Validation of metabolic syndrome using medical records in the SUN cohort

The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of self reported criteria of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) in the SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) cohort using their medical records as the gold standard. METHODS: We selected 336 participants and we obtained MS related data according to Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Then we compared information on the self reported diagnosis of MS and MS diagnosed in their medical records. We calculated the proportion of confirmed MS, the proportion of confirmed non-MS and the intraclass correlation coefficients for each component of the MS. RESULTS: From those 336 selected participants, we obtained sufficient data in 172 participants to confirm or reject MS using ATP III criteria. The proportion of confirmed MS was 91.2% (95% CI: 80.7- 97.1) and the proportion of confirmed non-MS was 92.2% (95% CI: 85.7-96.4) using ATP III criteria. The proportion of confirmed MS using IDF criteria was 100% (95% CI: 87.2-100) and the proportion of confirmed non-MS was 97.1% (95% CI: 85.1-99.9). Kappa Index was 0.82 in the group diagnosed by ATP III criteria and 0.97 in the group diagnosed by IDF criteria. Intraclass correlation coefficients for the different component of MS were: 0.93 (IC 95%:0.91- 0.95) for BMI; 0.96 (IC 95%: 0.93-0.98) for waist circumference; 0.75 (IC 95%: 0.66-0.82) for fasting glucose; 0.50 (IC 95%:0.35-0.639) for HDL cholesterol; 0.78 (IC 95%: 0.70-0.84) for triglycerides; 0.49 (IC 95%:0.34-0.61) for systolic blood pressure and 0.55 (IC 95%: 0.41-0.65) for diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported MS based on self reported components of the SM in a Spanish cohort of university graduates was sufficiently valid as to be used in epidemiological studies

Leptin concentration and risk of impaired physical function in older adults: the Seniors-ENRICA cohort

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Age and Ageing following peer review. The version of record Alberto Lana, Ellen Struijk, Pilar Guallar-Castillón, Jose María Martín-Moreno, Fernando Rodríguez Artalejo, Esther Lopez-Garcia; Leptin concentration and risk of impaired physical function in older adults: the Seniors-ENRICA cohort. Age Ageing 45.6 (2016): 819-826 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1093/ageing/afw142Leptin resistance, which may develop during the aging process, stimulates the production of proinflammatory cytokines and insulin resistance that could impair the muscle function. However, the role of leptin on physical functioning among older adults has not yet been elucidated. Objective: To examine the association between serum leptin levels and physical function impairment in older adults. Design and setting: Prospective study of 1,556 individuals aged ≥60 years from the Seniors-ENRICA cohort, who were free of physical function limitation at baseline. Main outcome measure: Serum leptin was measured in 2008-2010, and incident functional limitation was assessed through 2012. Self-reported limitations in agility and mobility were assessed with the Rosow and Breslau scale, limitation in the lower extremity function was measured with the Short Physical Performance Battery, and impairment in the overall physical performance with the physical component summary of the SF-12. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, and compared to individuals in the lowest quartile of leptin concentration, those in the highest quartile showed increased risk of impaired physical function; the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) and p-trend was: 1.95 (1.11-3.43), p=0.006 for self-reported impaired mobility; 1.76 (1.08-2.87), p=0.02 for self-reported impaired agility; 1.48 (1.02-2.15), p=0.04 for limitation in the lower extremity function; and 1.97 (1.20-3.22), p=0.01 for decreased overall physical performance. These associations were only modestly explained by C-reactive protein and insulin resistance. Moreover, the associations held across groups with varying health status and were independent of estimated total body fat. Conclusions: Higher leptin concentration was associated with increased risk of impaired physical function. Preserving metabolic function during the old age could help delaying physical function declineThis work was supported by FIS grants 12/1166 and 13/0288 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, State Secretary of R+D+I, and FEDER/FSE), the CIBERESP, the FRAILOMIC Initiative (FP7-HEALTH-2012-Proposal no. 305483-2) and the ATHLOS project (EU H2020- Project ID: 635316

Brown Dwarfs in the Pleiades Cluster Confirmed by the Lithium Test

We present 10 m Keck spectra of the two Pleiades brown dwarfs Teide 1 and Calar 3 showing a clear detection of the 670.8 nm Li resonance line. In Teide 1, we have also obtained evidence for the presence of the subordinate line at 812.6 nm. A high Li abundance (log N(Li) >= 2.5), consistent with little if any depletion, is inferred from the observed lines. Since Pleiades brown dwarfs are unable to burn Li the significant preservation of this fragile element confirms the substellar nature of our two objects. Regardless of their age, their low luminosities and Li content place Teide 1 and Calar 3 comfortably in the genuine brown dwarf realm. Given the probable age of the Pleiades cluster, their masses are estimated at 55 +- 15 Jupiter masses.Comment: 14 pages gzipped and uuencoded. Figures are included. Also available at http://www.iac.es/. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Increasing trend in the prevalence of morbid obesity in Spain: from 1.8 to 6.1 per thousand in 14 years

