Nutrients and temperature affect growth and photosynthesis of invasive seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae.

Since Rugulopteryx okamurae was identified in 2016 on Spanish coasts, it is producing massive proliferations causing a homogenization on the marine ecosystem and economic impacts. In order to achieve an efficient management of the invasive species, the knowledge of basic aspects of its biology, such as the role of environmental factors on its growth and photosynthetic activity is essential. In this context, the objective of the present work was to determine the combined effects of nutrients and temperature of growth and photosynthesis of three seasonally observed morphotypes of R. okamurae, under controlled laboratory conditions. Wild thalli of R. okamurae cultivated for 21 days under four combinations of nutrients concentration (NO3- and PO43-) and temperature (15, 19 and 23 °C). Relative growth rates and photosynthetic parameters estimated from oxygen evolution measurements were determined. The results show that nutrient and temperature are factors that could influence on growth and photosynthesis of the invasive species with differences among morphotypes. These results can be related to the observed seasonal variations of the production of R. okamurae and natural cyclic fluctuations of nutrients, which will allow us to identify the vulnerability windows of this species.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Efecto de la temperatura y la irradiancia sobre el crecimiento, la propagación vegetativa y la actividad fotosintética del alga invasora Rugulopteryx okamurae (Dictyotales, Ochrophyta).

Ayuda Plan propio de Investigación de la Universidad de Málaga. Proyecto Rugulopteryx. Fundación Biodiversidad. MITECO.The invasive algae Rugulopteryx okamurae (Dictyotales, Ochrophyta) is producing recently important blooms in southern Spain, affecting biodiversity, fishing industry and tourism. For this reason, it is essential to identify the factors that determine the high invasiveness. In this context, the objective of this study focuses on determining the effect of temperature and irradiance on growth, vegetative propagation and photosynthetic activity of R. okamurae. Apical and interdichotomous fragments of thallus were cultivated under different temperatures (14 and 22 °C) and irradiances (35 and 70 µmol photons m-2 s-1) under controlled laboratory conditions. The effects of these treatments were studied on the relative growth rate, propagules proliferation and the photosynthetic activity expressed as fluorescence of chlorophyll a. Results show that the growth capacity of the thallus depends on the presence or not of the apical cells in the thallus, and that their presence, determines the potential of the thallus for vegetative propagation. Moreover, it has been observed that conditions of low temperature and irradiance favour the propagation capacity of the species, as well as its photosynthetic activity. These results are of great interest to understand the invasive behaviour of the species, since they allow us to identify, on the one hand, the breakdown of thallus as a propagation mechanism of the species that favours the recruitment of new clone individuals, and, on the other hand, to determine that this capacity is active in the annual thermal range of the invaded region.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Rugulopteryx okamurae (Dictyotales, Ochrophyta): the first invasive alien seaweed of Union concern and what we know about it in Spain.

The Strait of Gibraltar was the site where an invasive Rugulopteryx okamurae event was first recorded in 2015, with Spain being the first country to suffer the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of this species. Since then, the species has expanded its distribution range both towards the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, which has led to its inclusion in the list of species of Union concern in 2021. So far, the species is present in Spain, Morocco, French Mediterranean coast, Southern Portugal, Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands, in chronological order of its expansion. Efficient management of the species requires a thorough knowledge of the species biology, ecology and interaction with native communities, as well as an economic estimate of its impact. This communication, which opens a workshop focused on R. okamurae, will review the response of the Spanish administration to the invasion of the species as well as the advances made to understand the high invasiveness of the species. Different research projects have focused on identifying the temporal and spatial invasiveness windows. Time of maximal invasiveness has been identified through the study of the vegetative and reproductive phenology of the species on two different communities, Posidonia oceanica meadow and a photophilous algae community, to identified moments of maximal recruitment and production. Spatial windows have been identified with distribution models at different scales. In addition, results on the socioeconomic impact of the species on the fishing sector and for the management of the affected beaches will be shown.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Identificación de ventanas temporales de invasividad del alga invasora Rugulopteryx okamurae (Dictyotales, Ochrophyta) sobre una pradera de Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile

Las invasiones biológicas constituyen una de las principales amenazas en la pérdida de biodiversidad. Desde el año 2015, las costas del Estrecho de Gibraltar se ven afectadas por la invasión del alga asiática Rugulopteryx okamurae. Esta especie está produciendo importantes impactos económicos sobre el sector pesquero, a la vez que impactos ambientales, afectando a comunidades de interés como las de las fanerógamas marinas. El conocimiento de aspectos básicos de su biología, así como su relación con las especies nativas, pueden suponer una importante herramienta para su gestión. Por ello, el objetivo de este estudio es identificar las ventanas temporales de mayor y menor invasividad de la especie sobre una pradera de Posidonia oceanica, y determinar los principales factores ambientales de los que depende. Este objetivo se aborda mediante un estudio estacional de la actividad vegetativa, reproductiva y fisiológica de R. okamurae en una pradera de P. oceanica de la costa de Granada. Para ello, de manera bimensual se recogieron mediante buceo con escafandra autónoma muestras de superficie conocida de R. okamurae sobre P. oceanica. En el laboratorio las muestras fueron procesadas para el análisis poblacional (distribución de frecuencias de tallas), análisis de frecuencia de estructuras de reproducción y multiplicación vegetativa (monosporas asexuales, tetrasporas y propágulos), así como de parámetros fotosintéticos obtenidos a partir de curvas P-I con electrodos de oxígeno. Los resultados revelan variaciones estacionales en la abundancia vegetativa y reproductiva de R. okamurae, que permiten identificar una ventana de elevada invasividad del taxon sobre P. oceanica en los meses más frío.Fundación Biodiversidad, MITECO Fondos FEDER Universidad de Málag

Development of disinfection protocols for fishing gear to minimize the impact of invasive seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae (Dictyotales, Ochrophyta).

Since its identification in the Strait of Gibraltar in 2016, the asiatic brown seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae has produced unprecedented environmental impacts. But what has caught the attention of public administrations and the media has been the millionaire economic impacts it produces on the fishing sector and for beach management. The Spanish national strategy for the control of the species has identified the fishing sector not only as the main sector affected by the species, but also as a key player in controlling its dispersal. Huge amounts of R. okamurae biomass are trapped in fishing gear, which facilitates its dispersal if it is not cleaned and disinfected before being used in other areas. For this reason, the complicity of the fishing sector in the fight against the species is urgent, as well as the development of protocols for disinfecting fishing gear to minimize the potential of fishing activities to disperse the species accidentally. This paper will show on the one hand the collaborations carried out with the fishing sector to work together in the management of the species, and on the other hand the results of different laboratory experiments for the development of fishing gear disinfection protocols. These experiments have been carried out by studying the effects on R. okamurae photosynthesis, estimated as fluorescence measurements, of different treatments combining different chemical products, at different concentrations and application time, as well as physical stress factors such as osmotic shocks and high irradiance. All this to identify treatments that guarantee a mortality of the species above 90% in the shortest possible time, with the lowest economic cost and as innocuous as possible for the userUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Proyecto RUGULOPTERYX, Fundación Biodiversidad Proyecto FEDRJA-00

Morphological, chemical and electrical characterization of a family of commercial nanofiltration polyvinyl alcohol coated polypiperazineamide membranes

Three AFC membranes from PCI, of the thin film composite (TFC) nanofiltration type, have been characterized by using XPS, AFM, Contact angles, Zeta potential and permeation experiments. This plethora of complimentary methods portrays a deep and exhaustive description of these membranes that could be used to tune fabrication and modification of nanofiltration membranes to get better properties. Morphological properties, including porosity, water permeability, fractal dimension, Wenzel parameter and roughness, correlate well with pore sizes. While functional characteristics as, for example wettability correlate well with the O/N ratio. Increasing O/N ratios should be interpreted as caused by increasing PVA coverages. The charge on the membrane's surface is ordered in a different way for different pH but are quite similar anyway. The effect of charges on retention of 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 salts (as tested with NaCl, Na2SO4 and CaCl2) increases with increasing O/N and wettability. Consequently, the trend of salt retentions can be explained in terms of the PVA coverage and the details of the amphoteric behavior of the three AFC membranes studied.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of through project MAT2016-76413-C2-1-R and the Regional Government of Castilla y León and the EU-FEDER (CLU2017-09, UIC082 and VA088G19)

Keys to understand the invasive success of Rugulopteryx okamurae (Dictyotales, Ochrophyta).

Since its first records in the Strait of Gibraltar in 2015, the Pacific brown algae Rugulopteryx okamurae has produced important environmental and socioeconomic impacts that have attracted media attention to a seaweed in Spain for the first time and have led to its inclusion in the Spanish checklist of invasive alien species. Since then, this research group has studied the basic biology and the potential distribution of the species, the results of which are part of the present communication in the body of theoretical knowledge of invasion hypotheses. To begin with, the species exhibits a series of vegetative, reproductive and physiological attributes that confer it a high invasiveness. Morphologically the species is an example of a cryptic invasion due to its similarity with native species of the genus Dictyota; furthermore, the species exhibits seasonal changes in its morphology, alternating thin, thick and intermediate thalli, that altogether make its correct identification difficult. Although sexual cycle of the species has not been confirmed yet in its introduced area, it is able to maintain a rapid and abundant recruitment of new clonal individuals along the year, by vegetative propagules and asexual monospores, which produce a constant propagule pressure. Furthermore, it presents a high adaptation capacity to a wide range of the main environmental factors such as temperature, light and nutrients, that allows it colonizing a wide bathymetric and community range. To this we must add the high invasibility of ecosystems that are suffering for more than 20 years an invational meltdown process, due to previous arrivals of other invasive species of macroalgae, such as those of the genus Asparagopsis and Caulerpa racemosa, that have altered their functions and the resources availability. All this together with a high environmental favorability of the Mediterranean Sea and European Atlantic coasts, explain the wide potential distribution area of the species.FUNDACIÓN BIODIVERSIDAD, MITECO FONDOS FEDER UNIVERSIDAD DE MÁLAG

