East Spain Research Articles

The height target prediction by the Tanner method infra evaluates the final height in youths from the rural area of South East Spain

Assessing the final height of an individual before the end of the growth has clinical utility for monitoring child health. To calculate the target height of a rural population in Southeast Spain and to compare it with the final height. A descriptive observational study was performed. 50 young adults were included in the study (44% men) along with 100 biological parents. The selection of young adults was conducted in 2 phases: 1. Retrospective study based on medical records. 2. recruitment and anthropometric measurements. Target size and the size deviation were calculated. The final height was 4.44 cm and 6.37cm higher than the expected target height for men and for women, respectively (p<0.001). (p<0.001). The genetic influence differed between males and females, while the final height for males was associated with the paternal height (r = 0.613, p <0.01), for females, no significant association with the height of the father or the mother was found. The age of the greater correlation with the final height was at 10 ys for boys (r = 0.819) and at 14 ys for girls (r = 0.959). The males' final obesity degree correlated with the father's BMI (r = 0.575, p <0.01) and for girls, with the mother's (r = 0.451, p <0.05). The target height formula underestimates the final size of individuals. It could be useful to perform an anthropometric study at 10 ys in boys and at 14 ys in girls in order to prevent further alterations in size or weight.

Seasonal variations of gene expression biomarkers in Mytilus galloprovincialis cultured populations: Temperature, oxidative stress and reproductive cycle as major modulators

The blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis has been used as monitoring organism in many biomonitoring programs because of its broad distribution in South European sea waters and its physiological characteristics. Different pollution-stress biomarkers, including gene expression biomarkers, have been developed to determine its physiological response to the presence of different pollutants. However, the existing information about basal expression profiles is very limited, as very few biomarker-based studies were designed to reflect the natural seasonal variations. In the present study, we analyzed the natural expression patterns of several genes commonly used in biomonitoring, namely ferritin, metallothionein, cytochrome P450, glutathione S-transferase, heat shock protein and the kinase responsive to stress KRS, during an annual life cycle. Analysis of mantle-gonad samples of cultured populations of M. galloprovincialis from the Delta del Ebro (North East Spain) showed natural seasonal variability of these biomarkers, pointing to temperature and oxidative stress as major abiotic modulators. In turn, the reproductive cycle, a process that can be tracked by VCLM7 expression, and known to be influenced by temperature, seems to be the major biotic factor involved in seasonality. Our results illustrate the influence of environmental factors in the physiology of mussels through their annual cycle, a crucial information for the correct interpretation of responses under stress conditions.

Drivers influencing streamflow changes in the Upper Turia basin, Spain

Many rivers across the world have experienced a significant streamflow reduction over the last decades. Drivers of the observed streamflow changes are multiple, including climate change (CC), land use and land cover changes (LULCC), water transfers and river impoundment. Many of these drivers inter-act simultaneously, making it difficult to discern the impact of each driver individually. In this study we isolate the effects of LULCC on the observed streamflow reduction in the Upper Turia basin (east Spain) during the period 1973–2008. Regression models of annual streamflow are fitted with climatic variables and also additional time variant drivers like LULCC. The ecohydrological model SWAT is used to study the magnitude and sign of streamflow change when LULCC occurs. Our results show that LULCC does play a significant role on the water balance, but it is not the main driver underpinning the observed reduction on Turia's streamflow. Increasing mean temperature is the main factor supporting increasing evapotranspiration and streamflow reduction. In fact, LULCC and CC have had an offsetting effect on the streamflow generation during the study period. While streamflow has been negatively affected by increasing temperature, ongoing LULCC have positively compensated with reduced evapotranspiration rates, thanks to mainly shrubland clearing and forest degradation processes. These findings are valuable for the management of the Turia river basin, as well as a useful approach for the determination of the weight of LULCC on the hydrological response in other regions.

SAT0163 Stratification of Cardiovascular Risk by Carotid Ultrasound in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results of A Population from the EAST of Spain

BackgroundRecently, a Spanish group[i] has proposed an algorithm that improves mSCORE estimation of cardiovascular risk (CVR) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), by adding the findings on carotid ultrasound (US).ObjectivesTo...

Comparison of prokaryotic community structure from Mediterranean and Atlantic saltern concentrator ponds by a metagenomic approach.

