Characterization of Gelidium corneum's (Florideophyceae, Rhodophyta) vegetative propagation process under increasing levels of temperature and irradiance

Climate change is affecting Gelidium corneum (Hudson) J.V. Lamouroux fields in the Bay of Biscay by reducing its cover and biomass. Understanding those changes requires a good characterization of the responses of this species to different stressors, particularly the effects on key processes such as the vegetative propagation. Here, we aimed to characterize the interactive effect of temperature (15, 20 and 25◦C) and irradiance (5-10, 55-60 and 95-100 μmol*m2*s- 1) on two phases of the vegetative propagation process: the re-attachment capacity and the survival of re-attached fragments. The study findings revealed significant effects of both temperature and irradiance in the re-attachment capacity of the species, with higher rates of attachment registered at 20 ◦C and 5-10 μmol*m- 2*s-1 after 10, 20 and 30 days of culture. However, the interaction effects were not significant at any time interval. At higher or lower temperatures and increasing irradiances, the attachment capacity was reduced. On the other hand, irradiance was demonstrated to be the main factor controlling the survival of rhizoids. In fact, higher levels of irradiance generated severe damage on rhizoids, and thus, conditioned the development of new plants. According to this, it seems clear that the vegetative propagation process of this species is expected to become more vulnerable as both variables are expected to rise due to climate change. An increased vulnerability of this species may have several implications from an ecological and economic perspective, so we encourage to continue exploring the factors and processes controlling its distribution in order to adopt better management actions in the future.This work was funded by the National Plan for Research in Science and Technological Innovation from the Spanish Government 2017–2020 [grant number C3N-pro project PID2019-105503RB-I00] and co-funded by the European Regional Development’s funds. Samuel Sainz-Villegas and Begoña Sánchez-Astráin acknowledge the financial support received under predoctoral grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities [grant numbers: FPU18/03573 and PRE2020-096255, respectively]. This work is part of the PhD project of Samuel Sainz-Villegas

Factibilidad de un programa de mindfulness en pacientes oncológicos del Perú: un estudio piloto aleatorizado

  DOI: 10.26439/persona2020.n023(1).4832 The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of a program of mindfulness intervention applied to cancer patients in the city of Arequipa, Peru. Participants were randomly selected for a six-week program or for the control group. We used psychometric instruments to measure stress and depression. Adherence and participations of the patients in the program demonstrate the feasibility of the program with breast cancer in Peru. Results show that, in comparison with the control group, there was significant reductions of perceived stress and depression amongst participants.DOI: 10.26439/persona2020.n023(1).4832 El propósito de esta investigación fue evaluar la factibilidad de la intervención cognitiva basada en mindfulness (MBCI) para pacientes con cáncer de mama en la ciudad de Arequipa, Perú. Se seleccionaron 26 pacientes con cáncer de mama entre las edades de 37 a 73 años para el presente estudio piloto. Las participantes fueron asignadas aleatoriamente al programa de entrenamiento MBCI de seis semanas de duración o al grupo de control. Se utilizaron instrumentos psicométricos sobre estrés percibido y depresión para colectar los datos antes y después del entrenamiento de MBCI. La adherencia y participación de las pacientes en el programa, así como sus reportes con base en el protocolo clínico después de la intervención, confirman la factibilidad de la utilización del programa MBCI en pacientes con cáncer de mama en el Perú. Los resultados indican que, en comparación con el grupo de control, las participantes en el programa MBCI reportaron reducciones significativas en el estrés percibido y la depresión

Drivers of variability in blue carbon stocks and burial rates across europeanestuarine habitats

The implementation of climate change mitigation strategies based on the conservation and restoration of Blue Carbon ecosystems requires a deep understanding of themagnitude and variability in organic carbon (Corg) storage across and within these ecosystems. This study explored the variability in soil Corg stocks and burial rates across and within intertidal estuarine habitats of the Atlantic European coast and its relation to biotic and abiotic drivers. A total of 136 soil cores were collected across saltmarshes located at different tidal zones (high marsh, N = 45; low marsh, N = 30), seagrass meadows (N=17) and tidal flats (N=44), and from the inner to the outer sections of five estuaries characterized by different basin land uses. Soil Corg stocks were higher in high-marsh communities (65±3 Mg ha-1) than in low-marsh communities (38 ±3 Mg ha-1), seagrass meadows (40 ± 5 Mg ha-1) and unvegetated tidal flats (46± 3Mg ha-1) whereas Corg burial rates also tended to be higher in highmarshes (62±13 g m-2 y-1) compared to low marshes (43 ± 15 g m-2 y-1) and tidal flats (35 ± 9 g m-2 y-1). Soil Corg stocks and burial rates decreased from inner to outer estuarine sections in most estuaries reflecting the decrease in the river influence towards the estuary mouth. Higher soil Corg stocks were related to higher content of silt and clay and higher proportion of forest and natural land within the river basin, pointing at new opportunities for protecting coastal natural carbon sinks based on the conservation and restoration of upland ecosystems. Our study contributes to the global inventory of Blue Carbon by adding data from unexplored regions and habitats in Europe, and by identifying drivers of variability across and within estuaries.The authors acknowledge the financial support fromthe Government of Cantabria through the “Fénix Programme”. IM was supported by a Juan de la Cierva Incorporación postdoctoral fellowship of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (JC2020-045917-I).OS was supported by I+D+i projects RYC2019-027073-I and PIE HOLOCENO 20213AT014 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and FEDER. The IAEA is grateful for the support provided to its Marine Environment Laboratories by the Government of the Principality of Monaco. PM was supported by the Australian Research Council. J.G.O. acknowledges the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the “Maria de Maeztu” program for Units of Excellence (CEX2019-000940-M) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (MERS; 2017 SGR–1588). This research was carried out with the contribution of the LIFE Programme of the European Union to the Project ADAPTA BLUES (ref. LIFE18 CCA/ES/001160). This document reflects only the authors' view and the Agency/Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains

Forensic evaluation of the Asia Pacific ancestry-informative MAPlex assay

DNA intelligence, and particularly the inference of biogeographical ancestry (BGA) is increasing in interest, and relevance within the forensic genetics community. The majority of current MPS-based forensic ancestry-informative assays focus on the differentiation of major global populations. The recently published MAPlex (Multiplex for the Asia Pacific) panel contains 144 SNPs and 20 microhaplotypes and aims to improve the differentiation of populations in the Asia Pacific region. This study reports the first forensic evaluation of the MAPlex panel using AmpliSeq technology and Ion S5 sequencing. This study reports on the overall performance of MAPlex including the assay’s sequence coverage distribution and stability, baseline noise and description of problematic SNPs. Dilution series, artificially degraded and mixed DNA samples were also analysed to evaluate the sensitivity of the panel with challenging or compromised forensic samples. As the first panel to combine biallelic SNPs, multiple-allele SNPs and microhaplotypes, the MAPlex assay demonstrated an enhanced capacity for mixture detection, not easily performed with common binary SNPs. This performance evaluation indicates that MAPlex is a robust, stable and highly sensitive assay that is applicable to forensic casework for the prediction of BGAMdlP is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria and the Consellería de Economía, Emprego e Industria from Xunta de Galicia (Modalidade A, ED481B 2017/088). CP, AFA, AMM, MdlP, MVL are supported by MAPA, Multiple Allele Polymorphism Analysis (BIO2016-78525-R), a research project funded by the Spanish Research State Agency (AEI), and co-financed with ERDF funds. AFA is supported by a post-doctorate grant funded by the Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria e da Consellería de Economía, Emprego e Industria from Xunta de Galicia, Spain (Modalidade B, ED481B 2018/010). The 1000 Genomes high coverage sequence data were generated at the New York Genome Center with funds provided by NHGRI Grant 3UM1HG008901-03S1S

OPTIMIZATION OF TISSUE SAMPLES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF DISEASE BIOMARKERS: THE OPTIMARK PROJECT

Europe Biobank Week, Sept 13-16, 2016. Vienna, AustriaS

Effectiveness of a clinical practice guideline implementation strategy for patients with anxiety disorders in primary care: cluster randomized trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anxiety is a common mental health problem seen in primary care. However, its management in clinical practice varies greatly. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have the potential to reduce variations and improve the care received by patients by promoting interventions of proven benefit. However, uptake and adherence to their recommendations can be low.</p> <p>Method/design</p> <p>This study involves a community based on cluster randomized trial in primary healthcare centres in the Madrid Region (Spain). The project aims to determine whether the use of implementation strategy (including training session, information, opinion leader, reminders, audit, and feed-back) of CPG for patients with anxiety disorders in primary care is more effective than usual diffusion.</p> <p>The number of patients required is 296 (148 in each arm), all older than 18 years and diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and panic attacks by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV). They are chosen by consecutive sampling.</p> <p>The main outcome variable is the change in two or more points into Goldberg anxiety scale at six and twelve months. Secondary outcome variables include quality of life (EuroQol 5D), and degree of compliance with the CPG recommendations on treatment, information, and referrals to mental health services. Main effectiveness will be analyzed by comparing the patients percentage improvement on the Goldberg scale between the intervention group and the control group. Logistic regression with random effects will be used to adjust for prognostic factors. Confounding factors or factors that might alter the effect recorded will be taken into account in this analysis.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>There is a need to identify effective implementation strategies for CPG for the management of anxiety disorders present in primary care. Ensuring the appropriate uptake of guideline recommendations can reduce clinical variation and improve the care patients receive.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN: <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN83365316">ISRCTN83365316</a></p

Effect of a nutritional intervention based on an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet on environmental impact

[EN]To estimate the environmental impact of a dietary intervention based on an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) after one year of follow-up. Methods Baseline and 1-year follow-up data were used for 5800 participants aged 55–75 years with metabolic syndrome in the PREDIMED-Plus study. Food intake was estimated through a validated semiquantitative food consumption frequency questionnaire, and adherence to the MedDiet was estimated through the Diet Score. Using the EAT-Lancet Commission tables we assessed the influence of dietary intake on environmental impact (through five indicators: greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), land use, energy used, acidification and potential eutrophication). Using multivariable linear regression models, the association between the intervention and changes in each of the environmental factors was assessed. Mediation analyses were carried out to estimate to what extent changes in each of 2 components of the intervention, namely adherence to the MedDiet and caloric reduction, were responsible for the observed reductions in environmental impact. Results We observed a significant reduction in the intervention group compared to the control group in acidification levels (−13.3 vs. -9.9 g SO2-eq), eutrophication (−5.4 vs. -4.0 g PO4-eq) and land use (−2.7 vs. -1.8 m2). Adherence to the MedDiet partially mediated the association between intervention and reduction of acidification by 15 %, eutrophication by 10 % and land use by 10 %. Caloric reduction partially mediated the association with the same factors by 55 %, 51 % and 38 % respectively. In addition, adherence to the MedDiet fully mediated the association between intervention and reduction in GHG emissions by 56 % and energy use by 53 %.SIPublicación en abierto financiada por el Consorcio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Castilla y León (BUCLE), con cargo al Programa Operativo 2014ES16RFOP009 FEDER 2014-2020 DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN, Actuación:20007-CL - Apoyo Consorcio BUCL

Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020

[EN] Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3,4,5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes.S

Atlas de las praderas marinas de España

Knowledge of the distribution and extent of seagrass habitats is currently the basis of management and conservation policies of the coastal zones in most European countries. This basic information is being requested through European directives for the establishment of monitoring programmes and the implementation of specific actions to preserve the marine environment. In addition, this information is crucial for the quantification of the ecological importance usually attributed to seagrass habitats due to, for instance, their involvement in biogeochemical cycles, marine biodiversity and quality of coastal waters or global carbon budgets. The seagrass atlas of Spain represents a huge collective effort performed by 84 authors across 30 Spanish institutions largely involved in the scientific research, management and conservation of seagrass habitats during the last three decades. They have contributed to the availability of the most precise and realistic seagrass maps for each region of the Spanish coast which have been integrated in a GIS to obtain the distribution and area of each seagrass species. Most of this information has independently originated at a regional level by regional governments, universities and public research organisations, which explain the elevated heterogeneity in criteria, scales, methods and objectives of the available information. On this basis, seagrass habitats in Spain occupy a total surface of 1,541,63 km2, 89% of which is concentrated in the Mediterranean regions; the rest is present in sheltered estuarine areas of the Atlantic peninsular regions and in the open coastal waters of the Canary Islands, which represents 50% of the Atlantic meadows. Of this surface, 71.5% corresponds to Posidonia oceanica, 19.5% to Cymodocea nodosa, 3.1% to Zostera noltii (=Nanozostera noltii), 0.3% to Zostera marina and 1.2% to Halophila decipiens. Species distribution maps are presented (including Ruppia spp.), together with maps of the main impacts and pressures that has affected or threatened their conservation status, as well as the management tools established for their protection and conservation. Despite this considerable effort, and the fact that Spain has mapped wide shelf areas, the information available is still incomplete and with weak precision in many regions, which will require an investment of major effort in the near future to complete the whole picture and respond to demands of EU directives

Atlas de las praderas marinas de España

Knowledge of the distribution and extent of seagrass habitats is currently the basis of management and conservation policies of the coastal zones in most European countries. This basic information is being requested through European directives for the establishment of monitoring programmes and the implementation of specific actions to preserve the marine environment. In addition, this information is crucial for the quantification of the ecological importance usually attributed to seagrass habitats due to, for instance, their involvement in biogeochemical cycles, marine biodiversity and quality of coastal waters or global carbon budgets. The seagrass atlas of Spain represents a huge collective effort performed by 84 authors across 30 Spanish institutions largely involved in the scientific research, management and conservation of seagrass habitats during the last three decades. They have contributed to the availability of the most precise and realistic seagrass maps for each region of the Spanish coast which have been integrated in a GIS to obtain the distribution and area of each seagrass species. Most of this information has independently originated at a regional level by regional governments, universities and public research organisations, which explain the elevated heterogeneity in criteria, scales, methods and objectives of the available information. On this basis, seagrass habitats in Spain occupy a total surface of 1,541,63 km2, 89% of which is concentrated in the Mediterranean regions; the rest is present in sheltered estuarine areas of the Atlantic peninsular regions and in the open coastal waters of the Canary Islands, which represents 50% of the Atlantic meadows. Of this surface, 71.5% corresponds to Posidonia oceanica, 19.5% to Cymodocea nodosa, 3.1% to Zostera noltii (=Nanozostera noltii), 0.3% to Zostera marina and 1.2% to Halophila decipiens. Species distribution maps are presented (including Ruppia spp.), together with maps of the main impacts and pressures that has affected or threatened their conservation status, as well as the management tools established for their protection and conservation. Despite this considerable effort, and the fact that Spain has mapped wide shelf areas, the information available is still incomplete and with weak precision in many regions, which will require an investment of major effort in the near future to complete the whole picture and respond to demands of EU directives.Versión del edito