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Papers by Ana De La Torre

PloS one, 2013

Transboundary animal diseases can have very severe socio-economic impacts when introduced into ne... more Transboundary animal diseases can have very severe socio-economic impacts when introduced into new regions. The history of disease incursions into the European Union suggests that initial outbreaks were often initiated by illegal importation of meat and derived products. The European Union would benefit from decision-support tools to evaluate the risk of disease introduction caused by illegal imports in order to inform its surveillance strategy. However, due to the difficulty in quantifying illegal movements of animal products, very few studies of this type have been conducted. Using African swine fever as an example, this work presents a novel risk assessment framework for disease introduction into the European Union through illegal importation of meat and products. It uses a semi-quantitative approach based on factors that likely influence the likelihood of release of contaminated smuggled meat and products, and subsequent exposure of the susceptible population. The results suggest that the European Union is at non-negligible risk of African swine fever introduction through illegal importation of pork and products. On a relative risk scale with six categories from negligible to very high, five European Union countries were estimated at high (France, Germany, Italy and United Kingdom) or moderate (Spain) risk of African swine fever release, five countries were at high risk of exposure if African swine fever were released (France, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain) and ten countries had a moderate exposure risk

BMC Veterinary Research, 2014

Background: The recent occurrence and spread of African swine fever (ASF) in Eastern Europe is pe... more Background: The recent occurrence and spread of African swine fever (ASF) in Eastern Europe is perceived as a serious risk for the pig industry in the European Union (EU). In order to estimate the potential risk of ASF virus (ASFV) entering the EU, several pathways of introduction were previously assessed separately. The present work aimed to integrate five of these assessments (legal imports of pigs, legal imports of products, illegal imports of products, fomites associated with transport and wild boar movements) into a modular tool that facilitates the visualization and comprehension of the relative risk of ASFV introduction into the EU by each analyzed pathway. Results: The framework's results indicate that 48% of EU countries are at relatively high risk (risk score 4 or 5 out of 5) for ASFV entry for at least one analyzed pathway. Four of these countries obtained the maximum risk score for one pathway: Bulgaria for legally imported products during the high risk period (HRP); Finland for wild boar; Slovenia and Sweden for legally imported pigs during the HRP. Distribution of risk considerably differed from one pathway to another; for some pathways, the risk was concentrated in a few countries (e.g., transport fomites), whereas other pathways incurred a high risk for 4 or 5 countries (legal pigs, illegal imports and wild boar). Conclusions: The modular framework, developed to estimate the risk of ASFV entry into the EU, is available in a public domain, and is a transparent, easy-to-interpret tool that can be updated and adapted if required. The model's results determine the EU countries at higher risk for each ASFV introduction route, and provide a useful basis to develop a global coordinated program to improve ASFV prevention in the EU.

Environmental Toxicology, 2008

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and ... more Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), chlordanes (CHLs), dieldrin, and hexaclorobenzene (HCB) were detected in the blubber and liver of 11 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Canary Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Samples were obtained from stranded dolphins over the period 1997–2005. Among the organochlorines analyzed, PCBs and DDTs were predominant in the two tissues, followed in decreasing order by chlordane, trans-nonachlor > cis-nonachlor > dieldrin and HCB. The sum 11 PCBs in the blubber ranged between 301 and 33,212 ng g−1 ww (990 and 136,679 ng g−1 lw). Highly chlorinated PCBs such us CB153, CB180, and CB138 were the prominent congeners, accounting for 51% of the total PCBs. The sum DDT concentration in the blubber ranged between 147 and 21,050 ng g−1 ww. (490–105,250 ng g−1 lw) The main DDT metabolite was p,p′-DDE, representing 83% of DDTs in the blubber. In general, the levels of PCBs and DDTs detected were similar to those found in bottlenose dolphins in the North of Europe. The 2,3,7,8-TCDD toxic equivalent (TEQ) in blubber and liver was calculated for the toxicity assessment of mono-ortho substituted PCBs congeners (CB105, CB118, CB156). It is important to mention that TEQ values and p,p′-DDE concentration in adult male specimens are approaching the levels associated with adverse effects found in marine mammals. The information provided represents the first tissue loads of organochlorine compounds in small cetaceans from this area. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2008.

Identification of organic compounds and ecotoxicological assessment of sewage treatment plants (STP) effluents

Science of The Total Environment, 2004

An integrated approach combining chemistry and biological methods was conducted to assess the tox... more An integrated approach combining chemistry and biological methods was conducted to assess the toxicity of seven sewage treatment plant effluents. Solid phase concentration procedures were applied to facilitate the study of organic micro pollutants. A chemical analysis was performed by GC/MS. Organic fraction toxicity was determined by using bioassays such as Daphnia magna and Chlorella vulgaris tests and sub-lethal effects were also evaluated by using Salmonella typhimurium Test (mutagenicity), recombinant yeast screen (estrogenicity), and Oryzias latipes embryo-larval test. More than 49 compounds were detected in the organic fraction due to the various inputs of each effluents. The most frequently detected compounds in the effluents were bisphenol A (BPA), octylphenol (OP), 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester (DEHP) and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(methylpropyl) ester (DBP). Biological assays showed toxicity effects on D. magna tests in all samples, whereas toxicity on C. vulgaris or S. typhimurium tests were not observed. Estrogenicity and teratogenicity were observed in several samples. The cause-effect relationship could not be established given the high chemical complexity of the effluents and the lack of information available on 70% of the detected compounds subsequent to reviewing various data bases. Nevertheless, due to the high chemical variability revealed by STP effluents, bioassay sets may provide a very useful amount of information for detecting potential toxicity risks.

Environmental Toxicology, 2005

The objective of this study was to evaluate fish response to acute stress induced by confinement ... more The objective of this study was to evaluate fish response to acute stress induced by confinement after capture. Because of the previously reported presence of chemical compounds in the Tajo River basin where the study samplinig took place, an exposure biomarker to organic chemicals (retinol) was used. Cortisol and glucose were used as stress biomarkers. Plasma levels of cholesterol were used as lipidic metabolism indicators, and retinol level was used as a specific exposure biomarker. A reference site was established along 300 km of the Tajo River, and nine sampling sites were selected on the basis of whether various human activities and hydrographic characteristics were present. A total of 55 carp (Cyprinus carpio) and 52 barbel (Barbus bocagei) were examined. Cortisol and glucose levels were considered acceptable indicators of the response of the fish to induced stress. In the barbel, plasma retinol levels decreased at two of the sampling sites indicating possible exposure to organic compounds. The overall evaluation of these parameters enabled us to identify three sampling sites at which more studies should be carried out. The possible relationship between the health state of wild fish and the presence of organic compounds or sources of pollution was considered. ' 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 20: 119-125, 2005.

Environmental Risk Factors Associated with H5N1 HPAI in Ramsar Wetlands of Europe

Avian Diseases, 2010

Angewandte Chemie, 2008

The importance of interlocked molecules in nanoscience has grown dramatically in recent years as ... more The importance of interlocked molecules in nanoscience has grown dramatically in recent years as inventive applications have been developed for these systems. [1] However, the synthesis of interlocked molecules can be challenging, as it almost always relies on the supramolecular assistance [2] provided by weak interactions such as hydrogen bonding, p stacking, ion-dipole, or labile metal-ligand bonds. Interestingly, one of the strongest noncovalent interactions possible, the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions, has essentially been ignored as a driving force to form interpenetrated species and eventually interlocked molecules such as rotaxanes, catenanes, or related molecular machines. This is surprising, as it is known that a) the incorporation of pendant anionic functionalities into lariat crown ethers increases their ability to bind cations, b) the addition of positively charged groups increases anion receptor abilities, and c) supramolecular capsules can be readily assembled using oppositely charged components. [9] We have devised a pseudorotaxane system in which the recognition event between an axle and a wheel is driven not only by the interplay of hydrogen bonds, ion-dipole interactions, and p stacking, but also by significant electrostatic ion-ion attractions. This concept should be applicable to other interpenetrated systems and has the benefit of eliminating the need for multiple counterions, which often complicate the study of noncovalent interactions in solution and can dictate surface interactions and solid-state structures. Herein we present the preparation of [2]pseudorotaxanes which utilize positively charged 1,2-bis(pyridinium)ethane axles and a negatively charged dibenzo[24]crown-8 ether wheel containing two pendant sulfonate (SO 3 À ) functionalities (DSDB24C8 2À ; see Scheme 1). The addition of two sulfonate groups to DB24C8 was accomplished by heating a solution of DB24C8 in CH 3 CN with a slight excess of sulfuric acid for 16 hours. The resulting diacid was converted into the Me 4 N + salt by treatment with Me 4 NOH in MeOH to give [Me 4 N] 2 [DSDB24C8] as a mixture of syn and anti isomers in excellent yield (> 95 %). Multiple recrystallizations from MeOH allowed isolation of the anti isomer in 44 % overall yield; this material was used for all the subsequent [2]pseudorotaxane studies. In our previous study on the formation of [2]pseudorotaxanes from 1,2-bis(pyridinium)ethane axles and neutral DB24C8 wheels, it was observed that axles such as 1 a-d containing an electron-withdrawing group exhibited the largest association constants, which range from 0.9 10 3 to 4.7 10 3 m À1 in CD 3 CN at 298 K. Attempts to measure association constants in less polar solvents were complicated by ion-pairing effects, and in more competitive solvents, noncovalent interactions were greatly reduced, often to the point of negating [2]pseudorotaxane formation altogether.