Obesity, and especiallymorbid obesity, increases the risk of cardiovascular as well as non-cardiovascular diseases. Our objective was to ascertain the trends in morbid obesity in Spain from 1993 to 2006 using representative data from 106,048 participants in the National Health Surveys. An age-adjusted Poisson regression model stratified by sex was fitted using morbid obesity as the dependent variable. An increasing trend in prevalent morbid obesity from 1.8 to 6.1 per thousand participants was found (increase > 200%). Morbid obesity prevalence was higher in women. After adjusting for age, a monotonically increasing prevalence of morbid obesity was apparent for both men and women: the relative increase was 4% per year in women and 12% per year in men. These trends highlight the importance of preventive actions

Seroprevalence of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in cattle from Sotaquirá, Colombia

Worldwide distributed Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) represents a high risk of infection in most bovine farms, in which it is associated with gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive diseases. The purpose of this research was to establish the seroprevalence and the main risk factors associated with the presentation of BVDV in the municipality of Sotaquirá, Colombia. Samples were taken from 1000 cattle of Holstein, Ayrshire, Jersey, Normande Gyr and Holstein x Gyr. Epidemiological surveys were implemented, reproductive and management variables were taken into consideration. Indirect ELISA was performed to detect specific antibodies against BVDV using the commercial kit SERELISA® BVD p80 Ab Mono Blocking. The overall seroprevalence of antibodies against BVDV was 42.5% (425/1000), where the Gyr breed (59.1% apparent prevalence (AP); 60.3% real prevalence (PR)) and the age group > 4 years (53.0% PA; 54.4% PR) presented the highest seroprevalences. A significant statistical association was found for the breed, age, management practices evaluated and the presentation of PI3 (p ≤ 0.05). Age group > 4 years, Normande breed, presentation of PI3 and grazing lease were established as risk factors associated with BVDV in the herds. These infections are mainly associated with dairy cattle and herds with many animals, so it is important to consider vaccination plans as a preventive system and follow up on the most common diseases

Mediterranean alcohol-drinking pattern and mortality in the SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) Project: a prospective cohort study

Moderate alcohol intake has been related to lower mortality. However, alcohol use includes other dimensions beyond the amount of alcohol consumed. These aspects have not been sufficiently studied as a comprehensive entity. We aimed to test the relationship between an overall alcohol-drinking pattern and all-cause mortality. In a Mediterranean cohort study, we followed 18394 Spanish participants up to 12 years. A validated 136-item FFQ was used to assess baseline alcohol intake. We developed a score assessing simultaneously seven aspects of alcohol consumption to capture the conformity to a traditional Mediterranean alcohol-drinking pattern (MADP). It positively scored moderate alcohol intake, alcohol intake spread out over the week, low spirit consumption, wine preference, red wine consumption, wine consumed during meals and avoidance of binge drinking. During the follow-up, 206 deaths were identified. For each 2-point increment in a 0-9 score of adherence to the MADP, we observed a 25% relative risk reduction in mortality (95% CI 11, 38%). Within each category of alcohol intake, a higher adherence to the MADP was associated with lower mortality. Abstainers (excluded from the calculations of the MADP) exhibited higher mortality (hazard ratio 1 center dot 82, 95% CI 1 center dot 14, 2 center dot 90) than participants highly adherent to the MADP. In conclusion, better adherence to an overall healthy alcohol-drinking pattern was associated with reduced mortality when compared with abstention or departure from this pattern. This reduction goes beyond the inverse association usually observed for moderate alcohol drinking. Even moderate drinkers can benefit from the advice to follow a traditional MADP

Diagnóstico coproparasitológico de fascioliasis en ovinos y caprinos de Boavita, Boyacá (Colombia)