We analyzed the prokaryotic community structure of a saltern pond with 21% total salts located in Isla Cristina, Huelva, Southwest Spain, close to the Atlantic ocean coast. For this purpose, we constructed a metagenome (designated as IC21) obtained by pyrosequencing consisting of 486 Mb with an average read length of 397 bp and compared it with other metagenomic datasets obtained from ponds with 19, 33, and 37% total salts acquired from Santa Pola marine saltern, located in Alicante, East Spain, on the Mediterranean coast. Although the salinity in IC21 is closer to the pond with 19% total salts from Santa Pola saltern (designated as SS19), IC21 is more similar at higher taxonomic levels to the pond with 33% total salts from Santa Pola saltern (designated as SS33), since both are predominated by the phylum Euryarchaeota. However, there are significant differences at lower taxonomic levels where most sequences were related to the genus Halorubrum in IC21 and to Haloquadratum in SS33. Within the Bacteroidetes, the genus Psychroflexus is the most abundant in IC21 while Salinibacter dominates in SS33. Sequences related to bacteriorhodopsins and halorhodopsins correlate with the abundance of Haloquadratum in Santa Pola SS19 to SS33 and of Halorubrum in Isla Cristina IC21 dataset, respectively. Differences in composition might be attributed to local ecological conditions since IC21 showed a decrease in the number of sequences related to the synthesis of compatible solutes and in the utilization of phosphonate.

How different is the composition of the fouling layer of wastewater reuse and seawater desalination RO membranes?

To study the effect of water quality and operating parameters on membrane fouling, a comparative analysis of wastewater (WW) and seawater (SW) fouled reverse osmosis (RO) membranes was conducted. Membranes were harvested from SWRO and WWRO pilot plants located in Vilaseca (East Spain), both using ultrafiltration as pretreatment. The SWRO unit was fed with Mediterranean seawater and the WWRO unit was operated using secondary effluent collected from the municipal wastewater treatment plant. Lead and terminal SWRO and WWRO modules were autopsied after five months and three months of operation, respectively. Ultrastructural, chemical, and microbiological analyses of the fouling layers were performed. Results showed that the WWRO train had mainly bio/organic fouling at the lead position element and inorganic fouling at terminal position element, whereas SWRO train had bio/organic fouling at both end position elements. In the case of WWRO membranes, Betaproteobacteria was the major colonizing species; while Ca, S, and P were the major present inorganic elements. The microbial population of SWRO membranes was mainly represented by Alpha and Gammaproteobacteria. Ca, Fe, and S were the main identified inorganic elements of the fouling layer of SWRO membranes. These results confirmed that the RO fouling layer composition is strongly impacted by the source water quality.

Mapping Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services for Prioritizing Restoration Efforts in a Semi-arid Mediterranean River Basin

Semi-arid Mediterranean regions are highly susceptible to desertification processes which can reduce the benefits that people obtain from healthy ecosystems and thus threaten human wellbeing. The European Union Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 recognizes the need to incorporate ecosystem services into land-use management, conservation, and restoration actions. The inclusion of ecosystem services into restoration actions and plans is an emerging area of research, and there are few documented approaches and guidelines on how to undertake such an exercise. This paper responds to this need, and we demonstrate an approach for identifying both key ecosystem services provisioning areas and the spatial relationship between ecological processes and services. A degraded semi-arid Mediterranean river basin in north east Spain was used as a case study area. We show that the quantification and mapping of services are the first step required for both optimizing and targeting of specific local areas for restoration. Additionally, we provide guidelines for restoration planning at a watershed scale; establishing priorities for improving the delivery of ecosystem services at this scale; and prioritizing the sub-watersheds for restoration based on their potential for delivering a combination of key ecosystem services for the entire basin.

The role of traditional varieties of tomato as sources of functional compounds

Traditional varieties of tomato, usually associated with excellent organoleptic quality, are increasingly appreciated in European quality markets. A collection of 126 populations of 16 traditional varieties from the east of Spain (a secondary diversity center for tomato) have been evaluated over 2 years in order to determine their potential value as sources of functional compounds, including ascorbic acid, lycopene, β-carotene and total phenolic content. Population and population × year interaction significantly affected lycopene and ascorbic acid contents, while year effect was also significant for β-carotene. Despite finding some global trends in certain varieties concerning their functional value, high levels of variation have been found at the intra-varietal level. Populations with high levels of the compounds analysed have been found, as well as different levels of intra-population and inter-year variation. Maximum mean contents for both years have reached 308 mg kg(-1) ascorbic acid, 130 mg kg(-1) lycopene, 30 mg kg(-1) β-carotene and 89 mg caffeic acid 100 g(-1) total phenolic contents, though it is difficult to identify accessions with joint high values of the three compounds. These results open the possibility to promote traditional materials as sources of functional compounds, thus strengthening their quality niches and consolidating their price premium. Additionally, these materials could also be used in breeding programs for quality.

Monitoring of selected priority and emerging contaminants in the Guadalquivir River and other related surface waters in the province of Jaén, South East Spain

The province of Jaén counts with four natural parks, numerous rivers, reservoirs and wetlands; moreover, it is probably the region with higher olive oil production in the world, which makes this zone a proper target to be studied based on the European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/CE. The aim of this survey is to monitor a total number of 373 compounds belonging to different families (pesticides, PAHs, nitrosamines, drugs of abuse, pharmaceuticals and life-style compounds) in surface waters located at different points of the province of Jaén. Among these compounds some priority organic substances (regulated by the EU Directive 2008/105/EC) and pollutants of emerging concern (not regulated yet) can be found. A liquid chromatography electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–TOFMS) method covering 340 compounds was developed and applied, together with a gas chromatography triple–quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS) method which enabled the analysis of 63 organic contaminants (30 of these compounds are analyzed by LC–TOFMS as well). From April 2009 to November 2010 a total of 83 surface water samples were collected (rivers, reservoirs and wetlands). In this period numerous organic contaminants were detected, most of them at the ngL−1 level. The most frequently priority substances found were chlorpyrifos ethyl, diuron and hexachlorobenzene. Within the other groups, the most frequently detected compounds were: terbuthylazine, oxyfluorfen, desethyl terbuthylazine, diphenylamine (pesticide family); fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene (PAHs group), codeine, paracetamol (pharmaceuticals compounds) and caffeine, nicotine (life-style compounds). As is could be expected, the total concentration of emerging contaminants is distinctly larger than that of priority pollutants, highlighting the importance of continuing with the study of their presence, fate and effects in aquatic environments. However, concentration levels (at the ng per liter level) are low in general for both kinds of contaminants which minimizes the possible harmful effect on the environment.

Effects of heavy metals on biomarkers for oxidative stress in Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus)

Metals are involved in the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which may result in metal-related oxidative stress that can lead to oxidative damage to lipids, DNA and proteins. It is necessary to understand the mechanisms of metal toxicity in wild birds, and the concentrations that cause effects on oxidative stress biomarkers. The aim of this study is to assess the concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) with regards to oxidative stress in blood samples of 66 Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) from two areas of the Autonomous Community of Valencia (East of Spain). The two study areas (Alcoy n=36 and Cinctorres n=30) were selected as random locations of interest that had not yet been studied, and are feeding stations where supplementary food, mainly of pork origin, is provided for vultures. Given that the two study areas are not considered polluted sites, we expected to find low metal concentrations. However, there are no known threshold concentrations at which metals can affect antioxidant systems, and low metal levels may have an effect on antioxidant biomolecules. In this study, since sampling was done at the beginning of the hunting season, the low Pb levels found in most Griffon vultures from Alcoy and Cinctorres (median=12.37 and 16.26μg/dl, respectively) are suggestive of background levels usually found in vultures that feed on pork carcasses all year round. The ingestion of game meat with bullet fragments in carcasses or with Pb shots embedded in the flesh could be the cause of the high blood Pb concentrations found in three vultures from Cinctorres (83, 290 and 362μg/dl). Griffon vultures feeding in Cinctorres had enhanced CAT and GST activities and tGSH concentrations, which may be interpreted as protective response against the higher TBARS levels. This study provides threshold concentrations at which metals affect antioxidant system derived from 66 samples of Griffon vulture. Blood Cd concentrations greater than 0.05μg/dl produced an induction of 33% in GPx and of 44% in CAT activity in erythrocytes of vultures from Alcoy. Hg concentrations in blood higher than 3μg/dl produced an induction of 10% in SOD activity. Concentrations of Pb above 15µg/dl in blood produced an inhibition of 12.5% in GPx and 11.3% in CAT activity, and a TBARS induction of 10.7% in erythrocytes of Griffon vultures.

Primeras citas de Ecnomus tenellus (Rambur, 1842) (Trichoptera: Ecnomidae) para las provincias de Castellón,Cuenca y Valencia (Este de España)

First dates of the Ecnomus tenellus (Rambur, 1842) (Trichoptera: Ecnomidae) in the provinces of Castellon, Cuenca and Valencia (East of Spain) In this study we report the presence of the caddisfly Ecnomus tenellus (Rambur, 1824) (Tricoptera: Ecnomidae) in the east of the Iberian Peninsula. The presence of this species in the provinces of Castellon, Cuenca and Valencia is revealed in this study. We emphasize the presence of a significant population of E. tenellus in the coastal strip of Albufera lake (Valencia, Spain), where 223 specimens distributed in 13 samples that were collected.

Detection and mapping of burnt areas from time series of MODIS-derived NDVI data in a Mediterranean region

AbstractModerate resolution remote sensing data, as provided by MODIS, can be used to detect and map active or past wildfires from daily records of suitable combinations of reflectance bands. The objective of the present work was to develop and test simple algorithms and variations for automatic or semiautomatic detection of burnt areas from time series data of MODIS biweekly vegetation indices for a Mediterranean region. MODIS-derived NDVI 250m time series data for the Valencia region, East Spain, were subjected to a two-step process for the detection of candidate burnt areas, and the results compared with available fire event records from the Valencia Regional Government. For each pixel and date in the data series, a model was fitted to both the previous and posterior time series data. Combining drops between two consecutive points and 1-year average drops, we used discrepancies or jumps between the pre and post models to identify seed pixels, and then delimitated fire scars for each potential wildfire using an extension algorithm from the seed pixels. The resulting maps of the detected burnt areas showed a very good agreement with the perimeters registered in the database of fire records used as reference. Overall accuracies and indices of agreement were very high, and omission and commission errors were similar or lower than in previous studies that used automatic or semiautomatic fire scar detection based on remote sensing. This supports the effectiveness of the method for detecting and mapping burnt areas in the Mediterranean region.

Approach for colour homogenisation of chestnut (Castanea sativa [Mill.]) by thermal modification

Decay problems are responsible for undesirable discolouration of chestnut timber, which lead to a decrease in the value of the wood. As the use of coloured chestnut wood is mainly concentrated on energy fuel, the potential for the use of this coloured wood should be demonstrated. Reference without discolouration and coloured samples from various boards of chestnut wood from Catalonia in north–east Spain were used for the thermal modification at 200°C. The surface colour was determined according to the CIEL*a*b* system before and after the heat treatment as well as after exposure to UV-light. Furthermore, the mass loss, differential swelling and Brinell hardness of untreated and heat treated chestnut samples were also measured. Heat treating homogenises the colour of the reference and coloured chestnut samples and modifies the physical properties. The results of this study demonstrate the possibilities of coloured chestnut wood to develop new applications for it.

El viaje del Prof. Emil A. Rossmässler en 1853 por España y la localidad tipo de Iberus angustatus (Rossmässler, 1854) (Gastropoda, Helicidae)

The journey of Prof. Emil A. Rossmässler in 1853 in Spain and the type locality of Iberus angustatus (Rossmässler, 1854) (Gastropoda, Helicidae) We have identified the type locality of Helix Guiraoana var. angustata Rossmässler, 1854 as ‘located in the heights surrounding the Venta del Molinillo near the Sierra de los Dientes de la Vieja, Diezma, Granada’, from the description given by Rossmässler about his journey in the south east of Spain in 1853. The molecular analysis (COI and 16S) of a topotype collected live allowed us to confirm the identification of clade 4 of the genus Iberus proposed by Elejalde et al. (2008) with H. Guiraoana var. angustata, currently I. angustatus.

Meteocean Influence on Inland and Coastal Floods in the East of Spain

ABSTRACT Diez, J.J.; Esteban, M.D.; Lopez-Gutierrez, J.S., and Negro, V., 2013. Meteocean influence on inland and coastal floods in the east of Spain. The Santa Irene flood, at the end of October 1982, is one of the most dramatically and widely reported flood events in Spain. Its renown is mainly attributable to the collapse of the Tous dam, but its main message is to be the paradigm of the incidence of the maritime/littoral weather and its temporal sea-level rise on the coastal plains inland floods. The Santa Irene flood was attributable to a meteorological phenomenon known as gota fria (cold drop), a relatively frequent and intense rainy phenomenon on the Iberian Peninsula, particularly on the Spanish E to SE inlands and coasts. There are some circumstances that can easily come together to unleash the cold drop there: cold and dry polar air masses coming onto the whole Iberian Peninsula and the north of Africa, high sea-water temperatures, and low atmospheric pressure (cyclone) areas in the western Medi...

