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Questions: Knowledge of how extreme drought events induce plant dieback and, eventually, plant mortality, may improve our forecasting of ecosystem change according to future climate projections, especially in Mediterranean drylands. In them, shrublands are the main vegetation communities in transition areas from a subhumid to semi-arid climate. This study analyzed differences in plant dieback after an unusual drought in 2014 and identified their main underlying factors in relation to three groups of explanatory variables: water availability, soil properties and vegetation structure attributes. Location: Four Mediterranean shrublands along a climatic gradient in SE Spain. Methods: At each experimental field site, we sampled a pool of vegetation structure characteristics, soil depth and soil surface properties, and we also determined water availability by continuously monitoring soil moisture and the microclimate conditions. Results: The climatic analysis showed that there was an extreme drought event in 2014, which was below the first percentile of the driest years. Under such conditions, vegetation dieback occurred at all the study sites. However, plant dieback differed between sites and plant biotypes. Subshrubs were the main affected biotype, with diebacks close to 60% at the driest sites, and up to 40% dieback for shrubs depending on their vertical development. Relative extractable water and bare soil surface cover were the best explanatory variables of plant community dieback but changed between plant biotypes. Vegetation structure variables related to plant vertical development (leaf area index [LAI], plant height, phytovolume) were significant explanatory variables of plant dieback in shrubs, subshrubs and grasses. Consecutive dry days fitted the best model to explain subshrub dieback. Conclusions: We found that rainfall pattern rather than total annual rainfall was the climatic factor that best determined water availability for plants in Mediterranean drylands. These results also pointed out the relevance of plant structure and soil properties for explaining ecosystem responses to extreme drought. This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through Projects HYDROMED (PID2019-111332RB-C21) and INERTIA (PID2019-111332RB-C22), and through the IMAGINA projects (PROMETEU/2019/110) and (APOSTD20/2019–-7956) from the Generalitat Valenciana and the European Social Fund. AMR was supported by the scholarship FPU-UA (2015) from the University of Alicante.

Natural starch (NS) was isolated from triticale flour (TF) and later modified by extrusion (MS) using acetic anhydride as a reactive agent. From each product (NS, TF, MS) a proximal analysis was performed as well as the characterization of its physicochemical properties (particle size determination (PSD), water absorption index (WAI) and solubility index (WSI), color L*, a*, b*, and viscosity), degree of substitution (DS), and thermal properties (differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Particle below sizes of 250 μm were obtained in the NS and MS treatments (42.91 and 36.03 %, respectively). The DS value (0.1) was found within the range allowed by the FDA for human consumption (0.01-0.2). MS presented a greater value in WAI (4.52), and the color parameter of b* (22.75) as well as a decrement in L* (70.61) and retrogradation viscosity (5.2 cP) values, being an indicator of greater functionality compared to NS. Through DSC, we found that MS experimented a decrement of 30.2 °C in the glass transition temperature compared with NS. Through isolation and the different modification treatments applied to triticale starch, we obtained functional ingredients with high potential, for use in food for microwave expanded and fried food as third generation snacks.RESUMENA partir de harina de triticale (HT) se aisló almidón (AN) para ser modificado por extrusión (AM), utilizando como agente reactivo anhídrido acético. De cada uno de los productos (HT, AN, AM) se realizó su análisis proximal y se caracterizaron sus propiedades fisicoquímicas (determinación de tamaño de partícula (DTP), índice de absorción de agua (IAA) e índice de solubilidad en agua (ISA), color L*, a*, b* y viscosidad), grado de sustitución (GS), y propiedades térmicas (calorimetría diferencial de barrido (CDB). Se obtuvieron tamaños de partícula en los tratamientos AN y AM por debajo de los 250 μm (42.91 % y 36.03 %, respectivamente). El valor del GS (0.1) se encontró dentro del rango permitido por la FDA para consumo humano (0.01-0.2). AM presentó mayores valores del IAA (4.52), así como del parámetro de color b* (22.75) y un decremento en los valores de L* (70.61) y de viscosidad de retrogradación (5.2 cP), siendo un indicador de una mayor funcionalidad en comparación con AN. Mediante CDB se encontró que el AM experimentó un decremento de 30.2°C en la temperatura de transición vítrea en comparación con la AN. A través del aislamiento y la modificación del almidón de triticale se obtuvieron ingredientes funcionales con un alto potencial para ser utilizadas en alimentos destinados a expansión en microondas o por freído como las botanas de tercera generación.

Introduction Local and systemic molecular responses to hemarthroses in hemophilia are not well understood. Emerging clinical evidence suggests that treatment with FVIII-Fc Fusion protein (FcFVIII), using the Fc-portion of immunoglobulin for half-life extension, may mitigate joint inflammation and modulate immune stimulation. We analyzed gene expression profiles in synovium and spleen (a major immune regulatory organ) in FVIII-deficient mice at baseline and after hemarthrosis treated with recombinant human FVIII (rhFVIII) or murine (m)FcFVIII to characterize the respective differences and molecular pathways for each FVIII preparation. Methods Hemarthrosis was induced by sub-patellar needle puncture in FVIII-deficient mice treated with saline (vehicle), 100 IU/kg mFcFVIII (Fc murine due to species specificity) or 120 IU/kg rhFVIII (to account for differences in t 1/2) administered intravenously 2 hours before and 6 hours after injury. Spleen and synovium were harvested on day 3 or day 14 post-injury (n=3-5 per group). Spleen and synovium from uninjured mice served as controls. RNA libraries were prepared using the NEBNext Ultra II Directional RNA Library Prep Kit and sequenced on an Illumina NextSeq500 platform (single-end; 75bp reads). The limma-voom method (R Bioconductor) was used for differential expression analyses. The criteria for differential expression were: i) a log fold-change (logFC) >1 or Results Knee injury in FVIII-deficient mice resulted in hemarthrosis and a drop in mean hematocrit from 44.7% to 27.5% (saline), which was prevented by rhFVIII and mFcFVIII prophylaxis (mean day 2 hematocrit ~45%). In the spleen, differential gene expression (DGE) in saline treated mice was pronounced but fleeting with 5295 and 9 differentially expressed genes (DEG) on day 3 and 14. DGE was abrogated by either rhFVIII or mFcFVIII, without significant expression differences between rhFVIII and mFcFVIII at the single gene level. However, differences were noted between rhFVIII and mFcFVIII during KEGG pathway analyses, where rhFVIII predominantly perturbed pathways related to inflammation, T-cell signaling and innate immune regulation, while mFcFVIII perturbed pathways related to B-cell signaling and cellular homeostasis. In the synovium, DGE in saline treated mice was also pronounced on day 3 (3388 DEG) but, in contrast to the spleen, continued on day 14 (1030 DEG). Unlike in the spleen, DGE was not fully corrected with rhFVIII or mFcFVIII; moreover, gene expression differed between rhFVIII and mFcFVIII. This was particularly evident on day 14, with a partial reduction to 603 and 294 differentially expressed genes with rhFVIII and mFcFVIII, respectively. Only 163 genes overlapped, whereas 440 were unique to rhFVIII and 131 to mFcFVIII. A comparison between gene expression with rhFVIII and mFcFVIII yielded that ≥ 2 log-fold expression difference was present for 74 genes, with 72 genes upregulated with rhFVIII relative to mFcFVIII. Many of these genes are involved in pathways related to innate and adaptive immune responses, cell cycle regulation and extracellular matrix organization in the Reactome database. This response was dampened by mFcFVIII. Conclusions Joint bleeding in hemophilic mice induced pronounced systemic and synovial gene expression, which was diminished by rhFVIII or mFcFVIII. However, while there were many similarities with regard to regulation of gene expression and/or molecular pathways, there were also notable differences, especially involving immune regulatory, inflammatory and tissue repair functions. These observations provide new molecular insights regarding Fc-driven effects of FVIII after hemarthrosis, suggesting that the type of FVIII preparation used for bleed control may have implications beyond hemostasis. Disclosures von Drygalski: Hematherix, Inc: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties: Super FVa; uniQure: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novo Nordisk: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; CSL Behring: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Biomarin: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.

16 Pags.- 2 Tabls.- 5 Figs. © The Authors, under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0., Forests provide many environmental services, especially those related to the water cycle. In semiarid areas where water is a limiting factor for ecosystem functioning, forested areas can have a strong impact on ground water recharge. In these areas, proper knowledge of forests’ water balance is necessary to promote management practices that may ensure ecosystem properties and environmental services like water or carbon fixation. In this article, we review several ecohydrology topics within the framework of Mediterranean water-limited environments in two representative ecosystems: Kermes oak (Quercus ilex L.) and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) forests. Both are the commonest species in countries that surround the Western Mediterranean Basin. We analysed the Blue and Green water components, i.e., green water is the water demand of forests, represented by evapotranspiration and interception; while blue water is the part of the balance involving runoff and deep percolation, which can be regarded as water directly usable by society. In general, different studies conducted in Mediterranean areas have pointed out that the water balances of Q. ilex and P. halepensis forests have low values for the Blue to Green water (B/G) ratios. Adaptive forest management like forest thinning can compensate for these ratios. Thinning has demonstrated to reduce losses by interception, but at same time, it can also increase individual tree transpiration and evaporation rates. However, these practices lead to higher B/G ratios when considering the whole stand. In future global change scenarios, in which drought conditions are expected to intensify, management practices can improve the water balance in these ecosystems by minimizing the risk of plant mortality and species replacement due to intense competence by water resources., This research was partially founded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness trough the projects ALTERACLIM (CGL2015-69773-C2-1-P), SURVIVE-2 (CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P MINECO/FEDER), HYDROSIL (CGL2011-28776-C02-02), SILWAMED (CGL2014-58127-C3-2), CEHYRFO-MED (CGL2017-86839-C3-2-R), INTEGRA (CGL2011-28776-C02), E-HIDROMED (CGL2014-58127-C3), and FEDER funds. E.V. gives thanks for a predoctoral fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness within the above cited project ALTERACLIM. A.d.C. and M.G.-S. are grateful to the Valencia Regional Government (CMAAUV, Generalitat Valenciana). A.M.-A. was supported by an FPI scholarship. CEAM is supported by the Generalitat Valenciana.

Tropical Andean ecosystems have been identified as very vulnerable to climate change. Changes in climatic conditions, especially drought as envisaged by climate change projections, could affect the establishment of new individuals that are responsible for ensuring the persistence of species and plant communities. The aim was to study the main morpho-functional traits related to water use and drought resistance of native plant species from Ecuadorian ecosystems during imposed drought periods. Seedlings of six native species representative of the Ecuadorian Andes were studied: lower montane evergreen forest (Alnus acuminata and Cedrela montana), montane cloud forest (Podocarpus sprucei and Aegiphila ferruginea) and montane dry shrubland (Schinus molle and Caesalpinia spinosa). Morphological characterisation, a root growth capacity test and stomatal conductance measurements during two controlled drought periods were used to investigate biomass allocation patterns, the root system morphology and gas exchange patterns of species, respectively. The main results indicated that species-specific differences in morpho-functional traits and allocation patterns determined responses to water availability and drought conditions. Low relative growth rate, leaf area ratio and specific leaf area, and high specific root length, were related to drought-resistant species as P. sprucei and C. spinosa. In contrast, a high or moderate relative growth rate, leaf area and root biomass, but low specific root length as in A. ferruginea, S. molle, C. montana, were related to lower resistance to drought conditions. Despite A. acuminata showed high specific root length, it was reported as a species sensitive to drought. Overall, patterns of stomatal conductance, linked to biomass allocation patterns and root system morphology, especially specific root length, seemed to be related to differences in vulnerability to drought in these species. Drought response was independent of species habitats. Unexpectedly, P. sprucei, belonging to montane cloud forest showed higher drought resistance than S. molle, belonging to montane dry shrubland. The Ecuador Government has funded this research through the Prometheus Project of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT). E. Chirino thanks the Department of Ecology of the University Alicante (Spain) and the Forest Restoration Group of the Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies (Foundation CEAM, Spain) for the equipment provided to carry out the nursery experiments. A. Vilagrosa participation was funded by Projects SURVIVE-2 (CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P) funded by the Spanish Government and DESESTRES (GV-2014-038, Prometeo program, Generalitat Valenciana). S. Ruiz-Yanetti is grateful for the ECOBAL Project (CGL2011-30531-C02-01), Project “Fortalecimiento institucional y transferencia de conocimiento a la ESPOCH (Ecuador) en materia de Servicios Ecosistémicos”, funded by the University of Alicante (Spain), and Programa de Formación de Personal e Intercambio Científico, funded by the Universidad de los Andes (Mérida, Venezuela).

In Mediterranean areas with limited availability of water, an accurate knowledge of growth response to hydrological variables could contribute to improving management and stability of forest resources. The main goal of this study is to assess the temporal dynamic of soil moisture to better understand the water-growth relationship of Pinus halepensis forests in semiarid areas. The estimates of modelled soil moisture and measured tree growth were used at four sites dominated by afforested Pinus halepensis Mill. in south-eastern Spain with 300 to 609 mm mean annual precipitation. Firstly, dendrochronological samples were extracted and the widths of annual tree rings were measured to compute basal area increments (BAI). Secondly, soil moisture was estimated over 20 hydrological years (1992–2012) by means of the HYDROBAL ecohydrological model. Finally, the tree growth was linked, to mean monthly and seasonal temperature, precipitation and soil moisture. Results depict the effect of soil moisture on growth (BAI) and explain 69–73% of the variance in semiarid forests, but only 51% in the subhumid forests. This highlights the fact that that soil moisture is a suitable and promising variable to explain growth variations of afforested Pinus halepensis in semiarid conditions and useful for guiding adaptation plans to respond pro-actively to water-related global challenges. This research was founded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the ECOBAL project (CGL2011-30531-C02-01), the ALTERACLIM project (CGL2015-69773-C2-1-P) and project (CGL2015-69985-R). A. Manrique-Alba also thanks the Ministry for the FPI grant to perform her PhD.

In dryland areas, knowledge of plant water requirements and water use strategies of species are essential for use in afforestation, to ensure the establishment of seedlings in the first summer after planting. In this context, we used minilysimeters to estimate the daily whole-plant transpiration requirements in seedlings of Pinus halepensis, Pistacia lentiscus and Quercus coccifera, which are frequently used in afforestation. This estimate was calculated according to the following two conditions: high-soil moisture and a drought period. The results in both conditions indicated the highest daily rate (0.90–1.33 L m−2 day−1) for Q. coccifera, P. lentiscus was moderate (0.50–0.75 L m−2 day−1) and P. halepensis showed the lowest rate (0.37–0.44 L m−2 day−1). Species response under drought conditions was in accordance with their drought-avoidance strategy. P. halepensis and P. lentiscus displayed a water-saver mechanism, while Q. coccifera exhibited a water-spender mechanism. Our results show that the use of minilysimeters is a suitable method to determine whole-seedling transpiration rate and to accurately estimate the water requirements of species used for afforestation in dryland areas. This research has been partially funded by a GRISOLIA programme grant (GRISOLIA/2010/093) from the Generalitat Valenciana and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy (CGL2011-30531-C02-01). The CEAM Foundation was founded by the Generalitat Valenciana. Chirino, E., thanks the Prometheus Project (SENESCYT, Ecuador) for funding his grant.