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Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and diabetes are the primary causes of death in the Philippines. This manuscript reviewed previous studies on the use of predictive analytics for CVD and diabetes risk scoring. This paper also discussed barriers and strategies on how to access/generate available data sets for CVDs and diabetes in the country. CVD and diabetes risk scoring requires the availability of data sets related to such diseases. Although the Philippines has taken strides to implement the Philippine National eHealth solution, such a program does not include strategies toward the use of predictive analytics for CVD and diabetes risk scoring. CVD and diabetes risk scoring research is particularly limited in the Philippines due to challenges related to costs, gaps in policies, and stakeholder involvement. A possible theoretical framework for the analysis and utilization of data sets as well as recommendations and research directions were discussed in this manuscript.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary fish oil replacement with a mixture of vegetable oils and probiotic supplementation on plasma biochemical parameters, oxidative stress, and antioxidant ability of Seriola dumerili. Specimens with an initial weight of 175 g were used. Four feeds were formulated with 0% (FO-100), 75% (FO-25), and 100% (FO-0 and FO-0+ with the addition of Lactobacillus probiotics) substitution of fish oil with a mixture of linseed, sunflower, and palm oils. After 109 days, no significant differences were observed in the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the liver, foregut, and hindgut, only glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in the liver was higher in the fish fed the FO-100 diet than in those fed the FO-0 diet. No significant differences were observed in the total, reduced, and oxidized glutathione and the oxidative stress index in the liver. In addition, lipid peroxidation in the liver and red muscle values were higher in the fish fed the FO-100 diet than in the fish fed the FO-0+ diet, however, the foregut of the fish fed the FO-100 diet presented lower values than that of the fish fed the FO replacement diet, with and without probiotics. There were significant differences in cholesterol levels in the FO-100 group; they were significantly higher than those observed with the fish diets without fish oil. To sum up, fish oil can be replaced by up to 25% with vegetable oils in diets for Seriola dumerili juveniles, but total fish oil substitution is not feasible because it causes poor survival. The inclusion of probiotics in the FO-0+ diet had no effects on the parameters measured.

Superovulation treatments aim to stimulate multifollicular recruitment, maximizing the number of oocytes or transferable embryos produced. Factors associated with the superovulation protocol, female characteristics and many other factors are determinants in the number and quality of oocytes obtained. An accurate way to assess oocyte quality more precise than morphological appearance is genetic expression. The present study aims to compare the response of nulliparous and multiparous females to superovulatory stimulation, studying its effect on the expression of some genes associated with the activation, growth, development and oocyte-embryo transition of oocytes, as well as its impact on in vivo embryonic development and viability rate at birth. In a first experiment, the effect of stimulation treatment on the ovulation response and the expression of the MSY2, MATER, ITPR1, ITPR2, ITPR3, eIF4E, PAR1, PAPOL-A, PAPOL-G, ZAR1 and YY1 genes in nulliparous and multiparous females were determined. In a second experiment, the implantation and viability at birth of embryos from superovulated nulliparous and multiparous females were analysed. The ovulation rate was significantly higher in the superovulation groups than in the control groups. The ovulation rate was significantly increased in nulliparous females compared with multiparous does. From the eleven genes analysed, only the expression of MATER, PAPOL-A, PAPOL-G and ZAR-1 genes was shown to be different among experimental groups. Finally, in terms of implantation rate and viability at birth, the nulliparous control group showed better results than the rest of the groups. Both hyperstimulation treatment and reproductive female's history seem to alter the transcriptome of important genes related to oocyte maturation and competence acquisition, affecting in vivo embryo viability.

[EN] Embryo manipulation is a requisite step in assisted reproductive technology (ART). Therefore, it is of great necessity to appraise the safety of ART and investigate the long-term effect, including lipid metabolism, on ART-conceived offspring. Augmenting our ART rabbit model to investigate lipid metabolic outcomes in offspring longitudinally, we detected variations in hepatic DNA methylation ART offspring in the F3 generation for embryonic exposure (multiple ovulation, vitrification and embryo transfer). Through adult liver metabolomics and proteomics, we identified changes mainly related to lipid metabolism (e.g., polyunsaturated fatty acids, steroids, steroid hormone). We also found that DNA methylation analysis was linked to changes in lipid metabolism and apoptosis genes. Nevertheless, these differences did not apparently alter the general health status. Thus, our findings suggest that ART is likely to be a player in embryo epigenetic events related to hepatic homeostasis alteration in adulthood., This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), Spain, grant number AGL2014-53405-C2-1-P and by Conselleria d'Educacio, Investigacio, Cultura i Esport, Spain, grant number Prometeo II 2014/036. Ximo Garcia-Dominguez was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain (BES-2015-072429).

When talking about the techniques of collection, elaboration and construction of adobe and in general of constructions with earth, there is always a great variety of construction techniques, and composition in the blocks that vary according to the region and culture [1], which generates a great uncertainty, and causes that, at present, although we have decree 2113 of 2019, we do not have clarity as to a method and characteristics universally valid and accepted in our country. It is for this reason that in this work we show the modelling of a series of type walls by means of the SAP 2000 program for which applying a static linear analysis for finite elements and an analysis of stresses the service limit states given for a series of walls of different composition are determined, which showed that the percentage of failure for adobe walls is 40% under the given methodology, under this threshold it was determined that the element can be in service and have functionality, exceeding this value it is denoted that the element will lose its functionality without entering into risk of collapse until reaching a percentage of 50%. Finally, the models are obtained with the appropriate effort analyses and design recommendations under the criteria of the results obtained, leaving the possibility of performing an experimental phase to develop the analogy with those raised in the models.

