Éthique de la recherche d’ADN sur les vestiges humains: cinq lignes directrices applicables à l'échelle globale.

Nous sommes un groupe d'archéologues, d’anthropologues, de conservateurs et de généticiens de différentes origines et représentant 31 pays. Nous nous sommes rencontrés en novembre 2020 lors d'une table ronde en ligne dédiée à l'éthique de la recherche d’ADN ancien. Nous avons alors convenu de la nécessité de lignes directrices éthiques applicables à l'échelle mondiale. Les recommandations publiées récemment et développées dans le cadre de recherches d’ADN sur des vestiges humains d’Amérique du Nord ne s’avèrent pas généralisables à d’autres régions du monde. Suite à l’analyse de divers contextes, nous proposons ici des lignes directrices que nous pensons être applicables partout dans le monde. Ces lignes directrices sont les suivantes : 1) les chercheurs doivent s'assurer que les règlements s’appliquant dans les lieux où ils travaillent ainsi que dans les lieux d’où proviennent les vestiges humains sont bien respectés ; 2) les chercheurs doivent préparer un programme de recherche détaillé avant de commencer toute étude ; 3) les chercheurs doivent minimiser les dommages causés aux vestiges humains ; 4) les chercheurs doivent s'assurer que les données seront disponibles après la publication pour permettre un réexamen critique des résultats scientifiques; et 5) les chercheurs doivent échanger avec toutes les parties impliquées dès le début de l’étude et respecter leurs points de vue. Nous nous engageons à respecter ces directives et nous souhaitons qu’elles contribuent au renforcement de la pratique éthique de notre champ de recherche.NWOVI.C.191.070Human Origin

Eliminación/Degradación de Triazinas Mediante Biorreactor de Membrana con Post-Tratamiento de Ozonización

The aim of the research was to evaluate the removal of micropollutants in a combined system MBR + ozonation. The research was carried out in a MBR scale laboratory plant which was fed with synthetic wastewater, doped with simazine (SIM), atrazine (ATZ) and terbutilazine (TBZ). The MBR operational conditions were: hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 20 h, organic loading rate (OLR) of 0.23 KgCOD/KgSSV·day, sludge retention time (SRT) of 30 d, and flux of 5.5 LMH. Two ozone doses were tested: low dose (16 mg O3/L) and high dose (45 mg O3/L). The removal eficiency of organic matter was 96%. For the studied triazines, low biodegradation effiencies were reached by biological treatment (MBR): 57%, 53% and 63% for SIM, ATZ and TBZ, respectively. The complementary treatment of ozonation improved the quality  of the effluents. At low ozonation dose the overall removal efficiencies increased to 95%, 92% and 96% for SIM, ATZ and TBZ, respectively. At high ozonization dose the overall removal efficiencies were 98%, 97% and 97 % for SIM, ATZ and TBZ, respectively, percentages slightly higher than those obtained at low dose. The results showed the combination of MBR + O3 is effective to remove micropollutants from wastewater, contributing to the preservation of a good ecological state of water bodies.Keywords: Bioreactor, Membrane, Ozone, Triazines, Herbicides

Cow welfare in grass based milk production systems

End of project reportUnder this project, aspects of pasture based milk production systems, namely different milking frequency and feeding strategies as well as genetic selection for improved fitness using the Irish Economic Breeding Index (EBI) were evaluated in terms of dairy cow behaviour, health, immune function and reproductive performance. Additionally, a typical Irish pasture based system was compared to one in which cows were kept indoors in cubicles and fed a total mixed ration for the duration of lactation in order to elucidate the perceived benefits of pasture based systems for dairy cow welfare

Concurrent validity of supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons and infrared thermography as a surrogate marker of brown adipose tissue

We are grateful to Ms. Carmen Sainz-Quinn for assistance with the English language. We are grateful to Alberto Quesada-Aranda for helping with the development of the Temperatus software (Free trial in http://profth.ugr.es/temperatus).This study is part of a Ph.D. Thesis conducted in the Biomedicine Doctoral Studies of the University of Granada, Spain.Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenic activity is commonly assessed with a positron emission tomography with computed tomography scan (PET/CT). This technique has several limitations and alternative techniques are needed. Supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons and infrared thermography (IRT) has been proposed as an indirect marker of BAT activity. We studied the concurrent validity of skin temperature measured with iButtons vs. IRT and the association of supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons and IRT with BAT. We measured skin temperature upon a shivering threshold test with iButtons and IRT in 6 different regions in 12 participants (n = 2 men). On a separate day, we determined supraclavicular skin temperature with an iButton and IRT after 2 h of a personalized cooling protocol. Thereafter, we quantified BAT volume and activity by PET/CT. We observed that the absolute differences between the devices were statistically different from 0 (all P < 0.05) after the shivering threshold test. Moreover, we did not find any association between supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons or IRT and BAT 18F-FDG activity (r = −0.213; P = 0.530 and r = −0.079; P = 0.817). However, we observed a negative association of supraclavicular skin temperature measured by IRT with BAT 18F-FDG volume (r = −0.764; P = 0.006), but not with supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons (r = −0.546; P = 0.082). In light of these results, we concluded that the measurement of skin temperature obtained by iButtons and IRT are not comparable. Furthermore, it seems that supraclavicular skin temperature is not associated with BAT 18F-FDG activity, but it appears to be negatively associated with BAT 18F-FDG volume in the case of IRT.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness via the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/01393), Retos de la Sociedad (DEP2016-79512-R), PTA 12264-I, and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU 13/04365, FPU14/04172, FPU15/05337, and FPU15/04059), by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation-MINECO (RYC-2014-16938), the Fundación Iberoamericana de Nutrición (FINUT), the Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativa RETIC (Red SAMID RD16/0022), the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2016 -Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES) - and Plan Propio de Investigación 2018 - Programa Contratos-Puente, and the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades (ERDF, ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR). This study is part of a Ph.D

