Assessment of different pre-treatment methods for the removal of limonene in citrus waste and their effect on methane potential and methane production rate

The objective of this study was to assess the limonene removal efficiency of three pre-treatment methods when applied to citrus waste and to evaluate their effects on the biochemical methane potential (BMP) and the methane production rate (MPR) using batch anaerobic testsPostprint (published version

Inici de la incorporació de Vitel·logenina als Oòcits de Blattella Germanica durant el primer cicle reproductiu

Trypan blue, a vital dye which has been shown to be a reliable indicator of the vitellogenesis, was injected into the cockroack BLattetta germànica in order to determine at what time the vitellogenin was taken up by developing oocytes. The study was carried out with virgin females of different ages during the first reproductive cycle and the results showed that the uptake of trypan blue occurred between the day 2 and 3 after the adult molt. Theonset of dye uptake correspond with previouslyreported events in the synthesis of juvenit hormone by the corpora ttata

Converging antigenic structure of a recombinant viral peptide displayed on different frameworks of carrier proteins

AbstractA peptide reproducing the G-H loop amino acid sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus VP1 protein was fused to the solvent-exposed C-terminus of the bacteriophage P22 tailspike protein [Carbonell and Villaverde (1996) Gene, in press], a homotrimeric polypeptide with a strong β-helical structure. This fusion does not interfere with the biological activities of the phage tail. The antigenic profile of the complex antigenic site A within the G-H loop has been determined by competitive ELISA with a panel of monoclonal antibodies directed against different overlapping B-cell epitopes. The antigenic data have been compared with those obtained with a set of 12 chimeric β-galactosidases displaying the G-H loop on different exposed regions. A high coincidence has been evidenced between the antigenicity of the viral peptide fused to the phage protein and that of some peptides inserted in an exposed loop of the activating interface of β-galactosidase. This indicates that completely different structural frameworks of carrier proteins can provide similar constraints that allow the recombinant peptide to successfully mimic the antigenicity, and probably conformational features, of the natural peptide on the virion surface

Trichinella: epidemiología y nuevas perspectivas de inspección sanitaria en carnes de equino (I)

El presente artículo obtuvo el Primer Premio del VI Concurso ADITSIC de trabajos sobre inspección y calidad de la carne. Se trata de una revisión sobre la epidemiología de la Trichinella en la que se muestran los últimos hallazgos sobre la investigación de las triquinas en las carnes de equin

Benthic diatoms and foraminifera as indicators of coastal wetland habitats: application to palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in a Mediterranean Delta