Can Oncologists Prompt Patient Prognostic Awareness to Enhance Decision-Making? Data From the NEOetic Study

Introduction: Anti-neoplastic therapy improves the prognosis for advanced cancer, albeit it is not curative. An ethical dilemma that often arises during patients’ first appointment with the oncologist is to give them only the prognostic information they can tolerate, even at the cost of compromising preference-based decision-making, versus giving them full information to force prompt prognostic awareness, at the risk of causing psychological harm. Methods: We recruited 550 participants with advanced cancer. After the appointment, patients and clinicians completed several questionnaires about preferences, expectations, prognostic awareness, hope, psychological symptoms, and other treatment-related aspects. The aim was to characterize the prevalence, explanatory factors, and consequences of inaccurate prognostic awareness and interest in therapy. Results: Inaccurate prognostic awareness affected 74%, conditioned by the administration of vague information without alluding to death (odds ratio [OR] 2.54; 95% CI, 1.47-4.37, adjusted P = .006). A full 68% agreed to low-efficacy therapies. Ethical and psychological factors oriented firstline decision-making, in a trade-off in which some lose quality of life and mood, for others to gain autonomy. Imprecise prognostic awareness was associated with greater interest in low-efficacy treatments (OR 2.27; 95% CI, 1.31-3.84; adjusted P = .017), whereas realistic understanding increased anxiety (OR 1.63; 95% CI, 1.01-2.65; adjusted P = 0.038), depression (OR 1.96; 95% CI, 1.23-3.11; adjusted P = .020), and diminished quality of life (OR 0.47; 95% CI, 0.29-0.75; adjusted P = .011). Conclusion: In the age of immunotherapy and targeted therapies, many appear not to understand that antineoplastic therapy is not curative. Within the mix of inputs that comprise inaccurate prognostic awareness, many psychosocial factors are as relevant as the physicians’ disclosure of information. Thus, the desire for better decision-making can actually harm the patient

Prediction of quality of life in early breast cancer upon completion of adjuvant chemotherapy

Quality of life (QoL) is a complex, ordinal endpoint with multiple conditioning factors. A predictive model of QoL after adjuvant chemotherapy can support decision making or the communication of information about the range of treatment options available. Patients with localized breast cancer (n = 219) were prospectively recruited at 17 centers. Participants completed the EORTC QLQC30 questionnaire. The primary aim was to predict health status upon completion of adjuvant chemotherapy adjusted for multiple covariates. We developed a Bayesian model with six covariates (chemotherapy regimen, TNM stage, axillary lymph node dissection, perceived risk of recurrence, age, type of surgery, and baseline EORTC scores). This model allows both prediction and causal inference. The patients with mastectomy reported a discrete decline on all QoL scores. The effect of surgery depended on the interaction with age. Women with ages on either end of the range displayed worse scores, especially with mastectomy. The perceived risk of recurrence had a striking effect on health status. In conclusion, we have developed a predictive model of health status in patients with early breast cancer based on the individual's profile

Psychometric Properties of the PDRQ-9 in Cancer Patients: Patient-Doctor Relationship Questionnaire

Background: The patient-doctor relationship is an important concept in health care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties, convergent validity, and factorial invariance of the Patient Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9). Method: Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to explore the scale's dimensionality and test for strong measurement invariance across sex, age, and tumor site in a prospective, multicenter cohort of 560 patients who completed the PDRQ-9, Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQC30), and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) scales. Results: The data supported a unidimensional structure. Thresholds and factor loadings could be constrained to be invariant across sex, age, and tumor site, indicating strong measurement invariance. Scores derived from the unidimensional structure exhibited satisfactory degrees of reliability and determinacy. Evidence of convergent validity was supported by modest positive correlations with functional (p<.001) and global quality-of-life (p<.001) and negative correlations with psychological distress (p<.001). Low satisfaction with the oncologist was associated with anxiety (p=.006), and depression (p=.004). Conclusions: The PDRQ-9 is a suitable, valid instrument for assessing the quality of patient-doctor relationships in cancer patients