Expansion of Leptochloa fusca ssp. uninervia and Leptochloa fusca ssp. fascicularis in rice fields in Valencia, eastern Spain

SummaryDue to the rapid spread of two subspecies of Leptochloa fusca through the Valencia rice‐growing region in the east of Spain, a 3‐year field study was carried out to establish the frequency, distribution and infestation level of the two subspecies in rice paddies in the area. A total of 3650 fields were visited, of which 1235 were visited in each year of the study period. Leptochloa fusca ssp. uninervia and Leptochloa fusca ssp. fascicularis were found to be widely distributed in the area, increasing from a frequency of 5.3% in 2008 to 20.1% in 2010. Leptochloa fusca ssp. uninervia was the largest contributor to the infestations, but subspecies fascicularis is now on the increase and represents a serious threat to rice crops, as it is found within the rice fields themselves. The irrigation system and the farm machinery used in the rice fields also contribute to the rapid spread of these weeds. Severe infestations have been caused by periodic water shortages, and the fact that new herbicides used to control Echinochloa spp. do not affect Leptochloa subspecies. Spatial differences in the distributions of the two subspecies are attributed to the different water management systems and also to differences in the germination and dormancy of both subspecies.

Evolución sedimentaria del lago kárstico de La Parra (Cuenca) durante los últimos 1600 años: paleohidrología, clima e impacto humano

Lake La Parra (39º 50’, 1º 52’, 1014 m) is a small (1 ha), relatively deep (Zmax = 17.5 m), freshwater (TDS = 356 mg/L) monomictic lake with a circular morphology (116 m diameter), developed in a doline that intercepted the local Jurassic-Cretaceous aquifer. It is part of a karstic lake complex of seven lakes located in the Iberian Range (Cuenca, East of Spain). Sediment cores obtained in the central part of the lake were analysed using sedimentological, microscopic, geochemical and physical techniques. The ca. 7 m long sequence is mainly composed by clastic carbonated sediments, characterized by a high variability of sedimentary facies, indicative of large fluctuations in the sediment delivery to the lake. Chronology is based on 7 AMS radiocarbon dates. The depositional evolution of La Parra sequence reflects a high hydrological variability during the last 1600 years. Prior to the Roman Epoch, La Parra doline was dry and only became a lake after 4th century AD. Shallower conditions and higher sediment input occurred during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and more humid phases during the Little Ice Age (LIA). The main human impact in the lake and the watershed environment is related to changes in the land uses (transhumance, deforestation, crops) during the Middle Ages (500-1400 DC) and during 18th- mid 20th centuries.

Formation potential of N-nitrosamines during the disinfection of treated wastewaters with sodium hypochlorite

This study investigated the formation of eight N-nitrosamines (N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosodi-n-propylamine (NDPA), N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR), 1-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR), 1-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP), and N-nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA)) after the chlorination (with NaOCl) of wastewater effluents from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in North East Spain. Two different WWTPs, one with nitrification-denitrification process (CB1) and the other without (CB2) have been chosen. The concentrations of individual N-nitrosamines in non-chlorinated tertiary treated wastewater effluents ranged from <LOD to 75 ng L−1. That range increases to 114 and 1092 ng L−1 after chlorinating tertiary-treated wastewater samples at 5 and 15 mg L−1 of free chlorine, respectively. NDEA and NMEA are the most abundant compounds in both non-chlorinated and chlorinated secondary and tertiary-treated wastewater effluents. The disinfection of tertiary treated wastewater at 5 mg L−1 of free chlorine gave a total N-nitrosamines concentration of about 300 ng L−1 in samples from the two studied WWTPs. Total N-nitrosamine concentrations in chlorinated secondary treated wastewater samples were significantly higher than those obtained from the chlorination of tertiary treated wastewaters (p < 0.05). This may be due to the capacity of the tertiary treatment processes for removing N-nitrosamines precursors. The experiments have revealed that in addition to NDMA, relatively high concentrations of other N-nitrosamines are produced when treated wastewater effluents are disinfected with chlorine for agricultural irrigation purposes.

Effects of migratory status and habitat on the prevalence and intensity of infection by haemoparasites in passerines in eastern Spain

The Iberian peninsula is a suitable place to study the effects of migratory condition on the prevalence of blood parasites in avian communities as resident, local populations cohabit with migratory species and with abundant vector populations. In this study we examined the incidence of avian blood parasites in three localities in the Mediterranean region (east Spain), in relation to the migratory status of the species. We analyzed 333 blood smears from 11 avian species, and obtained an overall prevalence of 9.6 %. The prevalence of parasites varied among the different species studied, although intensity of infection did not. Our results are discussed in terms of population dynamics and abundance of Diptera vectors able to transmit blood parasites to other birds.

Hydrological investigations of soils in relation to gully head development in South East Spain

To examine gully growth in different lithologies the methodology and choice of variables are based on the hillslope hydrological cycle. A number of standard and non standard field and laboratory techniques are used to describe the hillslope hydrology, soils and vegetation