Amb cinc capítols, la tesi doctoral combina l’estudi dels hàbitats presents, passats i futurs del Delta de l’Ebre, un dels ecosistemes d’aiguamolls més gran del Mediterrani occidental. S’han aplicat diferents aproximacions per cadascuna de les tres escales temporals: i) en el present, la utilitat de diatomees i foraminífers bentònics com a indicadors ecològics dels hàbitats del Delta de l’Ebre, ii) en el passat, l’ús de les comunitats de foraminífers preservades en el sediment per reconstruir els canvis associats a factors naturals i humans, i iii) en el futur, la distribució potencial dels hàbitats assumint un escenari de nul•la intervenció humana. Els resultats posen en evidència la capacitat de cadascun dels dos grups d’indicadors per caracteritzar de forma diferent tot el rang d’hàbitats deltaics, indicant que aquest coneixement pot ser útil en el context de futurs impactes del canvi climàtic (és a dir increment del nivell del mar i retrocés de la costa), ja que els models de distribució dels hàbitats són sensibles a variables eco-geogràfiques com l’elevació i distància a la costa. Per cadascun dels hàbitats identificats, s’han determinat diferents espècies indicadores de diatomees i foraminífers. Algunes d’aquestes espècies podrien detectar canvis primerencs en les comunitats degut a que els hàbitats estan afectats per múltiples factors d’estrès natural i antropogènic. Els resultats també mostren que quan es combinen les comunitats de foraminífers bentònics que habiten en la plana deltaica i els hàbitats marins adjacents, s’obté una nova eina per la reconstrucció paleoambiental en deltes. En el cas del Delta de l’Ebre, el registre de foraminífers de testimonis profunds datats amb carboni-14 va permetre rebutjar la hipòtesi que el Delta era un estuari abans de l’època dels Romans (fa uns 2000 anys). A una escala temporal inferior (10-100 anys), les comunitats de foraminífers indiquen canvis significatius en el tipus d’hàbitat com a resultat de l’introducció del cultiu intensiu de l’arròs. Aquests resultats aporten informació valuosa sobre les condicions de referència dels hàbitats del Delta de l’Ebre per tal d’informar futurs plans de restauració i monitoreig ambiental.En cinco capítulos, la tesis doctoral combina el estudio de los hábitats presentes, pasados y futuros del Delta del Ebro, uno de los humedales costeros más grandes del Mediterráneo occidental. Para cada una de las tres ventanas temporales se han aplicado distintas aproximaciones: i) en el presente, la utilidad de diatomeas y foraminíferos bentónicos como indicadores ecológicos de los hábitats del Delta, ii) en el pasado, el uso de las asociaciones de foraminíferos preservadas en el sedimento para reconstruir los cambios ligados a factores naturales y humanos, y iii) en el futuro, la distribución potencial de los hábitats asumiendo un escenario de nula intervención humana. Los resultados evidencian que cada uno de los dos grupos de indicadores bentónicos es capaz de caracterizar de forma distinta todo el rango de hábitats deltaicos, y señalan que este conocimiento puede ser aprovechable en el contexto de futuros impactos del cambio climático (incremento del nivel del mar y retroceso de la línea costera), debido a que los modelos de distribución de los hábitats son sensibles a variables eco-geográficas como por ejemplo la elevación y distancia al mar. Para cada uno de los hábitats identificados, se han determinado distintas especies indicadoras de diatomeas y foraminíferos. Algunas de estas especies podrían detectar cambios tempranos en las comunidades, debido a que los hábitats están sometidos a múltiples factores de estrés natural y antropogénico. Los resultados también evidencian que cuando se combinan las asociaciones de foraminíferos bentónicos que viven en la llanura deltaica y en los hábitats marinos adyacentes, se obtiene una nueva herramienta para la reconstrucción paleoambiental en deltas. Para el caso del Delta del Ebro, el registro de foraminíferos preservado en sondeos profundos y datados con carbono-14 permitieron rechazar la hipótesis que el Delta era un estuario antes de la época romana (hace 2000 años). A menores escalas de tiempo (10-100 años), las asociaciones de foraminíferos indican cambios significativos de hábitat como resultado de la introducción del cultivo intensivo del arroz. Estos resultados proporcionan información valiosa para determinar las condiciones de referencia en el Delta del Ebro y aportar información a futuros planes de restauración y monitoreo ambiental.In five chapters, this thesis combines the study of present, past and future habitats of the Ebro Delta, one of the largest coastal wetlands in the northwest Mediterranean. Different approaches are applied in each of the three temporal scales: i) in the present, the utility of benthic diatoms and foraminifera as ecological indicators of the Ebro Delta habitats, ii) in the past, the use of buried, well-preserved benthic foraminiferal assemblages to reconstruct natural and human-driven changes, and iii) in the future, the potential habitat distribution across the Delta plain assuming a scenario of no human disturbance. The results show the capacity of each group of indicators to distinctively characterise the whole range of deltaic habitats, and indicate that this knowledge may prove useful in the context of future climate change impacts (i.e. sea-level rise and coastal retreat), since habitat distribution models are sensitive to eco-geographic features such as elevation and distance to the coast. For each habitat type identified, diatom and foraminiferal indicator species are recognized. Some of these species have also a value for detecting early community changes, because habitats are affected by multiple natural and anthropogenic stressors. This thesis also shows that benthic foraminifera, when combines the assemblages inhabiting both the deltaic plain and the adjacent marine area, provide a new tool in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of deltas. For the Ebro Delta case, the foraminiferal record of radiocarbon-dated boreholes rejected the hypothesis that the central delta plain was an estuary prior to the Roman period (i.e. 2000 years ago). At scales of 10s and 100s of years, down-core foraminiferal assemblages revealed habitat shifts, together with a significant correlation with organic matter increases as a result of human-mediated drainage inputs coming from rice paddies. This knowledge provides valuable information on background conditions for the Delta habitats to inform environmental restoration and monitoring schemes

Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Ebro Delta (Western Mediterranean Sea) : evidence for an early construction based on the benthic foraminiferal record

