Under global change, the ion concentration of aquatic ecosystems is changing worldwide. Many freshwater ecosystems are being salinized by anthropogenic salt inputs, whereas many naturally saline ones are being diluted by agricultural drainages. This occurs concomitantly with changes in other stressors, which can result in additive, antagonistic or synergistic effects on organisms. We reviewed experimental studies that manipulated salinity and other abiotic stressors, on inland and transitional aquatic habitats, to (i) synthesize their main effects on organisms’ performance, (ii) quantify the frequency of joint effect types across studies and (iii) determine the overall individual and joint effects and their variation among salinity–stressor pairs and organism groups using meta-analyses. Additive effects were slightly more frequent (54%) than non-additive ones (46%) across all the studies (n ¿ 105 responses). However, antagonistic effects were dominant for the stressor pair salinity and toxicants (44%, n ¿ 43), transitional habitats (48%, n ¿ 31) and vertebrates (71%, n ¿ 21). Meta-analyses showed detrimental additive joint effects of salinity and other stressors on organism performance and a greater individual impact of salinity than the other stressors. These results were consistent across stressor pairs and organism types. These findings suggest that strategies to mitigate multiple stressor impacts on aquatic ecosystems should prioritize restoring natural salinity concentrations. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Salt in freshwaters: causes, ecological consequences and future prospects’.

The thiol-Michael addition (TMA) is a powerful methodology to click several fragments together, despite having been underestimated in the synthesis of complex systems for supramolecular chemistry. Herein, a very fast and efficient method has been developed to make covalent molecular capsules by taking advantage of the TMA click reaction. Several scaffolds commonly used in supramolecular chemistry, such as calixarenes, CTV, or cavitands, have been used to quickly obtain covalent cages. Additionally, a 'click&click' procedure has been also developed, by sequential combination of TMA and CuAAC click reaction, as an easy and quick way to build complex molecular structures.

The thiol-Michael addition (TMA) is a powerful methodology to click several fragments together, despite having been underestimated in the synthesis of complex systems for supramolecular chemistry. Herein, a very fast and efficient method has been developed to make covalent molecular capsules by taking advantage of the TMA click reaction. Several scaffolds commonly used in supramolecular chemistry, such as calixarenes, CTV, or cavitands, have been used to quickly obtain covalent cages. Additionally, a 'click&click' procedure has been also developed, by sequential combination of TMA and CuAAC click reaction, as an easy and quick way to build complex molecular structures.

Molecular dynamics (MD) is currently one of the preferred techniques employed to understand hydrogelation processes for its ability to include large amounts of atoms in computational calculations, since substantial amounts of solvent molecules are involved in gel formation. MD studies have helped to rationalize experimental outcomes that in many occasions were not well understood based on experimental observations. Additionally, MD has been used to study changes in gel physical properties triggered by variations in reaction conditions or gelator structures. Changes in many physical properties were understood using MD, including molecular diffusion, hydrogel swelling and volume transitions. All the examples gathered in this review might help the reader to discover the current state of the art in MD studies carried out to study hydrogelation processes as well as the pioneering studies that paved the way to introduce MD in the field of gels.

A significant portion of the agricultural food sector today is geared towards developing sustainable and organically based products, contributing to a widely acknowledged ‘quality turn’ in food markets (Goodman 2004). Organic viticulture is booming worldwide, having increased threefold between 2004 and 2015 (Willer and Lernoud 2016). Consumers are willing to pay a premium for wines deriving from organic vineyards in the belief that they are healthier, tastier, and of higher quality, although the differences between organic, biodynamic, or sulfite free wines remains confusing for many (Amato et al. 2017). In exploring this paradigm shift, current research addresses the question of how organic wines can provide increased value given the lack of clarity about the full list of ingredient and qualities (Krzywoszynska 2015; Delmas et al. 2016)...

Considering how organisms adapt to stress is essential if we are to anticipate biological responses to global change in ecosystems. Communities in stressful environments can potentially be assembled by specialists (i.e. species that only occur in a limited range of environmental conditions) and/or generalist species with wider environmental tolerances. We review the existing literature on the salinity tolerance of aquatic insects previously identified as saline specialists because they were exclusively found in saline habitats, and explore if these saline realized niche specialists are also specialists in their fundamental niches or on the contrary are fundamental niche generalist species confined to the highest salinities they can tolerate. The results suggest that species inhabiting saline waters are generalists in their fundamental niches, with a predominant pattern of high survival in freshwater low salinity conditions, where their fitness tends to be similar or even higher than in saline waters. Additionally, their performance in freshwater tends to be similar to related strictly freshwater species, so no apparent trade-off of generalization is shown. These results are discussed in the framework of the ecological and evolutionary processes driving community assembly across the osmotic stress gradient, and their potential implications for predicting impacts from saline dilution and freshwater salinization. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Salt in freshwaters: causes, ecological consequences and future prospects’.

The synthesis of benzimidazole-fused iminosugars through a tandem β-fragmentation-intramolecular cyclization reaction is described. The use of the benzimidazole ring as the internal nucleophile and the use of phenyliodosophthalate (PhI(Phth)), a new metal-free and low toxic hypervalent iodine reagent, are the most remarkable novelties of this synthetic strategy. With this approach, we have demonstrated the usefulness of the fragmentation of anomeric alkoxyl radicals promoted by the PhI(Phth)/I system for the preparation of new compounds with potential interest for both medicinal and synthetic chemists.

In this work we have investigated the potential benefits of using supramolecular gel networks as reaction media to carry out air-sensitive metal-free light-induced trifluoromethylation of six-membered (hetero)arenes under aerobic conditions. This reaction was performed at room temperature (RT) using sodium triflinate (CF₃SO₂Na, Langlois' reagent) as a source of radicals and diacetyl as electron donor. The effects of confinement in gel media, concentration of reactants, and type of light source on yield and product distribution were evaluated and compared to the results obtained in homogeneous solution. Four different low molecular weight (LMW) gelators were employed in this study. The results confirmed the blocking effect of the gel medium against reaction quenching by external oxygen, as well as a certain control on the kinetics and selectivity.

The Camino de Santiago is a UNESCO World Heritage Trail which has become a symbol of the shared history and culture of European nations. In recent years, Spanish institutions and economic actors have perceived the Camino as an opportunity to promote tourism and to reverse the de-population of rural areas of northern Spain. Consequently, the Camino has undergone a process of tourism promotion and commodification that has transformed it in various ways. Drawing on a long-term ethnographic engagement, this article explores the ongoing transformations of the Camino in the region of Maragatería (Spain), showing that commodification processes tend to bind the Camino to a physical structure, disregarding its intangible aspects. As institutional and market logics have been imposed on the Camino, the alternative logics of other social actors have been delegitimized and gradually expelled from the Camino. The alternative forms of reasoning of these actors facing commodification are analyzed through the concept of "minor logics." The suppression of minor logics is interpreted as a self-destroying process that ultimately erodes the social creativity on which the Camino's aura of authenticity as a tourism product depends.