Colloquium: Time-reversal violation with quantum-entangled B mesons

Symmetry transformations have been proven a bedrock tool for understanding the nature of particle interactions, formulating, and testing fundamental theories. Based on the up to now unbroken CPT symmetry, the violation of the CP symmetry between matter and antimatter by weak interactions, discovered in the decay of kaons in 1964 and observed more recently in 2001 in B mesons, strongly suggests that the behavior of these particles under weak interactions must also be asymmetric under time reversal T. However, until recent years there has not been a direct detection of the expected time-reversal violation in the time evolution of any system. This Colloquium examines the field of time-reversal symmetry breaking in the fundamental laws of physics. For transitions, its observation requires an asymmetry with exchange of initial and final states. A discussion is given of the conceptual basis for such an exchange with unstable particles, using the quantum properties of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement available at B meson factories combined with the decay as a filtering measurement. The method allows a clear-cut separation of different transitions between flavor and CP eigenstates in the decay of neutral B mesons. These ideas have been implemented for the experiment by the BABAR Collaboration at SLAC's B factory. The results, presented in 2012, prove beyond any doubt the violation of time-reversal invariance in the time evolution between these two states of the neutral B meson

Caracterización genómica del microalga Trebouxia sp. TR9 aislada del liquen Ramalina farinacea (L.) Ach. mediante secuenciación masiva

Los líquenes son complejas entidades simbióticas originadas por asociaciones cíclicas e interacciones positivas de organismos muy diferentes, un hongo heterotrófico y uno o varios “fotobiontes” autótrofos fotosintéticos, tanto algas verdes unicelulares, como cianobaterias o ambos. Además, comunidades específicas de bacterias aparecen como simbiontes obligados de líquenes. En todos los talos del liquen Ramalina farinacea (L.) Ach., coexisten las dos mismas especies de algas Trebouxia (T. jamesii -TR1- y Trebouxia sp. TR9). Esta forma de asociación simbiótica específica y selectiva es interesante como modelo de la coexistencia de dos especies diferentes de Trebouxia dentro de un mismo talo liquénico. Esta coexistencia es probable que sea promovida por diferentes contextos fisiológicos. Trebouxia sp. TR9 muestra respuestas originales que se inducen frente al estrés abiótico y tiene un mejor rendimiento fisiológico que T. jamesii. Estas características pueden ser el reflejo de su mayor capacidad para llevar a cabo ajustes metabólicos clave. Para investigar la base genética de la plasticidad de esta especie de microalga, se ha generado un estudio de las secuencias genómicas de Trebouxia sp. TR9 utilizando NGS. El ADN total obtenido de cultivos de Trebouxia sp. TR9 aislados del liquen Ramalina farinacea fue secuenciado con las tecnologías 454 y Solexa con objeto de analizar su estructura genómica e investigar nuevas secuencias de genes mediante la comparación con las bases de datos existentes de genomas de algas verdes. Como resultado, se han obtenido las secuencias de los genomas cloroplástico, mitocondrial y nuclear de Trebouxia sp. TR9. Los genomas mitocondriales y cloroplásticos han sido anotados de forma manual y se han identificado en ellos un total de 61 y 108 genes, respectivamente. El genoma mitocondrial es de naturaleza circular y tiene un tamaño de 70.070 nt. en algunos de los genes anotados se han localizado 9 intrones de tipo I, algunos de los cuales contienen ORFs que codifican “Homing endonucleases” de la familia LAGLIDADG. El genoma cloroplástico de Trebouxia sp. TR9 es también de naturaleza circular y posee la estructura cuatripartita típica de los cloroplastos de plantas vasculares, las regiones repetidas invertidas o IR incluyen un único gen, el rbcL. El tamaño final del genoma cloroplástico obtenido ha sido de 303.323 nt siendo uno de los mayores tamaños conocidos en el contexto de las algas verdes de la división Chlorophyta. En algunos genes, se han identificado 12 intrones de tipo I, 6 de ellos con ORFs que podrían codificar “Homing endonucleasas” de la familia LAGLIDADG. El genoma nuclear de Trebouxia sp. TR9 ha sido ensamblado con el programa Velvet utilizando diferentes tamaños de K-mer (21-133). El ensamblaje más óptimo del genoma nuclear abarcaba 2.626 "contigs" que tenían una longitud total de 59.121.427 nt junto a un tamaño de “contig” N50 y N95 de 142.866 nt y 21.727 nt, respectivamente. Para comprobar la continuidad del ensamblaje nuclear se ha utilizado el espacio génico calculado con la herramienta CEGMA. El genoma nuclear comprendía un 91 y 97 % del conjunto de 248 CEGs de forma completa y parcial, respectivamente. La anotación del genoma nuclear se basó en la predicción de genes “ab initio” con el programa AUGUSTUS entrenado con los modelos obtenidos anteriormente con el programa CEGMA. Como resultado, se obtuvieron 9.499 posibles modelos génicos, 6.364 fueron anotados con al menos un término de Gene Ontology (GO) y de ellos, 2.249 mostraron un número enzimático asociado. Se han encontrado elementos móviles en el genoma nuclear, la mayoría de ellos son retrotransposones con repeticiones terminales largas (LTR), de los cuales, los más abundantes son de tipo Gypsy/DIRS1 y Ty1/Copia. Se han detectado un total de 10.922 dominios proteicos PFAM presentes en 6.544 modelos proteicos de los que 2.147 y 2.979 son compartidos por todas o por, al menos, una de las especies de microalgas verdes con las que se ha comparado este genoma (Asterochloris sp., Chlorella variabilis, Coccomyxa subellipsoidea y Chlamydomonas reindhartii), respectivamente. Además, se han encontrado 19 motivos PFAM específicos de la división Chlorophyta, 6 motivos propios de las algas liquénicas Trebouxia sp. TR9 y Asterochloris sp y 23 motivos propios de Trebouxia sp. TR9. La identificación de proteínas relacionadas con la asimilación de carbono sugiere que Trebouxia sp. TR9 puede tener mecanismos de concentración de carbono de tipo C3 y C4/CAM. El estudio de enzimas relacionadas con el metabolismo de carbohidratos presentes en los modelos proteicos de Trebouxia sp. TR9 y otras algas de la clase Trebouxiophyceae indica que, entre el 11 y el 12 % de las proteínas totales de estas algas, pertenecían al menos a un clan de las familias de la base de datos “Carbohydrate-Active enZYmes Database” (CAZy). Además, las anotaciones de genes revelaron la existencia de proteínas relacionadas con virus. Los datos obtenidos en esta tesis doctoral no sugieren una reducción dramática del genoma de Trebouxia sp. TR9 que pueda relacionarse a su forma de vida simbiótica. Este trabajo ofrece una visión general de los tres genomas del microalga Trebouxia sp. TR9 y de sus principales características y estructuras, que aportan datos inéditos y relevantes para el análisis de las tendencias evolutivas de las Trebouxiophyceae. Así, p. ej., respecto a otras filogenias realizadas en base a genes cloroplásticos, la realizada aquí con las secuencias de las proteínas codificadas por siete genes del genoma mitocondrial de Trebouxia sp. TR9 y los de 25 especies de algas verdes, han puesto de manifiesto dos nuevas diferencias fundamentales: (i) la monofilia de la clase Trebouxiophyceae y (ii) la posición de la clase Pedinophyceae más relacionada con las Chlorophyceae y Ulvophyceae.Lichens are complex symbiotic entities originated by cyclical associations and positive interactions of very different organisms, a heterotrophic fungus and one or several photosynthetic autotrophs "photobionts", either unicellular green algae, cyanobacteria or both. Also, specific bacterial communities remain obligate lichen symbionts. In the lichen thalli of Ramalina farinacea (L.) Ach., the same two algal Trebouxia species coexist in every thallus (T. jamesii -TR1- and Trebouxia sp. TR9). This specific and selective form of symbiotic association is interesting as a model of the coexistence of two different Trebouxia species within the same lichen thallus. Such coexistence is likely to be promoted by different physiological backgrounds. Trebouxia sp. TR9 shows novel inducible responses against abiotic stress and seems to have a better physiological performance than T. jamesii. These features may reflect its greater capacity to undertake key metabolic adjustments. To investigate the genetic basis of the physiological plasticity of this microalgal species, a survey of the genomic sequences of Trebouxia sp. TR9 by NGS has been generated. The total DNA obtained from cultures of Trebouxia sp. TR9, isolated from the lichen Ramalina farinacea, was sequenced by 454 and Solexa technologies in order to analyze its genome structure as well as to explore new gene sequences by comparing it with available green algae genome databases. As a result, the sequences of the chloroplast, mitochondrial and nuclear genomes of Trebouxia sp. TR9 were produced. Mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes were annotated manually and a total of 61 and 108 genes, respectively, have been identified. The mitochondrial genome is circular and its size is 70,070 bp, 9 type I introns have been detected in several genes; somo of them contains ORFs codifying “Homing endonucleases” of the LAGLIDADG family. The chloroplast genome of Trebouxia sp. TR9 is also circular and shows the typical quadripartite structure of land plant chloroplasts and the IR, or inverted repeat regions, include a single gene, rbcL. The final size of the chloroplast genome was 303,323 pb, this being one of the largest known in the Chlorophyta green algae context. 12 type I introns have been detected; six of them contain ORFs codifying Homing endonucleases of the LAGLIDADG family. The nuclear genome of Trebouxia sp. TR9 has been assembled with Velvet software using different K-mer sizes (21-133). The most optimal assembly comprise 2,626 "contigs" with a total length of 59,121,427 bp, N50 and N95 "contig" length of 142,866 bp and 21,727 bp, respectively. To check the continuity of the nuclear assembly the CEGMA gene space was calculated. The nuclear genome comprised 91% and 97% of the total of 248 complete and incomplete CEGs, respectively. The "ab initio" annotation gene prediction was based on AUGUSTUS software trained with the models previously obtained with CEGMA. 9,499 possible gene models were obtained, 6,364 were annotated showing at least one term of Gene Ontology (GO), and of those 2,249 were associated with an enzyme number. We also found mobile elements in the nuclear genome; most of them were retrotransposons with long terminal repeats (LTR), of which the most abundant were Gypsy / DIRS1 and Ty1 / Copia types. A total of 10,922 PFAM protein domains were present in 6,544 protein models and of those 2,147 and 2,979 were shared by all or at least one of the additional microalgae genomes analyzed (Asterochloris sp., Chlorella variabilis, Coccomyxa subellipsoidea and Chlamydomonas reindhartii), respectively. In addition, 19 Chlorophyta specific PFAM motifs, 6 specific motifs of Trebouxia sp. TR9 and Asterochloris sp lichen algae, and 23 specific motifs of Trebouxia sp. TR9 were found. The identification of proteins involved in carbon uptake suggests that Trebouxia sp. TR9 may possess carbon concentration mechanisms similar to C3 and C4/CAM. The study of carbohydrate metabolism in the protein enzymes models of Trebouxia sp. TR9, and other Trebouxiophyceae algae, point out that between 11% and 12% of the total proteins of these algae fitted to at least one clan of the families of the "Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes" (CAZy) database. Furthermore, gene annotations showed virus-related proteins. No dramatic reductions in the genome of Trebouxia sp. TR9 associated with its symbiotic way of life are suggested by our data. This work provides a first glimpse into the three genomes of the microalga Trebouxia sp. TR9 and a general overview of their main features and structures which may shed light on the evolutionary trends of the Trebouxiophyceae. For instance, the phylogeny obtained using the sequences codified by seven genes of the mitochondrial genome of Trebouxia sp. TR9 and additional ones from 25 species of green algae, revealed two new differences in relation with those obtained using only chloroplast genes: (i) The Trebouxiophyceae are monophyletic and (ii) the Pedinophyceae are more related to Chlorophyceae and Ulvophyceae

Sirolimus enhances the protection achieved by a DNA vaccine against Leishmania infantum

Background Leishmaniases are a group of neglected tropical parasitic diseases, mainly affecting vulnerable populations of countries with poor socioeconomic status. Development of efficient vaccines is a priority due to the increasing incidence of drug resistance and toxicity to current treatments. In the search for a safe and efficient protective vaccine for human and dog visceral leishmaniases, we analyzed the suitability of the immunomodulatory drug sirolimus (SIR) to boost a preventive DNA vaccine against leishmaniasis. SIR is an already marketed drug that has been described to boost immune protection against different disease models and has also emerged as a promising therapeutic drug against L. major. Methods Syrian hamsters were treated with SIR concomitantly with the administration of a DNA vaccine formulation consisting in four plasmids carrying the Leishmania genes LACK, TRYP, PAPLE22 and KMPII, respectively. Two weeks after the last vaccination, the animals were infected intraperitoneally with L. infantum parasites. Five weeks post-infection the parasite load was measured by real-time PCR in target tissues and immune response was evaluated by determining anti-Leishmania specific antibodies in combination with cytokine expression in the spleen. Results Our results show that the DNA vaccine itself efficiently reduced the burden of parasites in the skin (P = 0.0004) and lymph nodes (P = 0.0452). SIR administration also enhanced the protection by reducing the parasite load in the spleen (P = 0.0004). Vaccinated animals with or without SIR co-treatment showed lower IFN-γ expression levels than those found in the spleen of control animals. mRNA expression levels of NOS2 and IL-10 were found to be significantly higher in the vaccinated plus SIR treated group. Conclusions Co-administration of SIR enhances a DNA vaccination regimen against L. infantum, improving the reduction of parasite load in skin, lymph node and spleen. The analysis of immune markers in the spleen after challenge suggests that the trend to recover naïve levels of IFN-γ and IL-10, and the concurrent higher expression of NOS2, may be responsible for the protection induced by our vaccine co-administered with SIR.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Repurposing bioenergetic modulators against protozoan parasites responsible for tropical diseases

Malaria, leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis are arthropod-borne, parasitic diseases that constitute a major global health problem. They are generally found in developing countries, where lack of access to preventive tools and treatment hinders their management. Because these parasites share an increased demand on glucose consumption with most cancer cells, six compounds used in anti-tumoral research were selected to be tested as antiparasitic agents in in vitro models of Leishmania infantum, Trypanosoma brucei, T. cruzi, and Plasmodium falciparum: dichloroacetic acid (DCA), 3-bromopyruvic acid (3BP), 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG), lonidamine (LND), metformin (MET), and sirolimus (SIR). No parasite-killing activity was found in L. infantum promastigotes, whereas DCA and 3BP reduced the burden of intra-macrophagic amastigotes. For T. brucei all selected compounds, but 2DG, decreased parasite survival. DCA, 2DG, LND and MET showed parasite-killing activity in T. cruzi. Finally, anti-plasmodial activity was found for DCA, 2DG, LND, MET and SIR. These results reinforce the hypothesis that drugs with proven efficacy in the treatment of cancer by interfering with ATP production, proliferation, and survival cell strategies might be useful in treating threatening parasitic diseases and provide new opportunities for their repurposing.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Tres semanas de docencia virtual en la Universidad de Murcia (I): Experiencias en Medicina y Odontología

Presentamos un resumen de las actividades que algunos de los profesores de la Facultad de Medicina de Murcia han llevado a cabo durante las 3 semanas previas a las vacaciones de primavera. Durante este tiempo, debido a la pandemia provocada por la COVID-19, la docencia presencial tuvo que ser sustituída por actividades en línea o virtuales, a causa de la implantación del estado de alarma en España que motivó el cierre completo de las Universidades desde el 13 de marzo de 2020. Las experiencias son de Traumatología, Matemáticas, Medicina Legal, Medicina del Sistema Cardiovascular, Periodoncia y Odontología Preventiva y Comunitaria

Balanced gene losses, duplications and intensive rearrangements led to an unusual regularly sized genome in Arbutus unedo chloroplasts

Completely sequenced plastomes provide a valuable source of information about the duplication, loss, and transfer events of chloroplast genes and phylogenetic data for resolving relationships among major groups of plants. Moreover, they can also be useful for exploiting chloroplast genetic engineering technology. Ericales account for approximately six per cent of eudicot diversity with 11,545 species from which only three complete plastome sequences are currently available. With the aim of increasing the number of ericalean complete plastome sequences, and to open new perspectives in understanding Mediterranean plant adaptations, a genomic study on the basis of the complete chloroplast genome sequencing of Arbutus unedo and an updated phylogenomic analysis of Asteridae was implemented. The chloroplast genome of A. unedo shows extensive rearrangements but a medium size (150,897 nt) in comparison to most of angiosperms. A number of remarkable distinct features characterize the plastome of A. unedo: five-fold dismissing of the SSC region in relation to most angiosperms; complete loss or pseudogenization of a number of essential genes; duplication of the ndhH-D operon and its location within the two IRs; presence of large tandem repeats located near highly re-arranged regions and pseudogenes. All these features outline the primary evolutionary split between Ericaceae and other ericalean families. The newly sequenced plastome of A. unedo with the available asterid sequences allowed the resolution of some uncertainties in previous phylogenies of Asteridae

Pasados y presente. Estudios para el profesor Ricardo García Cárcel

Ricardo García Cárcel (Requena, 1948) estudió Historia en Valencia bajo el magisterio de Joan Reglà, con quien formó parte del primer profesorado de historia moderna en la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. En esta universidad, desde hace prácticamente cincuenta años, ha desarrollado una extraordinaria labor docente y de investigación marcada por un sagaz instinto histórico, que le ha convertido en pionero de casi todo lo que ha estudiado: las Germanías, la historia de la Cataluña moderna, la Inquisición, las culturas del Siglo de Oro, la Leyenda Negra, Felipe II, Felipe V, Austrias y Borbones, la guerra de la Independencia, la historia cultural, los mitos de la historia de España... Muy pocos tienen su capacidad para reflexionar, ordenar, analizar, conceptualizar y proponer una visión amplia y llena de matices sobre el pasado y las interpretaciones historiográficas. A su laboriosidad inimitable se añade una dedicación sin límites en el asesoramiento de alumnos e investigadores e impulsando revistas, dosieres, seminarios o publicaciones colectivas. Una mínima correspondencia a su generosidad lo constituye este volumen a manera de ineludible agradecimiento

The first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Spain was associated with early introductions and fast spread of a dominating genetic variant

SeqCOVID-Spain consortium: Álvaro Chiner-Oms, Irving Cancino-Muñoz, Mariana G. López, Manuela Torres-Puente, Inmaculada Gómez-Navarro, Santiago Jiménez-Serrano, Jordi Pérez-Tur, Darío García de Viedma, Laura Pérez-Lago, Marta Herranz, Jon Sicilia, Pilar Catalán-Alonso, Julia Suárez González, Patricia Muñoz, Mireia Coscolla, Paula Ruiz-Rodríguez, Fernando González-Candelas, Iñaki Comas, Lidia Ruiz-Roldán, María Alma Bracho, Neris García-González, Llúcia Martínez Priego, Inmaculada Galán-Vendrell, Paula Ruiz-Hueso, Griselda De Marco, María Loreto Ferrús-Abad, Sandra Carbó-Ramírez, Giuseppe D’Auria, Galo Adrian Goig, Juan Alberola, Jose Miguel Nogueira, Juan José Camarena, David Navarro, Eliseo Albert, Ignacio Torres, Maitane Aranzamendi Zaldumbide, Óscar Martínez Expósito, Nerea Antona Urieta, María de Toro, María Pilar Bea-Escudero, Jose Antonio Boga, Cristian Castelló-Abietar, Susana Rojo-Alba, Marta Elena Álvarez-Argüelles, Santiago Melón, Elisa Martró, Antoni E. Bordoy, Anna Not, Adrián Antuori, Anabel Fernández-Navarro, Andrés Canut-Blasco, Silvia Hernáez Crespo, Maria Luz Cordón Rodríguez, Maria Concepción Lecaroz Agara, Carmen Gómez-González, Amaia Aguirre-Quiñonero, José Israel López-Mirones, Marina Fernández-Torres, Maria Rosario Almela-Ferrer, Ana Carvajal, Juan Miguel Fregeneda-Grandes, Héctor Argüello, Gustavo Cilla Eguiluz, Milagrosa Montes Ros, Luis Piñeiro Vázquez, Ane Sorarrain, José María Marimón, José J. Costa-Alcalde, Rocío Trastoy, Gema Barbeito Castiñeiras, Amparo Coira, María Luisa Pérez del Molino, Antonio Aguilera, Begoña Palop-Borrás, Inmaculada de Toro Peinado, Maria Concepción Mediavilla Gradolph, Mercedes Pérez-Ruiz, Mirian Fernández-Alonso, Jose Luis del Pozo, Oscar González-Recio, Mónica Gutiérrez-Rivas, Jovita Fernández-Pinero, Miguel Ángel Jiménez Clavero, Begoña Fuster Escrivá, Concepción Gimeno Cardona, María Dolores Ocete Mochón, Rafael Medina-Gonzalez, José Antonio Lepe, Verónica González Galán, Ángel Rodríguez-Villodres, Nieves Gonzalo Jiménez, Jordi Reina, Carla López-Causapé, Maria Dolores Gómez-Ruiz, Eva M. Gonzalez-Barbera, José Luis López-Hontangas, Vicente Martín, Antonio J. Molina, Tania Fernandez-Villa, Ana Milagro Beamonte, Nieves Felisa Martínez-Cameo, Yolanda Gracia-Grataloup, Rosario Moreno-Muñoz, Maria Dolores Tirado Balaguer, José María Navarro-Marí, Irene Pedrosa-Corral, Sara Sanbonmatsu-Gámez, Antonio Oliver, Mónica Parra Grande, Bárbara Gómez Alonso, Francisco José Arjona Zaragozí, Maria Carmen Pérez González, Francisco Javier Chamizo López, Ana Bordes-Benítez, Núria Rabella, Ferran Navarro, Elisenda Miró, Antonio Rezusta, Alexander Tristancho, Encarnación Simarro Córdoba, Julia Lozano-Serra, Lorena Robles Fonseca, Álex Soriano, Francisco Javier Roig Sena, Hermelinda Vanaclocha Luna, Isabel Sanmartín, Daniel García-Souto, Ana Pequeño-Valtierra, Jose M. C. Tubio, Javier Temes, Jorge Rodríguez-Castro, Martín Santamarina García, Manuel Rodríguez-Iglesias, Fátima Galán-Sanchez, Salud Rodríguez-Pallares, José Manuel Azcona-Gutiérrez, Miriam Blasco-Alberdi, Alfredo Mayor, Alberto L. García-Basteiro, Gemma Moncunill, Carlota Dobaño, Pau Cisteró, Oriol Mitjà, Camila González-Beiras, Martí Vall-Mayans, Marc Corbacho-Monné, Andrea Alemany, Cristina Muñoz-Cuevas, Guadalupe Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Rafael Benito, Sonia Algarate, Jessica Bueno, Andrea Vergara-Gómez, Miguel J. Martínez, Jordi Vila, Elisa Rubio, Aida Peiró-Mestres, Jessica Navero-Castillejos, David Posada, Diana Valverde, Nuria Estévez, Iria Fernández-Silva, Loretta de Chiara, Pilar Gallego-García, Nair Varela, Ulises Gómez-Pinedo, Mónica Gozalo-Margüello, Maria Eliecer Cano García, José Manuel Méndez-Legaza, Jesus Rodríguez-Lozano, María Siller, Daniel Pablo-Marcos, Maria Montserrat Ruiz-García, Antonio Galiana, Judith Sánchez-Almendro, Maria Isabel Gascón Ros, Cristina Juana Torregrosa-Hetland, Eva María Pastor Boix, Paloma Cascales Ramos, Pedro Luis Garcinuño Enríquez, Salvador Raga Borja, Julia González Cantó, Olalla Martínez Macias, Adolfo de Salazar, Laura Viñuela González, Natalia Chueca, Federico García, Cristina Gómez-Camarasa, Amparo Farga Martí, Rocío Falcón, Victoria Domínguez-Márquez, Anna M. Planas, Israel Fernández-Cádenas, Maria Ángeles Marcos, Carmen Ezpeleta, Ana Navascués, Ana Miqueleiz Zapatero, Manuel Segovia, Antonio Moreno-Docón, Esther Viedma, Raúl Recio Martínez, Irene Muñoz-Gallego, Sara Gonzalez-Bodi, Maria Dolores Folgueira, Jesús Mingorance, Elias Dahdouh, Fernando Lázaro-Perona, María Rodríguez-Tejedor, María Pilar Romero-Gómez, Julio García-Rodríguez, Juan Carlos Galán, Mario Rodríguez-Dominguez, Laura Martínez-García, Melanie Abreu Di Berardino, Manuel Ponce-Alonso, Jose Maria González-Alba, Ivan Sanz-Muñoz, Diana Pérez San José, Maria Gil Fortuño, Juan B. Bellido-Blasco, Alberto Yagüe Muñoz, Noelia Hernández Pérez, Helena Buj Jordá, Óscar Pérez Olaso, Alejandro González Praetorius, Nora Mariela Martínez Ramírez, Aida Ramírez Marinero, Eduardo Padilla León, Alba Vilas Basil, Mireia Canal Aranda, Albert Bernet Sánchez, Alba Bellés Bellés, Eric López González, Iván Prats Sánchez, Mercè García-González, Miguel José Martínez-Lirola, Manuel Ángel Rodríguez Maresca, Maria Teresa Cabezas Fernández, María Eugenia Carrillo Gil, Maria Paz Ventero Martín, Carmen Molina Pardines, Nieves Orta Mira, María Navarro Cots, Inmaculada Vidal Catalá, Isabel García Nava, Soledad Illescas Fernández-Bermejo, José Martínez-Alarcón, Marta Torres-Narbona, Cristina Colmenarejo, Lidia García-Agudo, Jorge A. Pérez García, Martín Yago López, María Ángeles Goberna Bravo, Victoria Simón García, Gonzalo Llop Furquet, Agustín Iranzo Tatay, Sandra Moreno-Marro, Noelia Lozano Rodríguez, Amparo Broseta Tamarit, Juan José Badiola Díez, Amparo Martínez-Ramírez, Ana Dopazo, Sergio Callejas, Alberto Benguría, Begoña Aguado, Antonio Alcamí, Marta Bermejo Bermejo, Ricardo Ramos-Ruíz, Víctor Manuel Fernández Soria, Fernando Simón Soria & Mercedes Roig CardellsThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the world radically since 2020. Spain was one of the European countries with the highest incidence during the first wave. As a part of a consortium to monitor and study the evolution of the epidemic, we sequenced 2,170 samples, diagnosed mostly before lockdown measures. Here, we identified at least 500 introductions from multiple international sources and documented the early rise of two dominant Spanish epidemic clades (SECs), probably amplified by superspreading events. Both SECs were related closely to the initial Asian variants of SARS-CoV-2 and spread widely across Spain. We inferred a substantial reduction in the effective reproductive number of both SECs due to public-health interventions (Re < 1), also reflected in the replacement of SECs by a new variant over the summer of 2020. In summary, we reveal a notable difference in the initial genetic makeup of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain compared with other European countries and show evidence to support the effectiveness of lockdown measures in controlling virus spread, even for the most successful genetic variants.This work was mainly funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III project COV20/00140, with additional funding by Spanish National Research Council project CSIC-COV19-021, Ministerio de Ciencia project PID2019-104477RB-100, ERC StG 638553 and ERC CoG 101001038 to I.C., and BFU2017-89594R to F.G.C. M.C. is supported by Ramón y Cajal program from Ministerio de Ciencia and grants RTI2018-094399-A-I00 and Generalitat Valenciana (Regional Government) project SEJI/2019/011. We gratefully acknowledge Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Lab and all the international researchers and institutions that submitted sequenced SARS-CoV-2 genomes to the GISAID’s EpiCov Database (Supplementary Table 1), as an important part of our analyses has been made possible by the sharing of their work. We also thank Unidad de Bioinformática y Estadística, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, for allowing us to use the Computer Cluster to perform some of the bioinformatic analysis.Peer reviewe

Adelante / Endavant

Séptimo desafío por la erradicación de la violencia contra las mujeres del Institut Universitari d’Estudis Feministes i de Gènere "Purificación Escribano" de la Universitat Jaume

Three weeks of online teaching in the Universityof Murcia (I): Experiences in Medicine and Odontology

Presentamos un resumen de las actividades que algunos de los profesores de la Facultad de Medicina de Murcia han llevado a cabo durante las 3 semanas previas a las vacaciones de primavera. Durante este tiempo, debido a la pandemia provocada por la COVID-19, la docencia presencial tuvo que ser sustituída por actividades en línea o virtuales, a causa de la implantación del estado de alarma en España que motivó el cierre completo de las Universidades desde el 13 de marzo de 2020. Las experiencias son de Traumatología, Matemáticas, Medicina Legal,Medicina del Sistema Cardiovascular, Periodoncia y Odontología Preventiva y Comunitaria.Abstract: We present a summary of the activities that some of the professors of theFaculty of Medicine of Murcia have carried out during the 3 weeks prior to springbreak. In these, face-to-face teaching had to be replaced by online or virtualactivities, due to the implementation of the state of alarm in Spain, which led to thecomplete closure of the Universities since March 13, 2020. The activities are fromTraumatology, Mathematics, Cardiovascular Medicine, Periodontics and PreventiveOdontology