Changing Trends in the Global Consumption of Treatments Used in Hospitalized Patients for COVID-19: A Time Series Multicentre Study

Aim: To analyze trends in the prescription of COVID-19 treatments for hospitalized patients during the pandemic. Methods: Multicenter, ecological, time-series study of aggregate data for all adult patients with COVID-19 treated in five acute-care hospitals in Barcelona, Spain, between March 2020 and May 2021. Trends in the monthly prevalence of drugs used against COVID-19 were analyzed by the Mantel-Haenszel test. Results: The participating hospitals admitted 22,277 patients with COVID-19 during the study period, reporting an overall mortality of 10.8%. In the first months of the pandemic, lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine were the most frequently used antivirals, but these fell into disuse and were replaced by remdesivir in July 2020. By contrast, the trend in tocilizumab use varied, first peaking in April and May 2020, declining until January 2021, and showing a discrete upward trend thereafter. Regarding corticosteroid use, we observed a notable upward trend in the use of dexamethasone 6 mg per day from July 2020. Finally, there was a high prevalence of antibiotics use, especially azithromycin, in the first three months, but this decreased thereafter. Conclusions: Treatment for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 evolved with the changing scientific evidence during the pandemic. Initially, multiple drugs were empirically used that subsequently could not demonstrate clinical benefit. In future pandemics, stakeholders should strive to promote the early implementation of adaptive randomized clinical trials

Guia per a la implementació territorial de projectes de millora en l’atenció a la complexitat

Pacients crònics complexos; Atenció a la cronicitat avançada; Ruta assistencial de la complexitatPacientes crónicos complejos; Atención a la cronicidad avanzada; Ruta asistencial de la complejidadComplex chronic patients; Attention to advanced chronicity; Complexity care routeEls objectius d’aquesta guia són: definir les característiques, les estratègies d’identificació i el model genèric d’atenció de PCC i MACA i aportar una visió pragmàtica de la implementació d’iniciatives de base territorial per a l’atenció d’aquests pacients

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Largest HIV-1 CRF02_AG Outbreak in Spain: Evidence for Onward Transmissions

Background and Aim: The circulating recombinant form 02_AG (CRF02_AG) is the predominant clade among the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) non-Bs with a prevalence of 5.97% (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 5.41–6.57%) across Spain. Our aim was to estimate the levels of regional clustering for CRF02_AG and the spatiotemporal characteristics of the largest CRF02_AG subepidemic in Spain.Methods: We studied 396 CRF02_AG sequences obtained from HIV-1 diagnosed patients during 2000–2014 from 10 autonomous communities of Spain. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the 391 CRF02_AG sequences along with all globally sampled CRF02_AG sequences (N = 3,302) as references. Phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis was performed to the largest CRF02_AG monophyletic cluster by a Bayesian method in BEAST v1.8.0 and by reconstructing ancestral states using the criterion of parsimony in Mesquite v3.4, respectively.Results: The HIV-1 CRF02_AG prevalence differed across Spanish autonomous communities we sampled from (p < 0.001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 52.7% of the CRF02_AG sequences formed 56 monophyletic clusters, with a range of 2–79 sequences. The CRF02_AG regional dispersal differed across Spain (p = 0.003), as suggested by monophyletic clustering. For the largest monophyletic cluster (subepidemic) (N = 79), 49.4% of the clustered sequences originated from Madrid, while most sequences (51.9%) had been obtained from men having sex with men (MSM). Molecular clock analysis suggested that the origin (tMRCA) of the CRF02_AG subepidemic was in 2002 (median estimate; 95% Highest Posterior Density-HPD interval: 1999–2004). Additionally, we found significant clustering within the CRF02_AG subepidemic according to the ethnic origin.Conclusion: CRF02_AG has been introduced as a result of multiple introductions in Spain, following regional dispersal in several cases. We showed that CRF02_AG transmissions were mostly due to regional dispersal in Spain. The hot-spot for the largest CRF02_AG regional subepidemic in Spain was in Madrid associated with MSM transmission risk group. The existence of subepidemics suggest that several spillovers occurred from Madrid to other areas. CRF02_AG sequences from Hispanics were clustered in a separate subclade suggesting no linkage between the local and Hispanic subepidemics

El Niu Volant = El Nido Volante = The Flying Nest

El Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB) té com a objectiu generar i compartir coneixement amb la voluntat de crear una societat més informada, connectada i responsable amb la natura. Aquest objectiu s’assoleix mitjançant la preservació d’unes col·leccions que són testimoni material del patrimoni natural, la recerca de la diversitat biològica i geològica i un model educatiu propi que estimula l’exploració, l’aprenentatge i la participació entre el públic més ampli.El Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Barcelona (MCNB) tiene por objetivo generar y compartir conocimiento con la voluntad de crear una sociedad más informada, conectada y responsable con la naturaleza. Este objetivo se logra mediante la preservación de unas colecciones que son testigo material del patrimonio natural, la búsqueda de la diversidad biológica y geológica y un modelo educativo propio que estimula la exploración, el aprendizaje y la participación entre el público más amplio.The Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona (MCNB) aims to generate and share knowledge with a desire to create a society that is more informed, connected and responsible towards nature. This goal is achieved through the preservation of collections that are material evidence of the natural heritage, the search for biological and geological diversity and an own educational model that encourages exploration, learning and participation among the wider public

Forat 18

Vídeo emitido en el programa 'Tot l'Esport' del Canal 33. Vídeo publicado aunque no se ha encontrado el depósito legalMuestra la actividad deportiva que realiza un joven con síndrome de Down como una herramienta más para su desarrollo y como refuerzo para su educación.CataluñaES

Del Niu Volant a les escoles bressol de ciència

El Niu Volant viatja del Museu de Ciències Naturals a les escoles bressol per apropar-hi propostes didàctiques d’aprenentatge de les ciències naturals. Després de l’experiència amb el Niu Volant, dues escoles han transferit el projecte creant el seu propi espai de ciència

Guaitacargols: l’estudi de la biodiversitat de cargols terrestres a secundària

Guaitacargols és un projecte adreçat a centres d’educació secundària que proposa fer un estudi de la biodiversitat de cargols terrestres en espais propers als centres. La iniciativa és impulsada pel Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB), afavoreix el treball en xarxa amb el personal docent participant i compta amb l’acompanyament expert de l’Associació Catalana de Malacologia (ACM). El projecte apropa l’alumnat a la metodologia científica a través d’un estudi de camp real i inclou la filosofia de la ciència ciutadana, tot posant en valor la participació democratitzada de la ciutadania en la construcció del coneixement científic. Arran de la formació i les eines aportades pel MCNB i l’ACM, els equips docents de l’Institut ca n’Oriac (Sabadell) i de I’Institut Moianès (Moià) han dissenyat seqüències educatives que desenvolupen competències i continguts científics a partir del context dels cargols terrestres. Les dades obtingudes amb el treball de camp i la seva posterior identificació han estat validades científicamen

Akt-mediated FoxO1 inhibition is required for liver regeneration

Understanding the hepatic regenerative process has clinical interest as the effectiveness of many treatments for chronic liver diseases is conditioned by efficient liver regeneration. Experimental evidence points to the need for a temporal coordination between cytokines, growth factors, and metabolic signaling pathways to enable successful liver regeneration. One intracellular mediator that acts as a signal integration node for these processes is the serine-threonine kinase Akt/protein kinase B (Akt). To investigate the contribution of Akt during hepatic regeneration, we performed partial hepatectomy in mice lacking Akt1, Akt2, or both isoforms. We found that absence of Akt1 or Akt2 does not influence liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. However, hepatic-specific Akt1 and Akt2 null mice show impaired liver regeneration and increased mortality. The major abnormal cellular events observed in total Akt-deficient livers were a marked reduction in cell proliferation, cell hypertrophy, glycogenesis, and lipid droplet formation. Most importantly, liver-specific deletion of FoxO1, a transcription factor regulated by Akt, rescued the hepatic regenerative capability in Akt1-deficient and Akt2- deficient mice and normalized the cellular events associated with liver regeneration. Conclusion: The Akt-FoxO1 signaling pathway plays an essential role during liver regeneration