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Opening of the functional foods “kitchen” Promoting knowledge transfer and university-business cooperation in the field of nutrition and health is the main aim of a new body, the Nutrition and Health R+D+I Centre, which was inaugurated on 21 January at the Technology Park of the Camp de Tarragona. This new centre specializes in health and nutrition technologies and aims to become a leading player in the ambit of functional food in order to improve the health and quality of life of the general public. Its doors opened on the official day of inauguration and for the rest of the week it held technological sessions regarding business innovation in Catalonia and specialized seminars on the omic sciences. The last of these acts was held on 25 January with a session on Catalan clusters working in nutrition and innovation, which explained the business benefits of participating in clusters and gave examples of joint projects between clusters in Catalonia. The creation of this new centre will provide a space in which various scientific and technological operators can work in the same environment to optimize resources and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and its transfer to the manufacturing sector. These operators are the Technological Centre for Nutrition and Health (CTNS), the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), the Centre for Omic Sciences (COS) and the Innovative Business Association for Nutrition and Health (AINS). The project has been designed to achieve high level scientific recognition
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in the mid-to-long term that is comparable to that of other first class European universities offering training, research and knowledge transfer of the highest quality. The Centre will strengthen an area of the URV’s endeavours that provides full and high quality research training. TO see images of the inauguration, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf_1BZWydxU&list=PLD252B9A B2635E87B&index=5 Principal axes of research A total of eleven research projects were presented to the CEICS science meeting on 24 January at the Nutrition and Health R+D+I Centre. This meeting was organized specifically for the inauguration and highlighted the main axes of research being carried out in the regions of Tarragona. Participating in the meeting were all of the CEICS members involved in nutrition and health research. During the session papers were given by researchers from the URV, the Sant Joan Hospital and the Pere Mata University Hospital in Reus. Among the areas of research were the relation between the consumption of certain foods and positive effects on health, lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, nutrition during pregnancy and nutrition and mental health.
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summary in ENGLISH // URV, REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI
Research into biological systems with Agilent
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The company Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) and the new Centre for Omic Sciences (COS) are collaborating in the fields of mass spectrometry and NMR-based metabolomics, and the automation of integrated systems for biological research. According to Òscar Yanes, researcher at the COS, “Agilent is an ideal partner because many of their workflow solutions are excellent for our work in integrating data from different omic techniques”. The researcher added that collaborating with the company “will facilitate the interpretation and integration of results from different techniques”, thanks to Agilent’s instruments’ capacity to generate data. The COS is a centre of excellence at which Agilent demonstrates integrated workflows to clients working in biological sciences such as genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and lipidomics. “This is a strategic partnership between two organizations with similar
objectives”, said Gustavo Salem, vice-president and general manager of Agilent’s Biological Systems Division. “Both partners are committed to promoting advances in medicine by developing better ways of integrating data from multiple biological disciplines. We share this vision with the COS”. The COS will work on its research programmes in collaboration with the CTNS, private companies and research groups that have a special interest in the fields of diabetes, metabolic diseases, nutrition, health and other areas of biomedical research. Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE: A) is the world leader in technologies for chemical analysis, life sciences, electronics and communications. It employs 20,000 people who serve clients in more than 100 countries and the company made a net profit of 6.6 billion dollars in 2011. For more information go to a www.agilent.com.
The company Chenomx and the Centre for Omic Sciences will collaborate in metabolomics projects Chenomx and the Centre for Omic Sciences (COS) will collaborate to provide metabolomics services based on nuclear magnetic resonance techniques (NMR) to the European research community working in health sciences. “Chenomx offers a high quality programme for MNRbased metabolomics research”, explained Xavier Correig, principal researcher at the COS. “The programme has been accepted by a wide range of researchers from all over the world. We have used it for years and have confidence in its relevance to metabolomics projects”. NMR-based metabolomics is part of the integrated biology workflow available at the COS. The quantitative measures obtained from
NMR are a key component of research to discover new metabolic mechanisms affected by diseases, drugs or diet process. “The aim of Chenomx is to help clients use metabolomics to make important biological discoveries “, said Neil Taylor, president of Chenomx. By standardizing the methods of measurement, “we eliminate some of the tasks required to configure the platform and thus allow researchers to focus on making biological discoveries. By having a base in Europe, we can better support our clients and offer them attractive services”, he added. The Centre for Omic Sciences (www.omicscentre.com) was created by Continued on the next page 6
the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in collaboration with the Technological Centre for Nutrition and Health and opened its doors for business in September 2012. The scientific leaders at the COS have experience in metabolomics research and have actively applied the analysis
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techniques of Chenomx since 2009 at the URV. The COS has high performance and high definition NMR spectrometers and the support of highly qualified scientists.
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Wines without sulphites The Wine Technology Park in Falset (VITEC) has been awarded a subsidy of 451,000 euros by the Ministry of Economy and Competitivity through the programme Innpacto 2012 to carry out a pioneering research project that will produce and commercialise sulphur dioxide-free wines . Among other objectives, the research, which is planned to finish in 2015, aims to determine how to reduce or remove sulphur dioxide or sulphites from wine, guarantee its sensorial qualities and microbiological stability, and prevent its chemical oxidation. The project counts on the backing of Bodegas Roda (La Rioja), Adegas Valmiñor (Rias Baixas) and Agrovin S.A. and has received funding in excess of 2,000,000 euros. The project entitled “Development of an oenological pathway for producing high-quality wines free of sulphur dioxide (Vinnoso2)” consists of creating an oenological pathway – the whole series of operations in the process of producing wine – by applying the technologies available in the agri-food sector and knowledge of the wine sector. The function of sulphur dioxide in the vinification, storage and bottling stages will be evaluated and alternative products and procedures proposed. At present some wines on the market do not contain sulphur dioxide, particularly those that are the product of the application of biodynamics to viticulture and oenology, which focuses on the astronomical calendar and the production of vegetable and mineral preparations. However,
almost all of the conventionally-produced wines add sulphur dioxide at some point during the production process, since of all the products available it is the best for preserving the quality of the wine and protecting it from microbiological and oxidation problems. The project will result in the production and commercialisation of a product that is new to the market: a red ull de llebre wine and a white albarinho wine that are sulphite free. In this way, we will respond to the needs of a market that is increasingly demanding as far as issues of health and welfare are concerned. The role of sulfure dioxide Sulphuric anhydride, or sulphur dioxide, is naturally generated during the fermentation process by yeasts and is also the most commonly used additive in the vinification process. It inhibits the growth of microorganisms and protects the wine against chemical and enzymatic oxidations. Sulphur also protects the aromas, removes the flatness from wine and prevents any change in colour. Nevertheless, sulphur dioxide does have some negative points. If it is added at doses above 20 mg/l, it gives the wine an unpleasant odour. And, more important than this, some people can have allergic reactions. For this reason, its presence must be announced on the label by the expression ‘contains sulphites’.
Viticulture adapted to climate change The aim of the project Cenit-Demeter, coordinated by the company Torres, was to adapt viticulture and oenology to the new conditions generated by global warming and diminish its consequences by saving water and minimising the CO2 print. A total of 26 companies and 31 research groups from all over the country took part in the four-year study. Three of these groups were from the URV, led by Albert Mas, Albert Bordons and Fernando Zamora. INCAVI and Juvé i Camps, a company that is a member of CEICS, also participated. To carry out the project, seven working areas were set up: viticulture, vine transcryptomics, yeasts, lactic bacteria, analysis, cava and environment.
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One of the most interesting conclusions is that excess temperatures and the decrease in rainfall affect grape compounds during ripening. Progress has also been made in understanding the factors that need to be worked on in each climate, improving fermentation projects, implementing analysis techniques, producing cava with a persistent foam, optimising the treatment of waste water and reducing CO2 during cork production. The results will help to improve the Spanish wine sector and the project has become a reference for inter-company collaboration. Alliances have been created that have led to new research lines that hope to give continuity to the joint effort.
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The IREC presents the first semi-virtual laboratory in Europe for energy integration The Institute for Energy Research of Catalonia (IREC) now has a semi-virtual laboratory for energy integration (SEILAB), located at its headquarters in Tarragona. It is the first laboratory of its kind in Europe and hopes to become an obligatory point of reference for creating solutions for zero consumption buildings, for integrating renewable energies and for applying new energy concepts in smart cities. On the
new premises, experiments can be performed in real conditions and products quickly adapted to market needs. SEILAB is one of the first laboratories that enables integrated research to be carried out into the efficiency of thermal and electric systems. According to Jaume Salom, head of IREC’s research group in Thermal Energy and Building, the SEILAB facilities “are a test platform for Continued on the next page 6
summary in ENGLISH // URV, REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI
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summary in ENGLISH
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