[EN] Preimplantation embryo manipulations during standard assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have significant repercussions on offspring. However, few studies to date have investigated the potential long-term outcomes associated with the vitrification procedure. Here, we performed an experiment to unravel the particular effects related to stress induced by embryo transfer and vitrification techniques on offspring phenotype from the foetal period through to prepuberal age, using a rabbit model. In addition, the focus was extended to the liver function at prepuberal age. We showed that, compared to naturally conceived animals (NC), offspring derived after embryo exposure to the transfer procedure (FT) or cryopreservation-transfer procedure (VT) exhibited variation in growth and body weight from foetal life to prepuberal age. Strikingly, we found a nonlinear relationship between FT and VT stressors, most of which were already present in the FT animals. Furthermore, we displayed evidence of variation in liver function at prepuberal age, most of which occurred in both FT and VT animals. The present major novel finding includes a significant alteration of the steroid biosynthesis profile. In summary, here we provide that embryonic manipulation during the vitrification process is linked with embryo phenotypic adaptation detected from foetal life to prepuberal age and suggests that this phenotypic variation may be associated, to a great extent, with the effect of embryo transfer., This research was funded by Conselleria d'Educacio, Investigacio, Cultura i Esport, Spain, grant number AICO/2019/272. Ximo Garcia-Dominguez was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain (BES-2015-072429).

[EN] This study was conducted to demonstrate how a vitrified embryo transfer procedure incurs phenotypic and molecular changes throughout life. This study reports the first evidence describing that embryonic manipulation during a vitrified embryo transfer cycle induced molecular modifications, concerning oxidative phosphorylation and dysregulations in zinc and lipid metabolism in liver tissue, which has been reported as responsible for postnatal variations of the phenotype. Nowadays, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are considered valuable contributors to our past, but a future without their use is inconceivable. However, in recent years, several studies have evidenced a potential impact of ART on long-term development in mammal species. To date, the long-term follow-up data are still limited. So far, studies have mainly focused on in vitro fertilization or in vitro culture, with information from gametes/embryos cryopreservation field being practically missing. Herein, we report an approach to determine whether a vitrified embryo transfer procedure would have long-term consequences on the offspring. Using the rabbit as a model, we compared animals derived from vitrified-transferred embryos versus those naturally conceived, studying the growth performance, plus the weight throughout life, and the internal organs/tissues phenotype. The healthy status was assessed over the hematological and biochemical parameters in peripheral blood. Additionally, a comparative proteomic analysis was conducted in the liver tissue to investigate molecular cues related to vitrified embryo transfer in an adult tissue. After vitrified embryo transfer, birth weight was increased, and the growth performance was diminished in a sex-specific manner. In addition, vitrified-transferred animals showed significantly lower body, liver and heart weights in adulthood. Molecular analyses revealed that vitrified embryo transfer triggers reprogramming of the liver proteome. Functional analysis of the differentially expressed proteins showed changes in relation to oxidative phosphorylation and dysregulations in the zinc and lipid metabolism, which has been reported as possible causes of a disturbed growth pattern. Therefore, we conclude that vitrified embryo transfer is not a neutral procedure, and it incurs long-term effects in the offspring both at phenotypic and molecular levels. These results described a striking example of the developmental plasticity exhibited by the mammalian embryo., Funding from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Research project: AGL2017-85162-C2-1-R and AGL2014-53405-C2-1-P) is acknowledged. X.G.D. was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (BES-2015-072429).

The construction of civil structures on land has played an important role for centuries, however, due to the seismic requirements and the minimum safety standards that are currently required for any structure, this type of construction has been lagged, it is denoted that the related regulations they are widely dispersed and in most cases. In developed countries, numerous technical and legal problems arise to carry out construction with these materials. In relation to this work, a set of models of raw earth type walls are presented, through the SAP 2000 software, having as a supply of the mechanical properties of this material the Peruvian regulation E.080. For the analysis of these models, a static linear analysis for finite elements and a stress analysis of the service limit state concept were studied. Finally, the models with their respective stress studies, management and design recommendations are presented under the criteria of the analyses carried out, leaving open the possibility of both carrying out an experimental phase to develop the analogy with the postulates and proposed results, as well as such as the option to perform a static pressure analysis by finite elements in order to achieve greater precision and calibration of the model with respect to what can be evidenced in laboratory tests.

The interaction between diet and intestinal health has been widely discussed, although in vivo approaches have reported limitations. The intestine explant culture system developed provides an advantage since it reduces the number of experimental fish and increases the time of incubation compared to similar methods, becoming a valuable tool in the study of the interactions between pathogenic bacteria, rearing conditions, or dietary components and fish gut immune response. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of the total substitution of fish meal by plants on the immune intestinal status of seabream using an ex vivo bacterial challenge. For this aim, two growth stages of fish were assayed (12 g): phase I (90 days), up to 68 g, and phase II (305 days), up to 250 g. Additionally, in phase II, the effects of long term and short term exposure (15 days) to a plant protein (PP) diet were determined. PP diet altered the mucosal immune homeostasis, the younger fish being more sensitive, and the intestine from fish fed short-term plant diets showed a higher immune response than with long-term feeding. Vibrio alginolyticus (V. alginolyticus) triggered the highest immune and inflammatory response, while COX-2 expression was significantly induced by Photobacterium damselae subsp. Piscicida (P. damselae subsp. Piscicida), showing a positive high correlation between the pro-inflammatory genes encoding interleukin 1β (IL1-β), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and cyclooxygenase 2(COX-2)., The research was supported by a grant financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad AGL2015-70487-P and Generalitat Valenciana, IDIFEDER/2020/029

[EN] The advent of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in mammals involved an extraordinary change in the environment where the beginning of a new organism takes place. Under in vitro conditions, in which ART is currently being performed, it likely fails to mimic optimal in vivo conditions. This suboptimal environment could mediate in the natural developmental trajectory of the embryo, inducing lasting effects until later life stages that may be inherited by subsequent generations (transgenerational effects). Therefore, we evaluated the potential transgenerational effects of embryo exposure to the cryopreservation-transfer procedure in a rabbit model on the offspring phenotype, molecular physiology of the liver (transcriptome and metabolome) and reproductive performance during three generations (F1, F2 and F3). The results showed that, compared to naturally-conceived animals (NC group), progeny generated after embryo exposure to the cryopreservation-transfer procedure (VT group) exhibited lower body growth, which incurred lower adult body weight in the F1 (direct effects), F2 (intergenerational effects) and F3 (transgenerational effects) generations. Furthermore, VT animals showed intergenerational effects on heart weight and transgenerational effects on liver weight. The RNA-seq data of liver tissue revealed 642 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) in VT animals from the F1 generation. Of those, 133 were inherited from the F2 and 120 from the F3 generation. Accordingly, 151, 190 and 159 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were detected from the F1, F2 and F3, respectively. Moreover, targeted metabolomics analysis demonstrated that transgenerational effects were mostly presented in the non-polar fraction. Functional analysis of molecular data suggests weakened zinc and fatty acid metabolism across the generations, associated with alterations in a complex molecular network affecting global hepatic metabolism that could be associated with the phenotype of VT animals. However, these VT animals showed proper reproductive performance, which verified a functional health status. In conclusion, our results establish the long-term transgenerational effects following a vitrified embryo transfer procedure. We showed that the VT phenotype could be the result of the manifestation of embryonic developmental plasticity in response to the stressful conditions during ART procedures., Funding from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Research project: AGL2014-53405-C2-1-P) and Generalitat Valenciana (Research project: Prometeo II 2014/036) is acknowledged. X.G.D. was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (BES-2015-072429). English text version was revised by N. Macowan English Language Service.

