A short screener is valid for assessing mediterranean diet adherence among older spanish men and women

Ensuring the accuracy of dietary assessment instruments is paramount for interpreting diet-disease relationships. The present study assessed the relative and construct validity of the 14-point Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) used in the Prevencio´n con Dieta Mediterra´nea (PREDIMED) study, a primary prevention nutrition-intervention trial. A validated FFQ and the MEDAS were administered to 7146 participants of the PREDIMED study. The MEDASderived PREDIMED score correlated significantly with the corresponding FFQ PREDIMED score (r = 0.52; intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.51) and in the anticipated directions with the dietary intakes reported on the FFQ. Using Bland Altman"s analysis, the average MEDAS Mediterranean diet score estimate was 105% of the FFQ PREDIMED score estimate. Limits of agreement ranged between 57 and 153%. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that a higher PREDIMED score related directly (P , 0.001) to HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and inversely (P , 0.038) to BMI, waist circumference, TG, the TG:HDL-C ratio, fasting glucose, and the cholesterol:HDL-C ratio. The 10-y estimated coronary artery disease risk decreased as the PREDIMED score increased (P , 0.001). The MEDAS is a valid instrument for rapid estimation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and may be useful in clinical practice.

A 14-item Mediterranean diet assessment tool and obesity indexes among high-risk subjects: the PREDIMED trial

Objective: Independently of total caloric intake, a better quality of the diet (for example, conformity to the Mediterranean diet) is associated with lower obesity risk. It is unclear whether a brief dietary assessment tool, instead of full-length comprehensive methods, can also capture this association. In addition to reduced costs, a brief tool has the interesting advantage of allowing immediate feedback to participants in interventional studies. Another relevant question is which individual items of such a brief tool are responsible for this association. We examined these associations using a 14-item tool of adherence to the Mediterranean diet as exposure and body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as outcomes. Design: Cross-sectional assessment of all participants in the"PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea" (PREDIMED) trial. Subjects: 7,447 participants (55-80 years, 57% women) free of cardiovascular disease, but with either type 2 diabetes or $3 cardiovascular risk factors. Trained dietitians used both a validated 14-item questionnaire and a full-length validated 137-item food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary habits. Trained nurses measured weight, height and waist circumference. Results: Strong inverse linear associations between the 14-item tool and all adiposity indexes were found. For a two-point increment in the 14-item score, the multivariable-adjusted differences in WHtR were 20.0066 (95% confidence interval,- 0.0088 to 20.0049) for women and-0.0059 (-0.0079 to-0.0038) for men. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for a WHtR.0.6 in participants scoring $10 points versus #7 points was 0.68 (0.57 to 0.80) for women and 0.66 (0.54 to 0.80) for men. High consumption of nuts and low consumption of sweetened/carbonated beverages presented the strongest inverse associations with abdominal obesity. Conclusions: A brief 14-item tool was able to capture a strong monotonic inverse association between adherence to a good quality dietary pattern (Mediterranean diet) and obesity indexes in a population of adults at high cardiovascular risk.

The mediterranean diet pattern and its main components are associated with lower plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor receptor 60 in patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease

Adherence to aMediterranean diet (MD) is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease. However, themolecular mechanisms involved are not fully understood. The aim of this studywas to compare the effects of 2MD with those of a lowfat- diet (LFD) on circulating inflammatory biomarkers related to atherogenesis. A total of 516 participants included in the PreventionwithMediterraneanDiet Studywere randomized into 3 intervention groups [MD supplementedwith virgin olive oil (MD-VOO); MD supplemented with mixed nuts (MD-Nuts); and LFD]. At baseline and after 1 y, participants completed FFQ and adherence to MD questionnaires, and plasma concentrations of inflammatory markers including intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1), IL-6, and 2 TNF receptors (TNFR60 and TNFR80) were measured by ELISA. At 1 y, the MD groups had lower plasma concentrations of IL-6, TNFR60, and TNFR80 (P , 0.05), whereas ICAM-1, TNFR60, and TNFR80 concentrations increased in the LFD group (P , 0.002). Due to between-group differences, participants in the 2 MD groups had lower plasma concentrations of ICAM-1, IL-6, TNFR60, and TNFR80 compared to those in the LFD group (P # 0.028). When participants were categorized in tertiles of 1-y changes in the consumption of selected foods, those in the highest tertile of virgin olive oil (VOO) and vegetable consumption had a lower plasma TNFR60 concentration compared with those in tertile 1 (P,0.02).Moreover, the only changes in consumption thatwere associated with 1-y changes in the geometricmean TNFR60 concentrations were those of VOO and vegetables (P = 0.01). This study suggests that a MD reduces TNFR concentrations in patients at high cardiovascular risk.

Polymorphisms cyclooxygenase-2 -765G>C and interleukin-6 -174G>C are associated with serum inflammation markers in a high cardiovascular risk population and do not modify the response to a Mediterranean diet supplemented with virgin olive oil or nuts

Inflammation is involved in cardiovascular diseases. Some studies have found that the Mediterranean diet (MD) can reduce serum concentrations of inflammation markers. However, none of these studies have analyzed the influence of genetic variability in such a response. Our objective was to study the effect of the -765G.C polymorphism in the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene and the -174G.C polymorphism in the interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene on serum concentrations of IL-6, C-reactive protein, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 as well as their influence on the response toa nutritional interventionwithMD.An intervention study ina high cardiovascular riskMediterranean population (314 men and 407 women) was undertaken. Participants were randomly assigned to consume a low-fat control diet or a MD supplementedwith virgin olive oil ornuts.Measureswereobtained at baseline and after a 3-mointervention period.At baseline, the COX-2 -765G.C polymorphismwas associated with lower serum IL-6 (5.85 6 4.82 in GG vs. 4.74 6 4.14 ng/L in C-allele carriers; P ¼ 0.002) and ICAM-1 (265.8 6 114.8 in GG vs. 243.0 6 107.1 mg/L in C-carriers; P ¼ 0.018) concentrations. These differences remained significant aftermultivariate adjustment. The IL-6 -174G.C polymorphism was associatedwith higher (CC vs. G-carriers) serumICAM-1concentrations in bothmenandwomenandwithhigherserumIL-6 concentrations inmen.Following the dietary intervention, no significant gene x diet interactions were found. In conclusion, although COX-2 -765G.C and IL-6 -174G.C polymorphismswere associatedwith inflammation, consuming aMD(either supplemented with virgin olive oil or nuts) reduced the concentration of inflammation markers regardless of these polymorphisms.

A short screener is valid for assessing mediterranean diet adherence among older spanish men and women

Ensuring the accuracy of dietary assessment instruments is paramount for interpreting diet-disease relationships. The present study assessed the relative and construct validity of the 14-point Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) used in the Prevencio´n con Dieta Mediterra´nea (PREDIMED) study, a primary prevention nutrition-intervention trial. A validated FFQ and the MEDAS were administered to 7146 participants of the PREDIMED study. The MEDASderived PREDIMED score correlated significantly with the corresponding FFQ PREDIMED score (r = 0.52; intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.51) and in the anticipated directions with the dietary intakes reported on the FFQ. Using Bland Altman"s analysis, the average MEDAS Mediterranean diet score estimate was 105% of the FFQ PREDIMED score estimate. Limits of agreement ranged between 57 and 153%. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that a higher PREDIMED score related directly (P , 0.001) to HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and inversely (P , 0.038) to BMI, waist circumference, TG, the TG:HDL-C ratio, fasting glucose, and the cholesterol:HDL-C ratio. The 10-y estimated coronary artery disease risk decreased as the PREDIMED score increased (P , 0.001). The MEDAS is a valid instrument for rapid estimation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and may be useful in clinical practice.

Industrial emissions abatement: Untangling the impact of the EU ETS and the economic crisis

In this study we use historical emission data from installations under the European Union Emissions Trading System, -EU ETS- to evaluate the impact of this policy on industrial greenhouse gas emissions during the first two trading phases, 2005-2012. As such the analysis seeks to disentangle two causes of emission abatement: that attributable to the EU ETS and that attributable to the economic crisis that hit the EU in 2008/09. Using a panel data approach the estimated emissions reduction attributable to the EU ETS is about 21 per cent of the total emission abatement during the observation period. These results suggest therefore that the lion’s share of abatement was attributable to the effects of the economic crisis, a finding that has serious implications for future policy adjustments affecting core elements of the EU ETS, including the distribution of EU emission allowances.

Molecular dating of caprines using ancient DNA sequences of Myotragus balearicus, an extinct endemic Balearic mammal

Background: Myotragus balearicus was an endemic bovid from the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean) that became extinct around 6,000-4,000 years ago. The Myotragus evolutionary lineage became isolated in the islands most probably at the end of the Messinian crisis, when the desiccation of the Mediterranean ended, in a geological date established at 5.35 Mya. Thus, the sequences of Myotragus could be very valuable for calibrating the mammalian mitochondrial DNA clock and, in particular, the tree of the Caprinae subfamily, to which Myotragus belongs. Results: We have retrieved the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1,143 base pairs), plus fragments of the mitochondrial 12S gene and the nuclear 28S rDNA multi-copy gene from a well preserved Myotragus subfossil bone. The best resolved phylogenetic trees, obtained with the cytochrome b gene, placed Myotragus in a position basal to the Ovis group. Using the calibration provided by the isolation of Balearic Islands, we calculated that the initial radiation of caprines can be dated at 6.2 ± 0.4 Mya. In addition, alpine and southern chamois, considered until recently the same species, split around 1.6 ± 0.3 Mya, indicating that the two chamois species have been separated much longer than previously thought. Conclusion: Since there are almost no extant endemic mammals in Mediterranean islands, the sequence of the extinct Balearic endemic Myotragus has been crucial for allowing us to use the Messinian crisis calibration point for dating the caprines phylogenetic tree.

Massive consumption of gelatinous plankton by Mediterranean apex predators

Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen were used to test the hypothesis that stomach content analysis has systematically overlooked the consumption of gelatinous zooplankton by pelagic mesopredators and apex predators. The results strongly supported a major role of gelatinous plankton in the diet of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus), spearfish (Tetrapturus belone) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius). Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the oceanic stage and ocean sunfish (Mola mola) also primarily relied on gelatinous zooplankton. In contrast, stable isotope ratios ruled out any relevant consumption of gelatinous plankton by bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), blue shark (Prionace glauca), leerfish (Lichia amia), bonito (Sarda sarda), striped dolphin (Stenella caerueloalba) and loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the neritic stage, all of which primarily relied on fish and squid. Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) were confirmed as crustacean consumers. The ratios of stable isotopes in albacore (Thunnus alalunga), amberjack (Seriola dumerili), blue butterfish (Stromaeus fiatola), bullet tuna (Auxis rochei), dolphinfish (Coryphaena hyppurus), horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) were consistent with mixed diets revealed by stomach content analysis, including nekton and crustaceans, but the consumption of gelatinous plankton could not be ruled out completely. In conclusion, the jellyvorous guild in the Mediterranean integrates two specialists (ocean sunfish and loggerhead sea turtles in the oceanic stage) and several opportunists (bluefin tuna, little tunny, spearfish, swordfish and, perhaps, blue butterfish), most of them with shrinking populations due to overfishing.

The El Masnou Infralittoral sedimentary environment (Barcelona province, NW Mediterranean Sea): morphology and Holocene seismic stratigraphy

A detailed analysis of the morphology and the Holocene seismic and sequence stratigraphy and architecture of the infralittoral sedimentary environment of the El Masnou coast (Catalonia, NW Mediterranean Sea) was carried out using multibeam bathymetry and GeoPulse seismic data. This environment extends down to 26-30 m water depth, and is defined morphologically by two depositional wedges whose seafloor is affected by erosive furrows, slides, fields of large- and small-scale wavy bedforms, and dredging trenches and pits. Erosive terraces are also identified in the transition domain toward the inner continental shelf. The Holocene stratigraphy of the infralittoral environment is defined by two major seismic sequences (lower and upper), each one formed by internal seismic units. The sequences and units are characterised by downlapping surfaces made up of deposits formed by progradation of coastal lithosomes. The stratigraphy and stratal architecture, displaying a retrogradational arrangement with progradational patterns of minor order, were controlled by different sea-level positions. The stratigraphic division represents the coastal response to the last fourth-order transgressive and highstand conditions, modulated by small-scale sea-level oscillations (≈1-2 m) of fith to sixth order. This study also highlights the advantage of an integrated analysis using acoustic/seismic methods for practical assessment of the anthropogenic effects on infralittoral domains based on the association of marine geological observations.

Landscape Systems and Human Land-Use Interactions in Mediterranean Highlands and Littoral Plains during the Late Holocene: Integrated Analysis from the InterAmbAr Project (North-Eastern Catalonia).

The main goal of the InterAmbAr reseach project is to analyze the relationships between landscape systems and human land-use strategies on mountains and littoral plains from a long-term perspective. The study adopts a high resolution analysis of small-scale study areas located in the Mediterranean region of north-eastern Catalonia. The study areas are distributed along an altitudinal transect from the high mountain (above 2000m a.s.l.) to the littoral plain of Empordà (Fig. 1). High resolution interdisciplinary research has been carried out from 2010, based on the integration of palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data. The micro-scale approach is used to understand human-environmental relationships. It allows better understanding of the local-regional nature of environmental changes and the synergies between catchment-based systems, hydro-sedimentary regimes, human mobility, land-uses, human environments, demography, etc.

Sponge Mass Mortalities in a Warming Mediterranean Sea: Are Cyanobacteria-Harboring Species Worse Off?

Mass mortality events are increasing dramatically in all coastal marine environments. Determining the underlying causes of mass mortality events has proven difficult in the past because of the lack of prior quantitative data on populations and environmental variables. Four-year surveys of two shallow-water sponge species, Ircinia fasciculata and Sarcotragus spinosulum, were carried out in the western Mediterranean Sea. These surveys provided evidence of two severe sponge die-offs (total mortality ranging from 80 to 95% of specimens) occurring in the summers of 2008 and 2009. These events primarily affected I. fasciculata, which hosts both phototrophic and heterotrophic microsymbionts, while they did not affect S. spinosulum, which harbors only heterotrophic bacteria. We observed a significant positive correlation between the percentage of injured I. fasciculata specimens and exposure time to elevated temperature conditions in all populations, suggesting a key role of temperature in triggering mortality events. A comparative ultrastructural study of injured and healthy I. fasciculata specimens showed that cyanobacteria disappeared from injured specimens, which suggests that cyanobacterial decay could be involved in I. fasciculata mortality. A laboratory experiment confirmed that the cyanobacteria harbored by I. fasciculata displayed a significant reduction in photosynthetic efficiency in the highest temperature treatment. The sponge disease reported here led to a severe decrease in the abundance of the surveyed populations. It represents one of the most dramatic mass mortality events to date in the Mediterranean Sea

El género en el corazón de la crisis: hacia los cuidados como bien común

La presente comunicación parte de la premisa que la actual crisis económica en el Estado español, así como su gestión política, se ven configuradas por el género, adoptando para ello como eje analítico el concepto de acumulación por desposesión. El aumento de la carga total de trabajo de las mujeres, así como la intensificación de sus responsabilidades reproductivas responden a una estrategia político-económica de privatización y re-hogarización de la reproducción en aras de la supervivencia de la economía considerada real o lo que también llamamos cercamiento de la reproducción. Éste toma la forma de un reforzamiento actualizado de la división sexual del trabajo sin por ello reducir el rol económico de las mujeres sino, en realidad, fortaleciéndolo. Un análisis a la crisis actual adoptando la desposesión de la reproducción como punto de partida no sólo nos permite ubicar las desigualdades de género en el centro de los debates en torno a la crisis sino que a su vez abre el camino para pensar en alternativas a la actual organización social de la reproducción teniendo en cuenta, de manera simultánea, las esferas de la familia, de las administraciones públicas y de lo que se viene llamando el ámbito de “lo común”. Es a partir de esta conceptualización que se avanza una categorización de las diferentes tipologías de bienes en que se pueden concebir y convertir los cuidados y se reflexiona sobre la posibilidad, las oportunidades y los riesgos de una nueva organización social del cuidado en tanto que bien común.

Characterization of thirty two microsatellite loci for three Atlanto-Mediterranean echinoderm species

Thirty two microsatellites were optimized from 454 pyrosequencing libraries for three Atlanto-Mediterranean echinoderms: Coscinasterias tenuispina, Echinaster sepositus and Arbacia lixula. We observed different frequency of microsatellite types (di-, tri-, tetra- and pentanucleotide) throughout the genome of the species, but no significant differences were observed in allele richness among different microsatellite repeats. No loci showed linkage disequilibrium. Heterozygosity deficit and departure from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium were observed for some loci, in two species, probably due to high levels of inbreeding. Heterozygosity excess observed in C. tenuispina could be explained by selection against homozygotes and/or outcrossing.

Fertilizing Methods and Nutrient Balance at the End of Traditional Organic Agriculture in the Mediterranean Bioregion: Catalonia (Spain) in the 1860s

By reconstructing the nutrient balance of a Catalan v illage circa 1861-65 we examine the sustainability of organic agricultural sy stems in the northwest Mediterranean bioregion prior to the green rev olution and the question of whether the nutrients extracted f rom the soil were replenished. With a population density of 59 inhabitants per square km, similar to other northern European rural areas at that time, and a lower liv estock density per cropland unit, this v illage experienced a manure shortage. The gap was f illed by other labour-intensiv e way s of transf erring nutrients f rom uncultiv ated areas into the cropland. Key elements in this agricultural sy stem were v iney ards because they hav e f ew nutrient requirements, and woodland and scrublands as sources of relev ant amounts of nutrients collected in sev eral ways.

A crise europeia: excepcionalidade econômica, gestão autoritária e emergência de formas ativas de resistência civil = The European crisis: economic exceptionality, authoritarian rulings and the emergence of active forms of civil resistance

Thirty years after neo-liberalism hegemony, the states shows its incapacity for driving democratically exceptional situations like global economical crisis. In this context, it seems a particularly interesting issue to exam the popular alternatives that are growing to reject the institutional paralysis. This work take these problems since European perspective, especially this one of Spain, and its scope is justify the new forms of civil disobedience that are growing. They are analyzed not like"paradoxes" of democracy, but like necessary instruments of participative democracy into a really exceptional scenario