based exercise intervention in women with fibromyalgia: the al-andalus physical activity randomised controlled trial

Background The al-Andalus physical activity intervention study is a randomised control trial to investigate the effectiveness of a land- and water-based exercise intervention for reducing the overall impact of fibromyalgia (primary outcome), and for improving tenderness and pain-related measures, body composition, functional capacity, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, fatigue, sleep quality, health-related quality of life, and cognitive function (secondary outcomes) in women with fibromyalgia. Methods/Design One hundred eighty women with fibromyalgia (age range: 35-65 years) will be recruited from local associations of fibromyalgia patients in Andalucía (Southern Spain). Patients will be randomly assigned to a usual care (control) group (n = 60), a water-based exercise intervention group (n = 60) or a land-based exercise intervention group (n = 60). Participants in the usual care group will receive general physical activity guidelines and participants allocated in the intervention groups will attend three non-consecutive training sessions (60 min each) per week during 24 weeks. Both exercise interventions will consist of aerobic, muscular strength and flexibility exercises. We will also study the effect of a detraining period (i.e., 12 weeks with no exercise intervention) on the studied variables. Discussion Our study attempts to reduce the impact of fibromyalgia and improve patients' health status by implementing two types of exercise interventions. Results from this study will help to assess the efficacy of exercise interventions for the treatment of fibromyalgia. If the interventions would be effective, this study will provide low-cost and feasible alternatives for health professionals in the management of fibromyalgia. Results from the al-Andalus physical activity intervention will help to better understand the potential of regular physical activity for improving the well-being of women with fibromyalgia.This study was supported by the Consejeria de Turismo, Comercio y Deporte (CTCD-201000019242-TRA), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (I + D + I DEP2010-15639, grants: BES-2009-013442, BES-2011-047133, RYC-2010-05957, RYC-2011-09011), the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (20090635), the Spanish Ministry of Education (AP-2009-3173), Granada Research of Excelence Initiative on Biohealth (GREIB), Campus BioTic, University of Granada, Spain and European University of Madrid. Escuela de Estudios Universitarios Real Madrid. 2010/04RM

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research