Source at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-5969-6. © The Author(s). 2019 Background: The impossibility of closing the life cycle of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in captivity troubles the future of this critically endangered species. In addition, the European eel is a highly valued and demanded resource, thus the successful closing of its life cycle would have a substantial economic and ecological impact. With the aim of obtaining the highest gamete quality, the study of the effects of environmental factors, such as temperature, on reproductive performance may prove valuable. This is especially true for the exposure to cold water, which has been reported to improve sexual development in multiple other Actinopterygii species. Results: European eel males treated with cold seawater (10 °C, T10) for 2 weeks showed an increase in the proliferation and differentiation of spermatogonial cells until the differentiated spermatogonial type A cell stage, and elevated testosterone and 11-ketotestosterone plasma levels. Transcriptomes from the tissues of the brain-pituitary-gonad (BPG) axis of T10 samples revealed a differential gene expression profile compared to the other experimental groups, with clustering in a principal component analysis and in heat maps of all differentially expressed genes. Furthermore, a functional analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed enriched gene ontology terms involved in the regulation of circadian rhythm, histone modification, meiotic nuclear division, and others. Conclusions: Cold seawater treatment had a clear effect on the activity of the BPG-axis of European eel males. In particular, our cold seawater treatment induces the synchronization and increased proliferation and differentiation of specific spermatogonial cells. In the transcriptomic results, genes related to thermoception were observed. This thermoception may have caused the observed effects through epigenetic mechanisms, since all analysed tissues further revealed differentially expressed genes involved in histone modification. The presented results support our hypothesis that a low temperature seawater treatment induces an early sexual developmental stage in European eels. This hypothesis is logical given that the average temperature experienced by eels in the early stages of their oceanic reproductive migration is highly similar to that of this cold seawater treatment. Further studies are needed to test whether a cold seawater treatment can improve the response of European eels to artificial hormonal treatment, as the results suggest.

[EN] The role of potassium from the seminal plasma and/or the activation media was examined by selectively removing from this media, and by testing the use of channel inhibitors and a K-ionophore. Sperm motility was measured using a CASA system, intracellular K+ and pH were measured by flow cytometry, and sperm head area was measured by ASMA: Automated Sperm Morphometry Analyses. Sperm motility was notably inhibited by the removal of K+ from the seminal plasma and by treatment with the K+ ionophore valinomycin. This therefore indicates that a reduction of K+ levels in the quiescent stage inhibits further motility. The normal decrease in sperm head area induced by seawater activation was altered by the removal of K+ from the seminal plasma, and an increase in the pH; in the quiescent stage was also induced. Intracellular pH (pH;) was quantitatively measured for the first time in European eel spermatozoa, being 7.2 in the quiescent stage and 7.1 post-activation. Intracellular and external pH levels influenced sperm motility both in the quiescent stage and at activation. The alkalinization of the pH; (by NH4Cl) inhibited sperm motility activation, while acidification (by Na-acetate) did not have any effect. Our results indicate that a pH gradient between the sperm cell and the seminal plasma is necessary for sperm motility activation. The presence of the ion K+ in the seminal plasma (or in the extender medium) is necessary in order to maintain sperm volume, intracellular pH and sperm motility., Funded from the SPERMOT project (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, MINECO AGL2010-16009). M.C. Vilchez has a predoctoral grant from UPV PAID Subprogramme 2 (2011-S2-02-6521), Marina Morini has a predoctoral grant from Generalitat Valenciana (Programa Grisolia, GRISOLIA/2012/006), Victor Gallego has a postdoctoral contract from UPV (PAID-10-14), and David S. Penaranda was supported by MICINN (PTA2011-4948-1) and UPV (PTA2011-4948-I). Grants to attend meetings were received from COST Office (AQUAGAMETE COST Action: FA1205).

[EN] The digestive tract, particularly the intestine, represents one of the main sites of interactions with the environment, playing the gut mucosa a crucial role in the digestion and absorption of nutrients, and in the immune defence. Previous researches have proven that the fishmeal replacement by plant sources could have an impact on the intestinal status at both digestive and immune level, compromising relevant productive parameters, such as feed efficiency, growth or survival. In order to evaluate the long-term impact of total fishmeal replacement on intestinal mucosa, the gut mucosa proteome was analysed in fish fed with a fishmeal-based diet, against plant protein-based diets with or without alternative marine sources inclusion. Total fishmeal replacement without marine ingredients inclusion, reported a negative impact in growth and biometric parameters, further an altered gut mucosa proteome. However, the inclusion of a low percentage of marine ingredients in plant protein-based diets was able to maintain the growth, biometrics parameters and gut mucosa proteome with similar values to FM group. A total fishmeal replacement induced a big set of underrepresented proteins in relation to several biological processes such as intracellular transport, assembly of cellular macrocomplex, protein localization and protein catabolism, as well as several molecular functions, mainly related with binding to different molecules and the maintenance of the cytoskeleton structure. The set of downregulated proteins also included molecules which have a crucial role in the maintenance of the normal function of the enterocytes, and therefore, of the epithelium, including permeability, immune and inflammatory response regulation and nutritional absorption. Possibly, the amino acid imbalance presented in VM diet, in a long-term feeding, may be the main reason of these alterations, which can be prevented by the inclusion of 15% of alternative marine sources. Significance: Long-term feeding with plant protein based diets may be considered as a stress factor and lead to a negative impact on digestive and immune system mechanisms at the gut, that can become apparent in a reduced fish performance. The need for fishmeal replacement by alternative ingredients such as plant sources to ensure the sustainability of the aquaculture sector has led the research assessing the intestinal status of fish to be of increasing importance. This scientific work provides further knowledge about the proteins and biologic processes altered in the gut in response to plant protein based diets, suggesting the loss of part of gut mucosa functionality. Nevertheless, the inclusion of alternative marine ingredients was able to reverse these negative effects, showing as a feasible option to develop sustainable aquafeeds., The first author was supported by a contract-grant (Contrato Pre doctoral para la Formacion de Profesorado Universitario) from Subprogramas de Formacion y Movilidad within the Programa Estatal de Promocion del Talento y su Empleabilidad of the Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte of Spain.

[Background]: In order to ensure sustainability of aquaculture production of carnivourous fish species such as the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata, L.), the impact of the inclusion of alternative protein sources to fishmeal, including plants, has been assessed. With the aim of evaluating long-term effects of vegetable diets on growth and intestinal status of the on-growing gilthead seabream (initial weight = 129 g), three experimental diets were tested: a strict plant protein-based diet (VM), a fishmeal based diet (FM) and a plant protein-based diet with 15% of marine ingredients (squid and krill meal) alternative to fishmeal (VM+). Intestines were sampled after 154 days. Besides studying growth parameters and survival, the gene expression related to inflammatory response, immune system, epithelia integrity and digestive process was analysed in the foregut and hindgut sections, as well as different histological parameters in the foregut., [Results]: There were no differences in growth performance (p = 0.2703) and feed utilization (p = 0.1536), although a greater fish mortality was recorded in the VM group (p = 0.0141). In addition, this group reported a lower expression in genes related to pro-inflammatory response, as Interleukine-1β (il1β, p = 0.0415), Interleukine-6 (il6, p = 0.0347) and cyclooxigenase-2 (cox2, p = 0.0014), immune-related genes as immunoglobulin M (igm, p = 0.0002) or bacterial defence genes as alkaline phosphatase (alp, p = 0.0069). In contrast, the VM+ group yielded similar survival rate to FM (p = 0.0141) and the gene expression patterns indicated a greater induction of the inflammatory and immune markers (il1β, cox2 and igm). However, major histological changes in gut were not detected., [Conclusions]: Using plants as the unique source of protein on a long term basis, replacing fishmeal in aqua feeds for gilthead seabream, may have been the reason of a decrease in the level of different pro-inflammatory mediators (il1 β, il6 and cox2) and immune-related molecules (igm and alp), which reflects a possible lack of local immune response at the intestinal mucosa, explaining the higher mortality observed. Krill and squid meal inclusion in vegetable diets, even at low concentrations, provided an improvement in nutrition and survival parameters compared to strictly plant protein based diets as VM, maybe explained by the maintenance of an effective immune response throughout the assay., The research has been partially funded by Vicerrectorat d’Investigació, Innovació i Transferència of the Universitat Politècnica de València, which belongs to the project Aquaculture feed without fishmeal (SP20120603)

[EN] The competences and skills to acquire by the student have evolved, so the educational methodology must also evolve. Society demands professionals with competences and skills in information and communication technologies (ICT), further a critical and deductive thinking. The goal of this current paper is the description of a teaching project that proposes the implementation of flipped classroom in combination with ICT and learning stimulating methodologies, such as gamification. The teaching project will be applied in the subject: Animal and Human Physiology (Degree in Biotechnology, Universitat Piltècnica de València), which includes both “Alto Rendimiento Académico” (English group) and Spanish group. Five activities have been designed to achieve the transversal competences selected for this subject. The teacher, based on the indicators of achievement and competence evidences, will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the project, comparing the degree of achievement of the skills prior or postproject implementation. Furthermore, the final mark will also be compared with previous years, in order to test whether the innovative educational strategy has had a relevant impact on the final grade of the subject., [ES] Las competencias y habilidades a adquirir por parte del estudiante han evolucionado, por lo que la metodología educativa también debe evolucionar. La sociedad demanda profesionales con competencias y habilidades en tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) y que demuestren un pensamiento crítico y deductivo. El objetivo del presente trabajo es la descripción de un proyecto docente que propone la implantación de la clase inversa en combinación con TIC y metodologías estimuladoras del aprendizaje, como la gamificación. El proyecto docente se aplicará en la asignatura de Fisiología Animal y Humana (Grado en Biotecnología; Universitat Piltècnica de València), tanto en el grupo Alto Rendimiento Académico (lengua vehicular inglés) como en un segundo grupo donde la lengua vehicular es el castellano.Han sido propuestas 5 actividades diseñadas para alcanzar las competencias transversales propuestas en la asignatura. El docente, basado en los indicadores de consecución y las evidencias de competencia, evaluará la efectividad del proyecto, comparando el grado de adquisición de las competencias previo o post-implantación del proyecto. Además, también se comparará la calificación final respecto a años anteriores, testando así si la innovadora estrategia educativa ha tenido un impacto en la nota final de la asignatura., Este proyecto ha sido financiado por el Vicerrectorado de Estudios, Calidad y Acreditación de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) en el marco del Programa Proyectos de Innovación y Mejora Educativa (PIME/2017/B/010) y la Escuela de Ingeniería Agrícola y Medio Ambiente ( ETSIAMN) de la Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).

Since the first human was conceived through in vitro fertilisation in 1978, over 6.5 million babies have been born by assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). Although most ART babies and children seem healthy, in recent years several studies have evidenced a potential impact of ARTs on long-term development and health. Herein, we have developed an animal model to determine whether vitrified embryo transfer procedure induces phenotypic changes over the growth performance and in the complementary transcriptomic and proteomic analyses at hepatic level. To this end, 2 populations were developed; vitrified embryos transferred to the surrogate mothers (VT) and naturally conceived animals (NC). After delivery, animals were weighed weekly from 1 to 20 weeks of age. In adulthood, animals were euthanized and organs were harvested and weighed. After that, liver tissue was used to identify changes in the transcriptomic and proteomic profile. At adulthood, VT group showed significant lower body, liver and heart weight. After functional analysis of RNA-Seq data, a subset of 96 differentially expressed transcripts in VT animal were related to alteration in zinc homeostasis, lipid metabolism, and hepatic immune pathways. After proteomic analysis, a subset of 76 differentially expressed proteins also revealed some disturbed metabolic pathways related with the lipid and glycan metabolism, and an impaired oxidative metabolism related to ATP synthesis in the mitochondria. Current findings suggest that progeny derived after transfer of vitrified embryos have long-term consequences on growth rate and vital organs weights in adulthood, correlated with molecular signatures at transcriptomic and proteomic level of hepatic tissue.

[EN] Academic procrastination is a fact related to the delay or postpone of academic work until last minute. This phenomenon is evident in a vast majority of university students, and its occurrence is increasing. In order to analyse possible causes and/or solutions, we studied if longer time for accomplishing an assignment incentives or avoids procrastination among university students. Results showed that both short and long time-frame groups tended to procrastinate in the same way. Additionally, academic grades did not revealed differences between groups, as the procrastination was the same between groups. Thus, this study shows that even with longer period of time to accomplish a task, university students tend to procrastinate, and thus seem to have a negative effect on their assignment grades. Therefore, it seems a current problem and measures should be developed in order to solve it, [ES] La procrastinación académica es un término que hace referencia a la postergación o posposición de cualquier actividad o tarea académica para el último minuto. Este fenómeno prevalece de forma mayoritaria entre los estudiantes universitarios, y su incidencia parece ir en aumento. Con el fin de analizar las posibles causas y/soluciones a la procrastinación, en este trabajo se estudió si un mayor tiempo para la elaboración y/o desarrollo de las actividades y tareas universitarias impedía o incentivaba la procrastinación entre los estudiantes universitarios. Los resultados mostraron que tanto los grupos con menor tiempo para el desarrollo de tareas, como los grupos con un mayor tiempo tendían a procrastinar de la misma manera. Además, las notas medias de las tareas no mostraron diferencias entre los grupos dado que la procrastinación fue la misma en ambos grupos. Por ello, este estudio muestra que incluso con periodos más prolongados para la elaboración de la actividad, los estudiantes universitarios tienden a procrastinar, y este hecho parece tener un efecto negativo sobre la nota de la actividad. En conclusión, la procrastinación es un grave problema en el sistema universitario actual y deberían tomarse medidas para solucionarlo., Este proyecto ha sido financiado por el Vicerrectorado de Estudios, Calidad y Acreditación de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) en el marco del Programa Proyectos de Innovación y Mejora Educativa (PIME/2017/B/010) y la Escuela de Ingeniería Agrícola y Medio Ambiente ( ETSIAMN) de la Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).

New specific European eel (Anguilla anguilla) recombinant gonadotropins (aarGths) produced in the ovarian cells of Chinese hamsters (CHO) were used to induce maturation in captive male eels. In the first experiment, five different hormonal treatments were assayed: one group was given a constant dose of recombinant European eel follicle-stimulating hormone (aarFsh; 4 μg/fish) for 9 weeks, and the second group received a constant dose of recombinant European eel luteinizing hormone (aarLh; 2 μg/fish) also for 9 weeks. The other three groups were injected with different combinations of both aarGths (some doses constant, some variable). All five treatments stimulated androgen synthesis, but the increase was more pronounced in the fish treated with a combination of both aarGths. Unlike aarLh, aarFsh alone was able to induce spermiation, the best results were achieved in the fish that were treated with a constant dose of aarFSH and an increasing dose of aarLH, with spermiation being induced (20% motile cells) despite the fact that these fish were immature at the start of the experiment. In order to improve sperm quality, a second experiment was performed. Immature males received three constant doses of aarFsh (2.8, 1.4 or 0.7 μg/fish) and increasing doses of aarLh (every 3 weeks; 1, 2, 6 μg/fish). All the treatments induced spermiation, however the best sperm quality (with ≥50% motile cells) was observed in the males treated with the highest dose of aarFsh. In conclusion, these specific recombinant gonadotropins have demonstrated their capacity to induce spermatogenesis and spermiation in vivo in a teleost fish, the European eel, This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 642893 (ETN IMPRESS), the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Project REPRO-TEMP; AGL2013-41646-R), Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEOII/2014/051), VLC/CAMPUS Program (SP20140630) and the COST Office (COST Action FA1205: AQUAGAMETE). VG has a postdoc grant from the UPV (PAID-10-14).

During the last years, several research groups have been working on the development and improvement of new protocols for the European eel handling and maturation. As of yet, weekly injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) have proved to maturate males after just 5-6 weeks of treatment, producing high volumes of high-quality sperm during several weeks. In addition, sperm cryopreservation protocols using different extenders, cryoprotectants and cooling and thawing times have been previously described for European eel. Here, we show that Tanaka´s extender solution can be directly used for fertilization or for cryopreservation, making unnecessary the usage of different types of solutions and dilutions. Furthermore, the use of methanol as a cryoprotectant makes this protocol easy to use as methanol has low toxicity and does not activate the sperm. The sperm does not need to be cryopreserved immediately after the addition of the cryoprotectant, and it can be used long after being thawed. Moreover, sperm motility is still high after thawing although it is lower than that of fresh sperm. The aim of this work is to show the best available protocol for European eel handling, maturation, and sperm cryopreservation.

[EN] Academic procrastination is a fact related to the delay or postpone of academic work until last minute. This phenomenon is evident in a vast majority of university students, and its occurrence is increasing. In order to analyse possible causes and/or solutions, we studied if longer time for accomplishing an assignment incentives or avoids procrastination among university students. Results showed that both short and long time-frame groups tended to procrastinate in the same way. Additionally, academic grades did not revealed differences between groups, as the procrastination was the same between groups. Thus, this study shows that even with longer period of time to accomplish a task, university students tend to procrastinate, and thus seem to have a negative effect on their assignment grades. Therefore, it seems a current problem and measures should be developed in order to solve it., This project has received funding from the Vicerectorado de Estudios, Calidad y Acreditación of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) under Proyectos de Innovación y Mejora Educativa programme (PIME/2017/B/010) and the School of Agricultural Engineering and Environment (ETSIAMN) of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).

[EN] The objective of this study was to assess impact of cryopreserved European eel sperm and Japanese eel native sperm on early fertilization, hatch, survival, and malformation rates of larvae, as well as develop molecular techniques to distinguish different eel species. Eggs from Japanese eel females (Anguilla japonica) were artificially fertilized with sperm of Japanese eel males and cryopreserved sperm from European eel (A. anguilla, extender was modified Tanaka solution and methanol as cryoprotectant). There were no statistical differences (p¿>¿0.05) among the measured parameters such as fertilization, hatch and survival after 10 days post-hatch rates due to large individual differences. The malformation rate of larvae compared to the hatching rate was higher in cryopreserved groups than in the control indicating that the methodology needs further refinement. Genetic analyses (PCR-RFLP, PCR-HRM) proved a clear result in the detection of paternal contribution in hybridization between the Japanese and the European eel and applied PCR-HRM method is a quick and cost effective tool to identify illegally imported A. anguilla at the glass eel stage, which can be transported from Europe to Asia., The research was supported by The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)/Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Kakenhi Grant No.15K07562 and Tokyo University of Agriculture Strategic Research Program (TUA-SRP), Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (grant number 12252178), GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00054 project of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office of Hungary and EFOP-3.6.3-VEKOP-16-2017-00008 project. The project is co-financed by the European Union, the European Social Fund and KMR_12-1-2012-0435.

[EN] The present study was undertaken to evaluate the correlations between the fatty acids in the liver and testis and the plasma levels of the hormonal steroids used during eel spermatogenesis, in order to clarify the physiological roles fatty acids play in the spermatogenetic process. The stages of testis development (S1-S5) were assessed by histological observations in order to classify the different phases of hormonally-induced spermatogenesis and evaluate the possible relationships between the hormones and fatty acids in each stage. The highest plasma levels of 17 beta-estradiol (E2), testosterone (T) and 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) were found in S1, when spermatogonial proliferation occurs. A correlation was found between 17 alpha-20 beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3- one (DHP) levels and some fatty acids during the proliferation and growing phases (S1-2), suggesting that DHP might modulate lipid metabolism in the liver during early spermatogenesis. The DHP levels increased significantly during the growing phase (S2) and remained at high levels throughout the subsequent development stages (S3-S5). Similar to results found in mammals, our results show that in the eel there are regulatory mechanisms, including eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5-n3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6-n3, DHA), which act as modulators in the synthesis of androgens, particularly during the final phase of sperm maturation. Our results suggest that the fact that EPA, ARA and DHA concentrations in the eel testis remain constant/stable during spermiation could be related to the subsequent union of the spermatozoa and the egg. The findings from this research provide new insights for further studies about the possible effect of steroids on desaturase activity and highlight the importance of the effect of lipid metabolism during male eel spermatogenesis. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved., Funded by the European Community's 7th Framework Programme under the Theme 2 "Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology", grant agreement no. 245257 (PRO-EEL). D. S. P. had a contract co-financed by MICINN and UPV (PTA2011-4948-I) and received a Shortterm Scientific Mission grant from COST Office (Food and Agriculture COST Action FA1205: AQUAGAMETE) to carry out the steroids analyses in Norway.

Genomic scale duplication of genes generates raw genetic material, which may facilitate new adaptations for the organism. Previous studies on eels have reported specific gene duplications, however a species-specific large-scale gene duplication has never before been proposed. In this study, we have assembled ade novoEuropean eel transcriptome and the data show more than a thousand gene duplications that happened, according to a 4dTv analysis, after the teleost specific 3R whole genome duplication (WGD). The European eel has a complex and peculiar life cycle, which involves extensive migration, drastic habitat changes and metamorphoses, all of which could have been facilitated by the genes derived from this large-scale gene duplication.Of the paralogs created, those with a lower genetic distance are mostly found in tandem repeats, indicating that they are young segmental duplications. The older eel paralogs showed a different pattern, with more extensive synteny suggesting that a Whole Genome Duplication (WGD) event may have happened in the eel lineage. Furthermore, an enrichment analysis of eel specific paralogs further revealed GO-terms typically enriched after a WGD. Thus, this study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to present evidence indicating an Anguillidae family specific large-scale gene duplication, which may include a 4R WGD.

article i nfo Wild female European eels were matured with CPE (carp pituitary extract) under three thermal regimes, two of which were variable (T10-15 and T15-18, moving from 10 to 15 °C and from 15 to 18 °C, respectively) and one constant, at 18 °C (T18). Before and during hormonal treatment, the eels were sampled and biometric measure- ments were taken. Immunoassays of sex steroids and vitellogenin were performed, as well as qPCR analyses of gene expression (ovarian cyp19a1) and ovarian histology. Prior to the hormonal treatment, the silver eels which had been maintained at 18 °C showed lower 11-KT and E2 plasma levels compared to those maintained at 10 °C. In addition, in the early vitellogenic stage, the androgen and cyp19a1 levels were lower at 18 °C than at 10 °C. Both these results and the positive correlations found between GSI and 11-KT (at the PV stage) and between oocyte diameter and cyp19a1 levels (in the EV stage) suggest that early ovarian development is facili- tated at low temperatures. Vitellogenesis was induced by CPE in all the thermal groups, but progression to the mid-vitellogenic stage was only observed after an accumulation of 900-1200 °D, at 15 or 18 °C, and progression to the late vitellogenic stage was only observed after an accumulation higher than 1300 °D, at 18 °C. Although temperature increased the rate of CPE-induced ovarian development, our results clearly indicate that this in- crease is not linear, but exponential, with acceleration in the increase of GSI at 18 °C from the mid-vitellogenic stage, or after an accumulation of 1300 °D. For the first time, a down-regulation of ovarian cyp19a1 caused by high temperatures in CPE-treated eels was observed. These results demonstrate that temperature can modulate eel ovarian development both before and after exogenous hormonal stimulations, and this knowledge could be used to manipulate the timing of vitellogenesis progression under laboratory conditions.

