Stability Conditions and the Single Mode Approximation in FQHE

A thermodynamic stability criterion for the spontaneous breaking of the translation invariance of many particle systems is derived. It simply requires the positive character of the wavevector dependent dielectric function as generalising the same condition for macroscopic dielectric constants. Its application to the Single Mode Approximation (SMA) for the description of the collective modes of the filling factor 1/m Laughlin states is considered. The results indicate that the stability condition is violated by the SMA for all the relevant states m=3,5,7,9 in a wavevector neighborhood of the magneto-roton minima. These conclusions are in qualitative agreement with similar results obtained from the solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation at 1/3 filling factor for both composite fermions and phenomenologically described electrons in the Laughlin state.Comment: 14 pages, two figures, the spelling and acknowledgments were correcte

Treatment of hospital wastewater using aerobic granular sludge technology: Removal performance and microbial dynamics

Hospital wastewater contains several contaminants of emerging concern that cannot be removed by conventional treatment processes. Many of these emerging contaminants are pharmaceutical compounds, which are found in hospital wastewater at high loads. The presence of these toxics affects to the performance of biological processes in receiving wastewater treatment plants. This research evaluated the capability of the aerobic granular sludge technology to remove pharmaceutical compounds from hospital wastewater in a single chamber, which to date has not been investigated with real hospital wastewater. Despite the high non-biodegradable organic matter content, COD and BOD5 removal reached 75 % and 100 %, respectively. Nitrogen removal ranged from 70 %–90 %, and phosphate removal was maximum 50 %. The technology was able to efficiently remove antibiotics, antiepileptic and antidepressant drugs, whereas non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were removed and released under oscillating patterns. The granular biomass increased in size, but it reduced the settling velocity. Bacterial and fungal communities were acclimated to pharmaceutical inlet, whereas the archaeal population had a progressive adaptation over time. The aerobic granular sludge technology is therefore a viable approach to enhance the disposal of real hospital wastewater prior to discharge into the urban wastewater network

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a University Population: Differences Between Faculty, Administrative Staff and Students.

Introduction: Globally, 31% of deaths are attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD). There are many factors that can influence CVD that can be useful for determining if a population is at risk; these factors include stress, occupation, and lifestyle. Objective: to identify and compare the prevalence of CVD risk factors among those attending a university clinic for nutritional advice. Methodology: the sample of this cross-sectional study included the teaching and research staff (Faculty), people working in administration and services (ASS) and students. The risk factors of obesity/overweight, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes type 2, sedentary lifestyle, and smoking were quantified for 98 university students, faculty and staff. Results: It was found that 80% of the sample had one or more of the CVD risks, furthermore, more than 50% had over three of the risk factors. Those particularly at risk were the individuals within the Faculty group with a (p<0.05) prevalence of having three of the risk components compared to the rest of the population. However, those within the ASS group were identified to live a more sedentary lifestyle compared to the Faculty (p<0.05). Within this sample population differences could be found for the prevalence of CVD risk factors. Conclusions: To be able to provide preventative measures and protect those who are most vulnerable it is crucial to be able to pinpoint these differences within a population. Funding. M. Lozano-Casanova are supported by a FPU grant number: FPU21/04232 by the Ministerio de Universidades

Water resource recovery by means of microalgae cultivation in outdoor photobioreactors using the effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor fed with pre-treated sewage

[EN] With the aim of assessing the potential of microalgae cultivation for water resource recovery (WRR), the performance of three 0.55 m3 flat-plate photobioreactors (PBRs) was evaluated in terms of nutrient removal rate (NRR) and biomass production. The PBRs were operated outdoor (at ambient temperature and light intensity) using as growth media the nutrient-rich effluent from an AnMBR fed with pre-treated sewage. Solar irradiance was the most determining factor affecting NRR. Biomass productivity was significantly affected by temperatures below 20 °C. The maximum biomass productivity (52.3 mg VSS·L&#8722;1·d&#8722;1) and NRR (5.84 mg NH4-N·L&#8722;1·d&#8722;1 and 0.85 mg PO4-P·L&#8722;1·d&#8722;1) were achieved at solar irradiance of 395 &#956;E·m&#8722;2·s&#8722;1, temperature of 25.5 °C, and HRT of 8 days. Under these conditions, it was possible to comply with effluent nutrient standards (European Directive 91/271/CEE) when the nutrient content in the influent was in the range of 40 50 mg N·L&#8722;1 and 6 7 mg P·L&#8722;1.This research work was possible thanks to project CTM2011-28595-C02-01/02 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness jointly with the European Regional Development Fund and Generalitat Valenciana (GVA-ACOMP2013/203). This research was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation via a pre-doctoral FPU fellowship to the second author (AP2010-3708).Viruela Navarro, A.; Murgui Mezquita, M.; Gómez Gil, TA.; Durán Pinzón, F.; Robles Martínez, Á.; Ruano García, MV.; Ferrer Polo, J.... (2016). Water resource recovery by means of microalgae cultivation in outdoor photobioreactors using the effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor fed with pre-treated sewage. Bioresource Technology. 218:447-454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.06.116S44745421

Epidemiologic Features and Control Measures during Monkeypox Outbreak, Spain, June 2022

During June 2022, Spain was one of the countries most affected worldwide by a multicountry monkeypox outbreak with chains of transmission without identified links to disease-endemic countries. We provide epidemiologic features of cases reported in Spain and the coordinated measures taken to respond to this outbreak.S

Integrative development of a short screening questionnaire of highly processed food consumption (sQ-HPF)

