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Worldwide, predators and humans are in conflict for resources such as game species or livestock, especially in the case of wild canids. One non-lethal method to reduce predation is conditioned food aversion (CFA), in which animals learn to avoid a food due to the illness after ingestion, caused by the addition of an undetected chemical compound. CFA can be enhanced by adding an artificial odour cue, in a process known as taste-potentiated odour aversion (TPOA). We tested CFA and TPOA with three experimental groups of penned dogs. Food was offered with a combination of microencapsulated levamisole + vanilla odour (ODO), microencapsulated levamisole (LEV), or plain food as a control. The aims were (a) to test whether dogs detected the microencapsulated levamisole, (b) to analyse the strength and extinction time of CFA induced by microencapsulated levamisole, and (c) to analyse the strength and extinction time of TPOA. Two-choice tests were carried out during 11 post-conditioning months, and two reinforcements with microencapsulated levamisole were performed during the first post-conditioning month. In the first post-conditioning test, ODO and LEV groups ate significantly less untreated food than control group. After reinforcement, the dogs in LEV group resumed eating the food. Three of four dogs in ODO group showed long-lasting CFA until the 11th month. These results show that TPOA could be used to induce odour aversion on canids and that the odour cue overshadows the slight bitter taste of microencapsulated levamisole. These results show TPOA as a promising tool to reduce predation by wild canids., This study is a result of CGL2013–40975-R project, from I + D + I National Plan funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Jorge Tobajas benefitted from a FPI PhD scholarship (BES-2014-068987) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

A study of organic compounds that caused a serious taste and odor episode of water supply in two residential areas in Catalonia (N.E. Spain) was carried out. Sweet and paint/solvent odor were the main descriptors used by consumers. Some cases of sickness and nausea were also associated with drinking water consumption by the consumers. Closed-loop stripping analysis (CLSA) combined with sensory gas chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry detection were used to study the problem. As a result, 3-(trifluoromethyl)phenol (CAS number 98-17-9) was for the first time identified as a responsible of an odor incident in drinking water. Concentration levels of this compound were up to 17,000 ng/L in groundwater and up to 600 ng/L in distributed water. Odor threshold in water for 3-(trifluoromethyl)phenol was determined as 13 ng/L (45 °C). © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature., We are grateful to Dr. Auguste Bruchet for his explanations about past episodes in France involving fluoro-related compounds and to M.J. Domínguez-Cereijo for the details of the distribution system and sampling coordination. We are also grateful to all our colleagues of the Analytical Organic Chemistry Department for dealing with the daily work and spending time to move forward this study. We would also like to thank you I. Pérez and all the members and volunteers of the panel.

Interfacial electrochemistry is a main part of Physical Electrochemistry, which is developing in several directions. In this respect, this note will reflect my personal views in the “to do” list of topics related to well-defined interfacial electrochemistry and its application to the understanding of electrocatalytic reactivity, deliberately limited to single-crystal platinum model electrodes in water electrolyte solutions. Several points are related to ongoing research and others have been suggested in meetings. Because of that, the text has a taste of déjà vu. References are a limited selection of examples for the interested readers. Financial support from MICINN-FEDER (project CTQ2016-76221-P) is greatly acknowledged.