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in The Holocene 26 (2016): 1438-1456, doi:10.1177/0959683616640048.Major Mediterranean deltas began to develop during a period between 8000 and 6000 yr BP when the rate of fluvial sediment input overtook the declining rate of sea-level rise. However, different authors have argued that the Ebro Delta primarily formed during the Late Middle Ages as a consequence of increased anthropogenic pressure on its river basin and these arguments are supported by the scarcity of previous geological studies and available radiocarbon dates. To reconstruct the environmental evolution of the Ebro Delta during the Holocene, we used micropalaeontological analysis of continuous boreholes drilled in two different locations (Carlet and Sant Jaume) on the central delta plain. Different lithofacies distributions and associated environments of deposition were defined based on diagnostic foraminiferal assemblages and the application of a palaeowater-depth transfer function. The more landward Carlet sequence shows an older and more proximal progradational delta with a sedimentary record composed of inner bay, lagoonal, and beach materials deposited between 7600 yr BP and >2000 yr BP under rising sea-level and highstand conditions. This phase was followed by a series of delta-plain environments reflected in part by the Carlet deposits that formed before 2000 yr BP. The Sant Jaume borehole is located closer to the present coastline and contains a much younger sequence that accumulated in the 3 last 2.0 ka during the development of three different deltaic lobes under highstand sea40 level conditions. The results of the present study reinforce the idea that the Ebro Delta dates to the early Holocene, similar to other large Mediterranean deltas.Drilling and coring was funded by the US National Science Foundation 686 grant EAR- 0952146. Work on the cores presented in this study was partially financed by the Formation and Research Unit in Quaternary: Environmental Changes and Human Fingerprint (UPV/EHU, UFI11/09) and HAREA-Coastal Geology Research Group (Basque Government, IT767-13) projects. It was supported by an IRTA-URV Santander fellowship to Xavier Benito through “BRDI Trainee Research Personnel Programme funded by University of Rovira and Virgili R+D+I projects” and the European Community’s 7th Framework Programme through the grant to Collaborative Project RISES-AM-, Contract FP7-ENV-2013-two-stage-603396

Irreproducibility in Research. What can we do about it?

We all would agree with Karl Popper's statement: 'Non-reproducible single occurrences are of no significance to science.' But what if a substantial percentage of published scientific facts are of the irreproducible category? Such an alarming scenario may be close to reality, according to a number of recent reports. Indeed, some shocking statistics suggest that irreproducibility has gone awry in the last years. For instance, pharma and biotech companies can only reproduce between 11 and 25% high-impact research papers in the field of cancer research

Pristine vs. human-altered Ebro Delta habitats display contrasting resilience to RSLR

River deltas are ecologically and economically valuable coastal ecosystems but low elevations make them extremely sensitive to relative sea level rise (RSLR), i.e. the combined effects of sea level rise and subsidence. Most deltas are subjected to extensive human exploitation, which has altered the habitat composition, connectivity and geomorphology of deltaic landscapes. In the Ebro Delta, extensive wetland reclamation for rice cultivation over the last 150 years has resulted in the loss of 65% of the natural habitats. Here, we compare the dynamics of habitat shifts under two departure conditions (a simulated pristine delta vs. the human-altered delta) using the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) under the 4.5 and 8.5 RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways) scenarios for evaluating their resilience to RSLR (i.e. resistance to inundation). Results showed lower inundation rates in the human delta (~10 to 22% by the end of the century, depending on RCP conditions), mostly due to ~4.5 times lower initial extension of coastal lagoons compared to the pristine delta. Yet, inundation rates from ~15 to 30% of the total surface represent the worst possible human scenario, assuming no flooding protection measures. Besides, accretion rates within rice fields are disregarded since this option is not available in SLAMM for developed dry land. In the human delta, rice fields were largely shifted to other wetland habitats and experienced the highest reductions, mostly because of their larger surface. In contrast, in the pristine delta most of the habitats showed significant decreases by 2100 (~2 to 32% of the surface). Coastal infrastructures (dykes or flood protection dunes) and reintroduction of riverine sediments through irrigation channels are proposed to minimize impacts of RSLR. In the worst RCP scenarios, promoting preservation of natural habitats by transforming unproductive rice fields into wetlands could be the most sustainable option.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio