Impact of different levels of handling on Solea senegalensis culture: effects on growth and molecular markers of stress

[EN] Aquaculture routine practices may cause stress induction on the fish and compromise their welfare affecting the production. This experiment aimed to evaluate the potential links between handling during culture with stress responses and growth on Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis). We worked with two fish cohorts in terms of initial body weight and culture stage: Trial 1 included specimens in the fattening stage (226 ± 4.96 g) and Trial 2 animals in the pre-fattening stage (27.20 ± 0.44 g). The tested culture protocol, which lasted 6 and 4 months for Trial 1 and 2, respectively, mainly reduced handling-derived stressors in the experimental tanks via lowering routine samplings to a minimum. This decrease of the handling-derived stress was reflected in both trials with lower concentration of circulating cortisol in blood plasma from the experimental fish when compared to controls. Moreover, the proposed protocol promoted higher growth in the fish cultured in the less disturbing protocol in Trial 2. Higher specific growth rates and mean body weight and length were reported. In order to further explore the potential beneficial effects of our protocol, we studied the musculoskeletal from Trial 2 gene expression of key genes regulating glucocorticoid signaling pathway and apoptosis: glucocorticoid receptors 1 and 2 (gr1, gr2), heat shock protein 90 AA (hsp90aa), and caspase 6 (casp6). In line with the cortisol reduced level in this trial, gr1, hsp90aa, and casp6 genes showed lower expression in the samples coming from the experimental group. The findings of this study provide valuable information to the aquaculture industry for the management of Solea senegalensis stress and welfare.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

Ácidos siálicos: distribución, metabolismo y función biológica

Sialic acids are among the most important molecules in the animal kingdom and also occur in some microorganisms. They are á-ketoacids with a nine-carbon glycid backbone. They are negatively charged and they were first discovered in mammals, although it appears that they are present in most Coelomata in both protostomes (e.g. Arthropoda) and deutorostomes (e.g. Chordata or Echinodermata). The biosynthetic pathway of Neu5Ac proceeds through the following reactions: a) synthesis of ManAc-6-P, b) synthesis of ManNAc, c) synthesis of Neu5Ac, d) activation of the monomer to CMP-â-Neu5Ac, and e) transfer of Neu5Ac to the acceptor structure. In the catabolism of this compound, the neuraminidase and Nacetyl- neuraminidate-lyase activities play important roles. In animals, sialic acids are involved in cell-to-cell interactions and mediate the regulation of recognition process. In microorganisms they are present in a few taxonomically scattered bacterial and fungal species. These microorganisms establish either symbiotic or parasitic relationships with animals and use host sialic acids either as a carbonnitrogen source or to sialylate their own cell surface.Los acidos sialicos estan entre las moleculas de mayor importancia del reino animal encontrandose tambien en algunos microorganismos. Son cetoacidos con un esqueleto glucidico de nueve carbonos, estan cargados negativamente y se descubrieron en mamiferos aunque se encuentran en la mayor parte de los celomados, en protostomados (por ejemplo, artropodos), y deutorostomados (por ejemplo, cordados y equinodermos). La ruta biosintetica del Neu5Ac tiene lugar a traves de las siguientes reacciones: a) sintesis de ManAc-6-P, b) sintesis de ManNAc, c) sintesis de Neu5Ac, d) activacion del monomero to CMP-ƒÀ-Neu5Ac, y e) transferencia del Neu5Ac a un aceptor. En el catabolismo de estos compuestos las enzimas neuraminidasa y N-acetil neuraminato liasa tienen un papel importante. En animales los acidos sialicos estan involucrados en interacciones celula-celula e intervienen en la regulacion de procesos de reconocimiento celular. En microorganismos estan presentes en un numero escaso de bacterias y hongos. Estos microorganismos los utilizan para establecer relaciones simbioticas o parasitarias con animales, para utilizarlos como fuente de nitrogeno o carbono o para sialilar su propia superficie

Revisión de tecnologías de membranas en la eliminación de metales pesados en aguas superficiales para consumo humano

[EN] Several sources contaminate heavy metals in surface waters. Among the main ones are industries and mining, in addition to natural geological pollution. Several international organizations consider heavy metals as toxic and dangerous. Globally, many bodies of surface water have concentrations of metal ions that exceed the allowed limits. This problem is more significant when water bodies contaminated with metals are used as sources of supply for cities. Therefore, there is an imminent need to apply efficient treatment technologies and with a high metal removal rate. This work makes a bibliographic review of the results obtained in the various experiences of the last 20 years, to identify which of the membrane filtration processes is the most promising for its application, considering different metal ions.[ES] Existen diversas fuentes que contaminan con metales pesados en las aguas superficiales. Entre las principales se encuentran las industrias y la minería, además de la contaminación geológica natural. Los metales pesados son considerados por varias organizaciones internacionales como tóxicos y/o peligrosos. A nivel mundial, muchos cuerpos de agua superficial presentan concentraciones de iones metálicos que exceden los límites permitidos. Esta problemática es mayor cuando los cuerpos de agua contaminados con metales se utilizan como fuentes de abastecimiento para ciudades. Observando lo anterior, existe la necesidad inminente de aplicar tecnologías de tratamiento eficientes y con alta tasa de remoción de metales. Este trabajo hace una revisión bibliográfica de los resultados obtenidos en las diversas experiencias de los últimos 20 años, con el fin de identificar cuál de los procesos de filtración por membranas es el más prometedor para su aplicación, considerando diferentes iones metálicos.Alvizuri-Tintaya, PA.; Villena Martínez, EM.; Torregrosa López, JI.; Lo-Iacono-Ferreira, VG.; Lora-García, J. (2020). Review of membrane technologies in the removal of heavy metals in surface waters for human consumption. Asociación Española de Dirección e Ingeniería de Proyectos (AIEPRO). 1130-1141. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/181059S1130114

Contamination of Water Supply Sources by Heavy Metals: The Price of Development in Bolivia, a Latin American Reality

[EN] Like other Latin American countries, Bolivia is in the race towards development, which has caused many economic activities to be carried out without due consideration for the care of the environment. At this point, it is essential to carry out environmental inventories to preserve the quality of ecosystems and natural resources, such as water. As water is vital, it needs to be adequately monitored and managed to prevent its degradation. This research presents the results of monitoring the main sources of water supply in two continuously growing departments of Bolivia, La Paz, and Tarija. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the water to which the population has access, with particular attention to heavy metals with concentrations that exceed the permitted limits. The metals found were arsenic, chromium, mercury, manganese, iron, zinc, and tin in the Milluni area, and lead, iron, and manganese in the Guadalquivir area. Exposing the presence of metals in water sources implies immediate attention by decision-makers to take action to reduce the risk to public health. In addition, this study exposes a Bolivian reality that could encourage other countries in similar contexts to conduct similar studies on their water sources.This work was supported by the Universidad Catolica Boliviana "San Pablo"-Academic Units of La Paz and Tarija, and by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia through the ADSIDEO project.Alvizuri-Tintaya, PA.; Villena-Martínez, EM.; Avendaño-Acosta, N.; Lo-Iacono-Ferreira, VG.; Torregrosa López, JI.; Lora-García, J. (2022). Contamination of Water Supply Sources by Heavy Metals: The Price of Development in Bolivia, a Latin American Reality. Water. 14(21):1-20. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213470120142

On the Road to Sustainable Water Supply: Reducing Public Health Risks and Preserving Surface Water Resources in the Milluni Micro-Basin, Bolivia

[EN] Bolivia is among the countries with the highest availability of freshwater globally. However, many of its natural sources are impacted by anthropogenic activities, such as mining. Water is intimately linked to public health and is essential to achieving sustainable development. It is necessary to preserve water resources by designing and validating monitoring programs that help control the quality of the sources that supply important population centers. The study area in this research is the upper part of the Milluni micro-basin, whose lagoon system supplies water for two large cities. Milluni is close to illegal and abandoned mining areas, making the region highly vulnerable to heavy metal contamination. This study aimed to optimize the resources available for monitoring Milluni. The frequency of monitoring was statistically determined, and the correlation between parameters measured in situ (pH and conductivity) and metal ion concentrations to determine low-cost indicators to monitor the presence of heavy metals. A multivariate analysis of friction of the results of the pilot year of the monitoring program designed for Milluni, considering the characteristics and economic limitations, is presented. An approximation of the quality of the surface water resources of Milluni is presented as a result of the monitoring operations.This work was supported by The Universidad Catolica Boliviana-Academic Units of La Paz and Tarija, and PROGRAMA ADSIDEO-2018 Development Cooperation Center Of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Alvizuri Tintaya, PA.; Villena Martínez, EM.; Micó-Vicent, B.; Lora Garcia, J.; Torregrosa López, JI.; Lo-Iacono-Ferreira, VG. (2022). On the Road to Sustainable Water Supply: Reducing Public Health Risks and Preserving Surface Water Resources in the Milluni Micro-Basin, Bolivia. Environments. 9(1):1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments9010004S1169

El efecto del capital social en la violencia en la pareja adolescente desde una perspectiva de interseccionalidad

Antecedentes: La violencia de pareja (VP) es un fenómeno social complejo ampliamente estudiado. Sin embargo, pocos de estos estudios consideran el capital social y la interseccionalidad. Nuestro objetivo fue describir el efecto del capital social en la victimización por VP entre estudiantes de secundaria, considerando tres factores de interseccionalidad (sexo asignado al nacer, orientación sexual y origen migratorio) en dos ciudades de España en 2019-2020. Métodos: Se analizó una muestra transversal de 640 adolescentes con pareja, de 13 a 16 años, de un programa de promoción de relaciones equitativas en Alicante y Terrassa. La variable resultado fue haber sufrido violencia en la pareja (control, miedo, física o sexual) en algún momento de la vida. Se utilizaron variables individuales y relacionales para calcular la razón de prevalencia ajustada (RPa) a partir de modelos multivariable construidos mediante regresión robusta de Poisson, y estratificados por sexo, orientación sexual y origen migratorio. Resultados: La mayor prevalencia de VP (56,25%) se encontró en adolescentes lesbianas, gays o bisexuales (LGB) sin actividad social. La orientación LGB se asoció significativamente con la victimización por VP en los adolescentes con origen en países de bajos ingresos (PBI) (aPR: 1,93) y en las chicas (aPR: 1,53). Por último, la procedencia de un PBI fue un determinante significativo de la VP en los chicos (aPR: 1,76) y en los estudiantes, independientemente de la orientación sexual. Una mayor actividad social mostró un efecto protector para los estudiantes de origen en países de altos ingresos (PAI) y de orientación sexual LGB, independientemente del sexo y la orientación sexual. Conclusiones: La actividad social se asocia de forma desigual con una menor victimización por violencia de la pareja en algún momento de la vida adolescente. La fuerte asociación del origen migratorio y la orientación sexual con la VPI refuerza el enfoque de su prevención en los adolescentes desde una perspectiva de interseccionalidad.Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex social phenomenon widely studied. However, few of these studies consider social capital and intersectionality. Our aim was to describe the effect of social capital in IPV victimisation among secondary students, considering three factors of intersectionality (sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation and migration background) in two cities of Spain in 2019-2020. Methods: We analysed a cross-sectional sample of 640 ever-partnered adolescents aged 13–16 years who had taken part in a programme for positive relationship. The main outcome was lifetime IPV (control, fear, physical or sexual violence). Individual and relational variables (bonding social capital) were used to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) from multivariate Robust Poisson regression models stratified by sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation and migration background (factors of intersectionality). Results: The highest IPV prevalence (56.25%) was found in lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) adolescents without social activity. LGB orientation was significantly associated with IPV victimisation in adolescents with low-income country (LIC) backgrounds (aPR: 1.93) and in girls (1.53). Finally, a LIC background was a significant determinant of IPV in boys (aPR: 1.76) and in students independently of sexual orientation. Higher social activity showed a protective effect for students with HIC backgrounds and LGB-sexual orientations. A possible protective effect of social support in HIC backgrounds and regardless of sex and sexual orientation must be considered. Conclusions: Social activity is unequally associated with less lifetime IPV. The strong association of migration background and sexual orientation with IPV reinforces the approach to its prevention in adolescents from an intersectionality perspective.This study was funded by the multi-centre project "Promotion of protective assets against gender violence in adolescence and preadolescence" (Grant reference PI18/00590 and PI18/00544) of the Carlos III Institute of Health, as an intermediary body of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). The project was also supported by the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología Salud Pública (CIBERESP) through the subprogramme on Prevention of Gender Violence of the Programme on Social Determinants of Health (no grant award number specified)

Dating violence and associated factors among male and female adolescents in Spain

Background: Dating Violence (DV) is a public health problem that is on the rise. In this paper, we aim to analyse different factors associated with DV victimization among female and male adolescents in Spain, considering socioeconomic circumstances, sexual orientation and the presence of different attitudes and experiences related to violence. Methods: Cross-sectional data from a convenience sample of 640 ever-partnered adolescents aged 13 to 17 at schools in the cities of Alicante (n = 359, 50.1% girls) and Terrassa (n = 281, 51.9%) in the context of an educational intervention to promote healthy relationships. We calculated the prevalence of different forms of DV (physical, sexual and control and fear) and carried out multivariate regression models by sex. Results: 5.5% of girls and 8.7% of boys declared having suffered lifetime physical and/or sexual violence, while 22% of girls and 20.5% of boys reported control and/or fear victimization. The likelihood of DV was higher among migrants and those with foreign-born parents (aPR girls = 2.1 CI95%: 1.1-3.9; aPR boys = 1.9: CI95%: 1.0-3.6); prior experiences of abuse (aPR girls = 1.6; CI95%: 1.0-2.6; aPR boys = 1.7; CI95%: 1.1-2.6); and those who showed higher levels of machismo (aPR girls = 1.0; CI95%: 1.0-1.1; aPR boys = 1.0; CI95%: 1.0-1.1). In girls, DV increased among those who reported lesbian/bisexual orientation and poor relationship with teachers. Conclusions: DV is socially patterned and increases among LGB adolescents (especially in the case of girls), migrants, and those with foreign-born parents, and adolescents who reported prior experiences of violence in childhood. Future DV prevention programs should consider social inequalities in the likelihood of DV and by reinforcing adolescents' abilities to recognize social support sources and reject machismo and violence.The project was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and the Carlos III Institute (Ref. PI18/00590 and PI18/00544) in 2019 and 2021. This study has also been conducted within the grant received from Instituto de Salud Carlos III & FEDER of which VP is recipient of Predoctora Contract for Training in Health Research (PFIS) grant from European Social Found (FSE) (FI19/00201).S

Caracterización espectrofotométrica del sistema Cu(II):PPi, su implementación como un método para la valoración de pirofosfato (PPi) en solución

The interaction of Cu(II) with pyrophosphate (PPi) in solution modifies the absorption spectrum of the cation. We provide here a proper description of the chemical interactions involved in the absorbance shift, identify the absorption coefficients of the species in solution and afford a model of the Cu(II)-PPi chemical system. Since the changes in the absorption spectrum are concentration dependent, we describe a new method for quantifying PPi in aqueous solutions, based on the modification of the Cu(II) absorption spectrum in the presence of PPi. Changes in absorptivity can be monitored and used to quantify PPi in solution. The determination is simple, fast and cheap. The detection limit of the method is 0.1 ìmol of PPi in the assay conditions. The presence of orthophosphate does not interfere in the determination of PPi. Furthermore, it is possible to use this method in biological systems containing proteins, nucleotides, EDTA or magnesium.El pirofosfato (PPi) tiene una importante funcion en numerosos procesos biologicos. Participa en muchas reacciones enzimaticas catalizadas por transferasas, hidrolasas, ligasas o sintetasas. La interaccion en solucion del Cu(II) con pirofosfato (PPi) modifica el espectro de absorcion del cation. Se describen las interacciones quimicas involucradas en el cambio de absorbancia, se identifican los coeficientes de absorcion de las diferentes especies en solucion y proponemos un modelo del sistema quimico Cu(II)-PPi. Ya que los cambios en el espectro de absorcion son dependientes de la concentracion, nosotros proponemos un metodo para cuantificar PPi en soluciones acuosas basado en la modificacion del espectro de absorcion de Cu(II) en presencia PPi. Los cambios en la absorcion pueden ser monitorizados y utilizados para cuantificar PPi en solucion. La determinacion es simple, rapida y barata. El limite de deteccion del metodo es 0,1 ƒÊmol de PPi en las condiciones del ensayo. Ademas es posible usar este metodo en sistema biologicos que contienen proteinas, nucleotidos, EDTA o magnesio

Dating Violence and Associated Factors Among Male and Female Adolescents in Spain

Background: Dating Violence (DV) is a public health problem that is on the rise. In this paper, we aim to analyse different factors associated with DV victimization among female and male adolescents in Spain, considering socioeconomic circumstances, sexual orientation and the presence of different attitudes and experiences related to violence. Methods: Cross-sectional data from a convenience sample of 640 ever-partnered adolescents aged 13 to 17 at schools in the cities of Alicante (n=359, 50.1% girls) and Terrassa (n=281, 51.9%) in the context of an educational intervention to promote healthy relationships. We calculated the prevalence of different forms of DV (physical, sexual and control and fear) and carried out multivariate regression models by sex. Results: 5.5% of girls and 8.7% of boys declared having suffered lifetime physical and/or sexual violence, while 22% of girls and 20.5% of boys reported control and/or fear victimization. The likelihood of DV was higher among migrants and those with foreign-born parents (aPR girls=2.1 CI95%: 1.1-3.9; aPR boys= 1.9: CI95%: 1.0-3.6); prior experiences of abuse (aPR girls= 1.6; CI95%: 1.0-2.6; aPR boys= 1.7; CI95%: 1.1-2.6); and those who showed higher levels of machismo (aPR girls= 1.0; CI95%: 1.0-1.1; aPR boys= 1.0; CI95%: 1.0-1.1). In girls, DV increased among those who reported lesbian/bisexual orientation and poor relationship with teachers. Conclusions: DV is socially patterned and increases among LGB adolescents, migrants, and those with foreign-born parents. Future DV prevention programs should reinforce adolescents’ abilities to recognize social support sources and reject machismo and violence.This study was funded by the multi-centre project "Promotion of Protective Assets Against Gender Violence in Adolescence and Preadolescence" (Ref. PI18/00590 and PI18/00544) of the Carlos III Institute of Health, as an intermediary body of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF)

Metabolic Responses of Subtropical Microplankton After a Simulated Deep-Water Upwelling Event Suggest a Possible Dominance of Mixotrophy Under Increasing CO2 Levels

In the autumn of 2014, nine large mesocosms were deployed in the oligotrophic subtropical North-Atlantic coastal waters off Gran Canaria (Spain). Their deployment was designed to address the acidification effects of CO2 levels from 400 to 1,400 mu atm, on a plankton community experiencing upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water. Among other parameters, chlorophyll a (chl-a), potential respiration (Phi), and biomass in terms of particulate protein (B) were measured in the microplankton community (0.7-50.0 mu m) during an oligotrophic phase (Phase I), a phytoplankton-bloom phase (Phase II), and a post-bloom phase (Phase III). Here, we explore the use of the Phi/chl-a ratio in monitoring shifts in the microplankton community composition and its metabolism. Phi/chl-a values below 2.5 mu L O-2 h(-1) (mu g chl-a)(-1) indicated a community dominated by photoautotrophs. When Phi/chl-a ranged higher, between 2.5 and 7.0 mu L O-2 h(-1) (pg chl-a)(-1) , it indicated a mixed community of phytoplankton, microzooplankton and heterotrophic prokaryotes. When Phi/chl-a rose above 7.0 mu L O-2 h(-1) (mu g chl-a)(-1), it indicated a community where microzooplankton proliferated (>10.0 mu L O-2 h(-1) (mu g chl-a)(-1)), because heterotrophic dinoflagellates bloomed. The first derivative of B, as a function of time (dB/dt), indicates the rate of protein build-up when positive and the rate of protein loss, when negative. It revealed that the maximum increase in particulate protein (biomass) occurred between 1 and 2 days before the chl-a peak. A day after this peak, the trough revealed the maximum net biomass loss. This analysis did not detect significant changes in particulate protein, neither in Phase I nor in Phase III. Integral analysis of Phi/chl-a and B, over the duration of each phase, for each mesocosm, reflected a positive relationship between 4) and pCO(2) during Phase II [alpha = 230.10-5 mu L O-2 h(-1) L-1 (patm CO2)(-1) (phase-day)(-1), R-2 = 0.30] and between chl-a and pCO(2) during Phase III [alpha = 100.10(-5) Ag chl-a L-1 (mu atmCO(2))(-1) (phase-day)(-1), R-2 = 0.84]. At the end of Phase II, a harmful algal species (HAS), Vicicitus globosus, bloomed in the high pCO(2) mesocosms. In these mesocosms, microzooplankton did not proliferate, and chl-a retention time in the water column increased. In these V globosus-disrupted communities, the (Phi/chl-a ratio [4.1 +/- 1.5 /mu L O-2 h(-1) (mu g chl-a)(-1)] was more similar to the Phi/chl-a ratio in a mixed plankton community than to a photoautotroph-dominated one