Research on WASH sector, environment and water resources in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the latest early Pleistocene of Cueva Victoria (Murcia, southeastern Spain, SW Mediterranean): Paleobiogeographic and paleoclimatic implications

The karstic filling of Cueva Victoria in southeastern Spain, dated from the latest early Pleistocene (ca. 1.1 Ma), is famous for providing primate fossil remains (Theropithecus) of typical African origin, in the general controversy on the antiquity of the first hominid settlements in Western Europe and their possible entrance into Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar. Cueva Victoria has also furnished the following fauna of anurans and squamate reptiles: cf. Pelodytes sp. (Pelodytidae), Bufo cf. B. bufo (Bufonidae), Blanus cinereus (Blanidae), Tarentola sp. (Geckonidae), Chalcides cf. Ch. bedriagai (Scincidae), Timon cf. T. lepidus and indeterminate small lacertids (Lacertidae), Natrix maura, Coronella girondica, Rhinechis scalaris and Malpolon cf. M. monspessulanus (Colubridae). This faunal association seems to suggest a mean annual temperature slightly fresher than nowadays (approximately 1°C less than at present in the area), with cooler winters but warmer summers and above all higher mean annual precipitations (+ 400 mm). The landscape may correspond to an open forest environment of a Mediterranean type, with some still water points

Quality losses in virgin olive oil due to washing and short-term storage before olive milling

To identify critical points during olive mill pre-processing operations, the effect of the closed circuit washing stage on the olives microbiological contamination and the influence of the successive short-term storage on olives and VOO quality were evaluated. Microbiological, physical and chemical parameters were assessed in olives and oils at three mill pre-processing stages: reception, washing and short-term storage. Olive washing in closed loop systems was shown to be a critical control point at the olive mill due to microbiological cross-contamination and fruit physical damage. Moreover, when the olives were short-term stored before oil extraction positive VOO sensory attributes decreased by as much as one point of intensity, as justified by the changes observed in phenolic and lipoxygenase derived compounds. These results confirm the high risk of fruit cross-contamination due to the poor hygiene of the water used in olive mills to wash olive, and point o ut t he e ffect of on VOO quality of a common practice such as short term silo storage of olives

La fauna de vertebrados neógeno-cuaternaria de Eivissa (Pitiuses). Nota preliminar

Information about three fossiliferous fisure fillings fíom the island of Eivissa is presented in this paper. Only two of them have fournished remains o£ Mammals. Both present evidence for insularity. The oldest one (Ses Fontanelles) is considered to be o£ Messinian age (Upper Miocene) on the base o£ the presence o£ a Gerbillinae

Direct chemical profiling of olive (Olea europaea) fruit epicuticular waxes by direct electrospray-ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry

In the present paper, an ESI-Orbitrap method is proposed for the direct chemical profiling of epicuticular wax (EW) from Olea europaea fruit. It constitutes a rapid and efficient tool suitable for a wide-ranging screening of a large number of samples. In a few minutes, the method provides a comprehensive characterization of total EW extracts, based on the molecular formula of their components. Accurate mass measurements are obtained by UHRMS, and compositional restrictions are set on the basis of the information available from previous studies of olive EW. By alternating positive and negative ESI modes within the same analysis, complementary results are obtained and a wide range of chemical species is covered. This provides a detailed compositional overview that otherwise would only be available by applying multiple analytical techniques

Water resources management in the Central Rift Valley: modelling for the water poor

Achieving a sustainable development is crucial, but is even more important in developing countries, where a wide number of people does not have a safe and secure access to water and relay on the environment to sustain their lives. The Ethiopian Central Rift Valley basin is already a degraded basin from the environmental point of view: ecosystems are endangered due to human activities there developed. Moreover, poverty is widespread all over the basin, with population is mainly living from agriculture on a subsistence economy. In order to achieve sustainable development to increase population incomes without affecting lives of those who are highly dependent on the environment and Integrated Water Resources Management approach shall be applied. First step has been to model the basin water resources, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), which, after calibration and validation of the model, has given correct results. In order to follow deepening in the IWRM approach, more information on actual and future water demand and specifically water applied to agriculture will be needed.Postprint (published version

Sustainable development program at the Faculty of Nautical Studies of Barcelona, Nautical engineering education

Nautical engineering education institutions play an important role and are a key tool in the future sustainable maritime transport and naval world. This paper addresses the role of nautical engineering education in the learning and implementation of the competence of sustainability and social commitment (SSC) in the Nautical Faculty of Barcelona and presents results of the first year of the implementation of the environmental program STEP2015 at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.Postprint (published version

The importance of the lipoxygenase-hepoxilin pathway in the mammalian epidermal barrier

This review covers the background to discovery of the two key lipoxygenases (LOX) involved in epidermal barrier function, 12R-LOX and eLOX3, and our current views on their functioning. In the outer epidermis, their consecutive actions oxidize linoleic acid esterified in ω-hydroxy-ceramide to a hepoxilin-related derivative. The relevant background to hepoxilin and trioxilin biochemistry is briefly reviewed. We outline the evidence that linoleate in the ceramide is the natural substrate of the two LOX enzymes and our proposal for its importance in construction of the epidermal water barrier. Our hypothesis is that the oxidation promotes hydrolysis of the oxidized linoleate moiety from the ceramide. The resulting free ω-hydroxyl of the ω-hydroxyceramide is covalently bound to proteins on the surface of the corneocytes to form the corneocyte lipid envelope, a key barrier component. Understanding the role of the LOX enzymes and their hepoxilin products should provide rational approaches to ameliorative therapy for a number of the congenital ichthyoses involving compromised barrier function. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled The Important Role of Lipids in the Epidermis and their Role in the Formation and Maintenance of the Cutaneous Barrier. Guest Editors: Kenneth R. Feingold and Peter Elias