The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of Fasciola hepatica through coprological analysis and to identify risk factors associated with the presentation of the parasite in sheep and goats in the municipality of Boavita, Boyacá. The study was observational, descriptive, cross-sectional with simple random sampling. Faecal samples were taken from 297 sheep and 337 goats to identify parasite eggs. The general prevalence was 8.0% (51/634), being 9.1% for sheep and 7.1% for goats. The prevalence in sheep was higher in males (14.8%) than in females (8.5%), likewise, sheep less than one year old (9.3%) and Criolla (11.1%) presented the highest prevalence. In goats, the prevalence was higher in females (7.3%) than in males (5.6%), and those less than one year old (10.5%) and the Alpine breed (8%) presented the greater prevalence. No significant statistical association was found between females and males. The Creole breed was established as a risk factor for sheep.El objetivo del estudio fue establecer la prevalencia de Fasciola hepatica mediante análisis coprológico e identificar factores de riesgo asociados a la presentación del parásito en ovinos y caprinos del municipio de Boavita, Boyacá. El estudio fue observacional, descriptivo de corte transversal con muestreo aleatorio simple. Se tomaron muestras de materia fecal a 297 ovinos y 337 caprinos para identificar los huevos del parásito. La prevalencia general fue de 8.0% (51/634), siendo de 9.1% para ovejas y de 7.1% para cabras. La prevalencia en ovinos fue mayor en machos (14.8%) que en hembras (8.5%); asimismo, los ovinos menores a un año (9.3%) y de Criolla (11.1%) presentaron las prevalencias más altas. En las cabras, la prevalencia fue mayor en hembras (7.3%) que en machos (5.6%), y los menores a un año (10.5%) y de la raza Alpina (8%) presentaron las prevalencias más altas. No se encontró asociación estadística significativa entre hembras y machos. La raza Criolla se estableció como factor de riesgo para los ovinos

Combined use of relative drought indices to analyze climate change impact on meteorological and hydrological droughts in a Mediterranean basin

[EN] Standardized drought indices have been traditionally used to identify and assess droughts because of their simplicity and flexibility to compare the departure from normal conditions across regions at different timescales. Nevertheless, the statistical foundation of these indices assumes stationarity for certain aspects of the climatic variables, which could no longer be valid under climate change. This contribution provides a framework to analyze the impact of climate change on meteorological and hydrological droughts, considering shifts in precipitation and temperature, adapted to a Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, droughts are characterized through a combination of relative standardized indices: Standardized Precipitation Index (rSPI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (rSPEI) and a Standardized Flow Index (rSFI). The uncertainty and the stationarity of the distribution parameters used to compute the drought indices are assessed by bootstrapping resampling techniques and overlapping coefficients. For the application of the approach to a semiarid Mediterranean basin (Jucar River Basin), the Thornthwaite scheme was modified to improve the representation of the intra-annual variation of the potential evapotranspiration and low flow simulation in hydrological modelling was improved for a better characterization of hydrological droughts. Results for the Jucar basin show a general increase in the intensity and magnitude of both meteorological and hydrological droughts under climate change scenarios, due to the combined effects of rainfall reduction and evapotranspiration increase. Although the indicators show similar values for the historical period, under climate change scenarios the rSPI could underestimate the severity of meteorological droughts by ignoring the role of temperature. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This study has been supported by the IMPADAPT project (CGL2013-48424-C2-1-R) with Spanish MINECO (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad) and European FEDER funds. Patricia Marcos-Garcia is also supported by a FPI grant from the PhD Training Program (BES-2014-070490) of the former MINECO. The authors thank AEMET (Spanish Meteorological Office) and University of Cantabria for the data provided for this work (dataset Spain02).Marcos-García, P.; Lopez-Nicolas, A.; Pulido-Velazquez, M. (2017). Combined use of relative drought indices to analyze climate change impact on meteorological and hydrological droughts in a Mediterranean basin. Journal of Hydrology. 554:292-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.09.028S29230555

Differential branching fraction and angular analysis of the decay B0→K∗0μ+μ−

The angular distribution and differential branching fraction of the decay B 0→ K ∗0 μ + μ − are studied using a data sample, collected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1. Several angular observables are measured in bins of the dimuon invariant mass squared, q 2. A first measurement of the zero-crossing point of the forward-backward asymmetry of the dimuon system is also presented. The zero-crossing point is measured to be q20=4.9±0.9GeV2/c4 , where the uncertainty is the sum of statistical and systematic uncertainties. The results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions

Search for CP violation in D+→K−K+π+D^{+} \to K^{-}K^{+}\pi^{+} decays

A model-independent search for direct CP violation in the Cabibbo suppressed decay $D^+ \to K^- K^+\pi^+$ in a sample of approximately 370,000 decays is carried out. The data were collected by the LHCb experiment in 2010 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb$^{-1}$. The normalized Dalitz plot distributions for $D^+$ and $D^-$ are compared using four different binning schemes that are sensitive to different manifestations of CP violation. No evidence for CP asymmetry is found.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.