Background: Recent lifestyle changes include increased consumption of highly processed foods (HPF), which has been associated with an increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, nutritional information relies on the estimation of HPF consumption from food-frequency questionnaires (FFQ) that are not explicitly developed for this purpose. We aimed to develop a short screening questionnaire of HPF consumption (sQ-HPF) that integrates criteria from the existing food classification systems. Methods: Data from 4400 participants (48.1% female and 51.9% male, 64.9 +/- 4.9 years) of the Spanish PREDIMED-Plus (PREvention with MEDiterranean DIet) trial were used for this analysis. Items from the FFQ were classified according to four main food processing-based classification systems (NOVA, IARC, IFIC and UNC). Participants were classified into tertiles of HPF consumption according to each system. Using binomial logistic regression, food groups associated with agreement in the highest tertile for at least two classification systems were chosen as items for the questionnaire. ROC analysis was used to determine cut-off points for the frequency of consumption of each item, from which a score was calculated. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was assessed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach's analysis, and agreement with the four classifications was assessed with weighted kappa coefficients. Results: Regression analysis identified 14 food groups (items) associated with high HPF consumption for at least two classification systems. EFA showed that items were representative contributors of a single underlying factor, the HPF dietary pattern (factor loadings around 0.2). We constructed a questionnaire asking about the frequency of consumption of those items. The threshold frequency of consumption was selected using ROC analysis. Comparison of the four classification systems and the sQ-HPF showed a fair to high agreement. Significant changes in lifestyle characteristics were detected across tertiles of the sQ-HPF score. Longitudinal changes in HPF consumption were also detected by the sQ-HPF, concordantly with existing classification systems. Conclusions: We developed a practical tool to measure HPF consumption, the sQ-HPF. This may be a valuable instrument to study its relationship with NCDs

Long daytime napping is associated with increased adiposity and type 2 diabetes in an elderly population with metabolic syndrome

Research examining associations between objectively-measured napping time and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate daytime napping in relation to T2D and adiposity measures in elderly individuals from the Mediterranean region. A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 2190 elderly participants with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome, in the PREDIMED-Plus trial, was carried out. Accelerometer-derived napping was measured. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for T2D were obtained using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression with constant time. Linear regression models were fitted to examine associations of napping with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Participants napping ≥90 min had a higher prevalence of T2D (PR 1.37 (1.06, 1.78)) compared with those napping 5 to <30 min per day. Significant positive associations with BMI and WC were found in those participants napping ≥30 min as compared to those napping 5 to <30 min per day. The findings of this study suggest that longer daytime napping is associated with higher T2D prevalence and greater adiposity measures in an elderly Spanish population at high cardiovascular risk

A crowdsourcing database for the copy-number variation of the Spanish population

Background: Despite being a very common type of genetic variation, the distribution of copy-number variations (CNVs) in the population is still poorly understood. The knowledge of the genetic variability, especially at the level of the local population, is a critical factor for distinguishing pathogenic from non-pathogenic variation in the discovery of new disease variants. Results: Here, we present the SPAnish Copy Number Alterations Collaborative Server (SPACNACS), which currently contains copy number variation profiles obtained from more than 400 genomes and exomes of unrelated Spanish individuals. By means of a collaborative crowdsourcing effort whole genome and whole exome sequencing data, produced by local genomic projects and for other purposes, is continuously collected. Once checked both, the Spanish ancestry and the lack of kinship with other individuals in the SPACNACS, the CNVs are inferred for these sequences and they are used to populate the database. A web interface allows querying the database with different filters that include ICD10 upper categories. This allows discarding samples from the disease under study and obtaining pseudo-control CNV profiles from the local population. We also show here additional studies on the local impact of CNVs in some phenotypes and on pharmacogenomic variants. SPACNACS can be accessed at: http://csvs.clinbioinfosspa.es/spacnacs/. Conclusion: SPACNACS facilitates disease gene discovery by providing detailed information of the local variability of the population and exemplifies how to reuse genomic data produced for other purposes to build a local reference database

Dietary Iron, Anemia Markers, Cognition, and Quality of Life in Older Community-Dwelling Subjects at High Cardiovascular Risk

Anemia causes hypo-oxygenation in the brain, which could lead to cognitive disorders. We examined dietary iron intake as well as anemia markers (i.e., hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume) and diabetes coexistence in relation to neuropsychological function and quality of life. In this study, 6117 community-dwelling adults aged 55-75 years (men) and 60-75 years (women) with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome were involved. We performed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Trail Making Test parts A and B (TMT-A/B), Semantic Verbal Fluency of animals (VFT-a), Phonological Verbal Fluency of letter P (VFT-p), Digit Span Test (DST), the Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF36-HRQL test). Dietary iron intake did not influence neuropsychological function or quality of life. However, anemia and lower levels of anemia markers were associated with worse scores in all neurophysiological and SF36-HRQL tests overall, but were especially clear in the MMSE, TMT-B (cognitive flexibility), and the physical component of the SF36-HRQL test. The relationships between anemia and diminished performance in the TMT-A/B and VFT tasks were notably pronounced and statistically significant solely among participants with diabetes. In brief, anemia and reduced levels of anemia markers were linked to inferior cognitive function, worse scores in different domains of executive function, as well as a poorer physical, but not mental, component of quality of life. It was also suggested that the coexistence of diabetes in anemic patients may exacerbate this negative impact on cognition. Nevertheless, dietary iron intake showed no correlation with any of the outcomes. To make conclusive recommendations for clinical practice, our findings need to be thoroughly tested through methodologically rigorous studies that minimize the risk of reverse causality

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality