Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020.

Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3–5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited

The reference site collaborative network of the european innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing

Seventy four Reference Sites of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) have been recognised by the European Commission in 2016 for their commitment to excellence in investing and scaling up innovative solutions for active and healthy ageing. The Reference Site Collaborative Network (RSCN) brings together the EIP on AHA Reference Sites awarded by the European Commission, and Candidate Reference Sites into a single forum. The overarching goals are to promote cooperation, share and transfer good practice and solutions in the development and scaling up of health and care strategies, policies and service delivery models, while at the same time supporting the action groups in their work. The RSCN aspires to be recognized by the EU Commission as the principal forum and authority representing all EIP on AHA Reference Sites. The RSCN will contribute to achieve the goals of the EIP on AHA by improving health and care outcomes for citizens across Europe, and the development of sustainable economic growth and the creation of jobs

Modelos matemáticos de depredador-presa en cultivos hortícolas en invernadero en el Sudeste de la Península Ibérica

La búsqueda de soluciones a la importante incidencia económica de las plagas en los cultivos ha sufrido, como es natural, una evolución a lo largo del tiempo, que ha sido muy rápida en las últimas décadas. Así en el estudio de la dinámica de población de las especies plaga, dentro del cultivo, es fundamental considerar los sistemas depredador-presa, parasitoide-hospedante, y patógeno- hospedante, según sea el tipo de enemigo natural en el que estemos interesados. Como aplicación de los modelos depredador-presa se han hecho estudios relativos a especies plaga en cultivos hortícolas bajo plástico. En concreto dos cultivos: pimiento y tomate,afectados por tres grupos de especies plaga de gran severidad económica: "heliotis del tomate", "mosca blanca" y el "trips occidental de las flores". Como depredadores para el control biológico de estas especies plaga, destacan dos: "Orius" y "Macrolophus". Analizamos desde el punto de vista matemático las condiciones suficientes para la existencia de atractores globales, de las soluciones de los posibles sistemas diferenciales (depredador-presa generalmente de tipo periódico) que pueden modelar este proceso. Además, se han realizado ajustes con los citados modelos, analizando su buena adecuación mediante coeficientes estadísticos

MicroRNA Expression Profiling of Peripheral Blood Samples Predicts Resistance to First-line Sunitinib in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients

Anti-angiogenic therapy benefits many patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), but there is still a need for predictive markers that help in selecting the best therapy for individual patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate cancer cell behavior and may be attractive biomarkers for prognosis and prediction of response. Forty-four patients with RCC were recruited into this observational prospective study conducted in nine Spanish institutions. Peripheral blood samples were taken before initiation of therapy and 14 days later in patients receiving first-line therapy with sunitinib for advanced RCC. miRNA expression in peripheral blood was assessed using microarrays and L2 boosting was applied to filtered miRNA expression data. Several models predicting poor and prolonged response to sunitinib were constructed and evaluated by binary logistic regression. Blood samples from 38 patients and 287 miRNAs were evaluated. Twenty-eight miRNAs of the 287 were related to poor response and 23 of the 287 were related to prolonged response to sunitinib treatment. Predictive models identified populations with differences in the established end points. In the poor response group, median time to progression was 3.5 months and the overall survival was 8.5, whereas in the prolonged response group these values were 24 and 29.5 months, respectively. Ontology analyses pointed out to cancer-related pathways, such angiogenesis and apoptosis. miRNA expression signatures, measured in peripheral blood, may stratify patients with advanced RCC according to their response to first-line therapy with sunitinib, improving diagnostic accuracy. After proper validation, these signatures could be used to tailor therapy in this setting