[EN] Paralogues pairs are more frequently observed in eels (Anguilla sp.) than in other teleosts. The paralogues often show low phylogenetic distances; however, they have been assigned to the third round of whole genome duplication (WGD), shared by all teleosts (3R), due to their conserved synteny. The apparent contradiction of low phylogenetic difference and 3R conserved synteny led us to study the duplicated gene complement of the freshwater eels. With this aim, we assembled de novo transcriptomes of two highly relevant freshwater eel species: The European (Anguilla anguilla) and the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica). The duplicated gene complement was analysed in these transcriptomes, and in the genomes and transcriptomes of other Actinopterygii species. The study included an assessment of neutral genetic divergence (4dTv), synteny, and the phylogenetic origins and relationships of the duplicated gene complements. The analyses indicated a high accumulation of duplications (1217 paralogue pairs) among freshwater eel genes, which may have originated in a WGD event after the Elopomorpha lineage diverged from the remaining teleosts, and thus not at the 3R. However, very similar results were observed in the basal Osteoglossomorpha and Clupeocephala branches, indicating that the specific genomic regions of these paralogues may still have been under tetrasomic inheritance at the split of the teleost lineages. Therefore, two potential hypotheses may explain the results: i) The freshwater eel lineage experienced an additional WGD to 3R, and ii) Some duplicated genomic regions experienced lineage specific rediploidization after 3R in the ancestor to freshwater eels. The supporting/opposing evidence for both hypotheses is discussed., This study received funding from the project REPRO-TEMP (AGL2013-41646-R) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 642893 (IMPRESS), which also included the predoctoral contracts of CR and JGHJ. VG has a postdoctoral grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU; Programa Juan de la Cierva-Incorporacion; IJCI-2017-34200). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Several studies have extensively examined structural and biochemical damage induced by cryopreservation that may lead to loss of rabbit embryo viability, but very little information is available on alterations in growth during gestation and at gene expression level. We started our work by comparing the distribution of losses of embryo and foetal development between control and vitrified rabbit morulae. Furthermore, data on foetal sack, foetal and maternal placenta and foetus size for 10-14 days of gestation were evaluated by ultrasonography. We reported that vitrification procedure causes detrimental effects on rabbit embryo and foetal development, with two major peaks of losses: one before the implantation (at day 6) and the other during the second part of gestation (after day 14). However, foetal loss may occur during the implantation process and placenta development, as there was a reduction in development of foetus produced from vitrified-warmed embryos between day 10 and 14 of gestation. For these reasons, using a recent microarray study performed in frozen-thawed rabbit embryos as a point of reference, we analysed the effects of vitrification procedure on the expression of 10 candidate genes in 6-day-old blastocysts obtained after vitrification and transfer. We observed that the relative expressions of mRNA transcripts from SCGB1A1, EMP1, ANXA3 and EGFLAM genes were significantly altered. This could help explain why a large number (29%) of vitrified embryos were successfully implanted but subsequently failed to develop to term. Further studies in subsequent embryo-foetal developmental stages, such as initiation of placenta formation, together with more sensitive high-throughput tools, should help us understand the deficiencies that hinder foetal development and identify the repairing mechanism employed by embryos to overcome vitrification effects. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[EN] Vitrification was successfully applied to the sperm of two fish species, the freshwater Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) and marine European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Sperm was collected, diluted in species specific non-activating media and cryoprotectants and vitrified by plunging directly into liquid nitrogen without pre-cooling in its vapor. Progressive motility of fresh and vitrified-thawed sperm was evaluated with computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Additional sperm quality parameters such as sperm head morphometry parameters (in case of European eel) and fertilizing capacity (in case of Eurasian perch) were carried out to test the effectiveness of vitrification. The vitrification method for Eurasian perch sperm resulting the highest post-thaw motility (14 +/- 1.6%) was as follows: 1:5 dilution ratio, Tanaka extender, 30% cryoprotectant (15% methanol + 15% propylene-glycol), cooling device: Cryotop, 2 mu l droplets, and for European eel sperm: dilution ratio 1:1, with 40% cryoprotectant (20% MeOH and 20% PG), and 10% FBS, cooling device: Cryotop, with 2 mu l of sperm suspension. Viable embryos were produced by fertilization with vitrified Eurasian perch sperm (neurulation: 2.54 +/- 1.67%). According to the ASMA analysis, no significant decrease in head area and perimeter of vitrified European eel spermatozoa were found when compared to fresh spermatozoa., The work was funded by the NKFI (previously OTKA) project number K-109847 and by a Short-term Scientific Mission awarded to E. Kasa by the COST Office (Food and Agriculture COST Action FA1205: Assessing and improving the quality of aquatic animal gametes to enhance aquatic resources. The need to harmonize and standardize evolving methodologies, and improve transfer from academia to industry; AQUAGAMETE). The work was supported by the project Research Center of Excellence - 9878-3/2016/FEKUT of the Ministry of Human Resources of Hungary and the project EUREKA_HU_12-1-2012-0056 (PERCAHATCH).

[EN] Young rabbit females selected for growth rate may have nutritional needs, which may not be met with the common practice of feed restriction during rearing in commercial rabbit production. The aim of this study was to analyse whether two different feeding programmes: ad libitum or restricted (130 g/day) feeding, applied in young rabbit females for 1 month at the end of rearing, could modulate the origin of ovulation process and the quality of the oocytes. At 16 weeks of age, 34 females were randomly assigned to restricted or ad libitum feeding, maintaining these conditions for a month. Then, in an initial experiment, transcriptional profiling of hypothalamus-hypophysis tissue was performed to assess failure to ovulate. In the second experiment, the gene expression analysis of some candidate genes related to oocytes quality was performed. Our results demonstrated that neither of the two feeding programmes modified the transcription of hypothalamus-hypophysis tissue, while the only differences in MSYR expression were found in in vivo mature oocytes ready for successful fertilization. Specifically, MSYR was over-expressed in oocytes from females fed ad libitum. MSYR is one of the most abundant proteins in the oocyte and has proven to be a key regulator of maternal RNA transcription and translation. This finding suggests that MSYR gene is a promising gene in our understanding of the relationship between high growth rate and reproductive performance decline., This work was supported by the Spanish Research Projects AGL2014-53405-C2-P and AGL2011-30170-C02-01 (CICYT). Carmen Naturil was supported by a research grant from the Education Ministry of the Valencian Regional Government (programme VALi+d. ACIF/2013/296).

[EN] The role of seminal plasma sodium and activation media sodium on sperm motility was examined by selectively removing the element from these two media, in European eel sperm. Sperm size (sperm head area) was also measured using an ASMA (Automated Sperm Morphometry Analyses) system, in the different conditions. Intracellular sodium [Na+](i) was quantitatively analyzed by first time in the spermatozoa from a marine fish species. Measurement of [Na+](i) was done before and after motility activation, by Flow Cytometry, using CoroNa Green AM as a dye. Sperm motility activation induced an increase in [Na+](i) from 96.72 mM in quiescent stage to 152.21 mM post-activation in seawater. A significant decrease in sperm head area was observed post activation in seawater. There was a notable reduction in sperm motility when sodium was removed from the seminal plasma, but not when it was removed from the activation media. Sodium removal was also linked to a significant reduction in sperm head area in comparison to the controls. Our results indicate that the presence of the ion Na+ in the seminal plasma (or in the extender medium) is necessary for the preservation of sperm motility in European eel, probably because it plays a role in maintaining an appropriate sperm cell volume in the quiescent stage of the spermatozoa. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved., Funded from the SPERMOT project (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, MICINN; AGL2010-16009). M.C. Vilchez has a predoctoral grant from UPV PAID Program (2011-S2-02-6521), Marina Morini has a predoctoral grant from Generalitat Valenciana (Programa Grisolia, GRISOLIA/2012/006), Victor Gallego has a postdoctoral contract from UPV (PAID-10-14), and David S. Penaranda was supported by MICINN (PTA2011-4948-I) and UPV (PTA2011-4948-I). Grants to attend meetings were received from COST Office (Food and Agriculture COST Action FA1205: AQUAGAMETE).

[EN] Estradiol (E-2) can bind to nuclear estrogen receptors (ESR) or membrane estrogen receptors (GPER). While mammals possess two nuclear ESRs and one membrane GPER, the European eel, like most other teleosts, has three nuclear ESRs and two membrane GPERs, as the result of a teleost specific genome duplication. In the current study, the expression of the three nuclear ESRs (ESR1, ESR2a and ESR2b) and the two membrane GPERs (GPERa and GPERb) in the brain-pituitary-gonad (BPG) axis of the European eel was measured, throughout spermatogenesis. The eels were first transferred from freshwater (FW) to seawater (SW), inducing parallel increases in E2 plasma levels and the expression of ESRs. This indicates that salinity has a stimulatory effect on the E-2 signalling pathway along the BPG axis. Stimulation of sexual maturation by weekly injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) induced a progressive decrease in E-2 plasma levels, and different patterns of expression of ESRs and GPERs in the BPG axis. The expression of nuclear ESRs increased in some parts of the brain, suggesting a possible upregulation due to a local production of E-2. In the testis, the highest expression levels of the nuclear ESRs were observed at the beginning of spermatogenesis, possibly mediating the role of E2 as spermatogonia renewal factor, followed by a sharply decrease in the expression of ESRs. Conversely, there was a marked increase observed in the expression of both membrane GPERs throughout spermatogenesis, suggesting they play a major role in the final stages of spermatogenesis., Funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (REPRO-TEMP project; AGL2013-41646-R) and IMPRESS (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions; Grant agreement no: 642893). M.C. Vilchez has a predoctoral grant from UPV PAID Programme (2011-S2-02-6521), M. Morini has a predoctoral grant from Generalitat Valenciana (Programa Grisolia). D.S. Penaranda was supported by MICINN and UPV (PTA2011-4948-1).

[EN] Vertebrate eggs are surrounded by an extracellular glycoprotein coat termed zona pellucida (ZP). Integrity of ZP is critical for a correct embryo development. Two zona pellucida protein genes (zpb and zpc) from European eel were characterized, specific qPCR assays developed and their expression in immature males and females carried out. An experimental group of silver-stage eel females was maintained at 18 C and hormonally induced to sexual maturation by weekly injections of carp pituitary extract during 12 weeks. Changes in zpb and zpc expression during sexual maturation were studied in liver and ovary by qPCR. In liver, no changes were recorded during hormonal treatment, while in ovary expression of both genes decreased during sexual development. These results are a first step in the characterization of ZP in European eel and in the understanding of the mechanism underlying egg envelope formation., Funded from the European Community's 7th Framework Programme under the Theme 2 "Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology", Grant agreement no. 245257 (Pro-Eel) and Generalitat Valenciana through the GV/2007/202 project and ACOMP/2011/229. D.S. Penaranda has a postdoc Grant from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (CE-01-10). I.M. and V.G. have predoctoral Grants from Generalitat Valenciana and Spanish MICINN, respectively. F.-A. Weltzien received funding from The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science.

[EN] Since 1960, the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) has suffered a dramatic reduction in natural stocks. Breeding in captivity is considered an alternative, but obtaining high quality sperm seems basic on this regard. The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of three thermal regimes (two of them variable: T10 and T15; and one of them constant: T20) and three hormonal treatments with different hormones (hCG, hCGrec and PSMG) on the induction of maturation in European eel males. In the case of the thermal regimes, our results demonstrated that the onset and progression of spermiation are strongly influenced, and perhaps closely regulated, by water temperature. T20 demonstrated the best results in all the sperm parameters (volume, density, motility, kinetic features, etc.) throughout most weeks of treatment, becoming a reliable and productive method for inducing spermiation in this species. In the case of hormonal treatments, the onset and progression of spermiation in European eel males were influenced by the hormone used. In this respect, hCGrec produced the best results in all the sperm parameters including volume, density, motility, kinetic features, etc., throughout most weeks of treatment, thus becoming an effective alternative treatment to the standard hCG treatment used to induce spermiation in eel species. Moreover, hCGrec gave rise to the best economical profitability, making it possible to obtain good quality sperm samples at a lower price than by using the other two hormonal treatments. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved Guardar / Salir Siguiente >, Funded by the European Community's 7th Framework Programme under the Theme 2 "Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology", grant agreement no. 245257 (PRO-EEL) and Generalitat Valenciana (ACOMP/2012/086). Victor Gallego, Ilaria Mazzeo and M. Carmen Vilchez have predoctoral grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN), Generalitat Valenciana, and UPV PAID Programme (2011-S2-02-6521), respectively. Paulo C.F. Carneiro had post-doc grants from PAC-EMBRAPA and UPV PAID Programme (PAID-02-11). David S. Penaranda was supported by a contract co-financed by MICINN and UPV (PTA2011-4948-I).