COVID-19 and stem cell transplantation; results from an EBMT and GETH multicenter prospective survey

Altres ajuts: British Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (BSBMTCT); UK NIHR Imperial College Biomedical Research Centre.This study reports on 382 COVID-19 patients having undergone allogeneic (n = 236) or autologous (n = 146) hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) reported to the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) or to the Spanish Group of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (GETH). The median age was 54.1 years (1.0-80.3) for allogeneic, and 60.6 years (7.7-81.6) for autologous HCT patients. The median time from HCT to COVID-19 was 15.8 months (0.2-292.7) in allogeneic and 24.6 months (−0.9 to 350.3) in autologous recipients. 83.5% developed lower respiratory tract disease and 22.5% were admitted to an ICU. Overall survival at 6 weeks from diagnosis was 77.9% and 72.1% in allogeneic and autologous recipients, respectively. Children had a survival of 93.4%. In multivariate analysis, older age (p = 0.02), need for ICU (p < 0.0001) and moderate/high immunodeficiency index (p = 0.04) increased the risk while better performance status (p = 0.001) decreased the risk for mortality. Other factors such as underlying diagnosis, time from HCT, GVHD, or ongoing immunosuppression did not significantly impact overall survival. We conclude that HCT patients are at high risk of developing LRTD, require admission to ICU, and have increased mortality in COVID-19

Effectiveness of an mHealth intervention combining a smartphone app and smart band on body composition in an overweight and obese population: Randomized controlled trial (EVIDENT 3 study)

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) is currently among the supporting elements that may contribute to an improvement in health markers by helping people adopt healthier lifestyles. mHealth interventions have been widely reported to achieve greater weight loss than other approaches, but their effect on body composition remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to assess the short-term (3 months) effectiveness of a mobile app and a smart band for losing weight and changing body composition in sedentary Spanish adults who are overweight or obese. Methods: A randomized controlled, multicenter clinical trial was conducted involving the participation of 440 subjects from primary care centers, with 231 subjects in the intervention group (IG; counselling with smartphone app and smart band) and 209 in the control group (CG; counselling only). Both groups were counselled about healthy diet and physical activity. For the 3-month intervention period, the IG was trained to use a smartphone app that involved self-monitoring and tailored feedback, as well as a smart band that recorded daily physical activity (Mi Band 2, Xiaomi). Body composition was measured using the InBody 230 bioimpedance device (InBody Co., Ltd), and physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: The mHealth intervention produced a greater loss of body weight (–1.97 kg, 95% CI –2.39 to –1.54) relative to standard counselling at 3 months (–1.13 kg, 95% CI –1.56 to –0.69). Comparing groups, the IG achieved a weight loss of 0.84 kg more than the CG at 3 months. The IG showed a decrease in body fat mass (BFM; –1.84 kg, 95% CI –2.48 to –1.20), percentage of body fat (PBF; –1.22%, 95% CI –1.82% to 0.62%), and BMI (–0.77 kg/m2, 95% CI –0.96 to 0.57). No significant changes were observed in any of these parameters in men; among women, there was a significant decrease in BMI in the IG compared with the CG. When subjects were grouped according to baseline BMI, the overweight group experienced a change in BFM of –1.18 kg (95% CI –2.30 to –0.06) and BMI of –0.47 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.80 to –0.13), whereas the obese group only experienced a change in BMI of –0.53 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.86 to –0.19). When the data were analyzed according to physical activity, the moderate-vigorous physical activity group showed significant changes in BFM of –1.03 kg (95% CI –1.74 to –0.33), PBF of –0.76% (95% CI –1.32% to –0.20%), and BMI of –0.5 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.83 to –0.19). Conclusions: The results from this multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial study show that compared with standard counselling alone, adding a self-reported app and a smart band obtained beneficial results in terms of weight loss and a reduction in BFM and PBF in female subjects with a BMI less than 30 kg/m2 and a moderate-vigorous physical activity level. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to ensure that this profile benefits more than others from this intervention and to investigate modifications of this intervention to achieve a global effect

The instrument suite of the European Spallation Source

An overview is provided of the 15 neutron beam instruments making up the initial instrument suite of the European Spallation Source (ESS), and being made available to the neutron user community. The ESS neutron source consists of a high-power accelerator and target station, providing a unique long-pulse time structure of slow neutrons. The design considerations behind the time structure, moderator geometry and instrument layout are presented. The 15-instrument suite consists of two small-angle instruments, two reflectometers, an imaging beamline, two single-crystal diffractometers; one for macromolecular crystallography and one for magnetism, two powder diffractometers, and an engineering diffractometer, as well as an array of five inelastic instruments comprising two chopper spectrometers, an inverse-geometry single-crystal excitations spectrometer, an instrument for vibrational spectroscopy and a high-resolution backscattering spectrometer. The conceptual design, performance and scientific drivers of each of these instruments are described. All of the instruments are designed to provide breakthrough new scientific capability, not currently available at existing facilities, building on the inherent strengths of the ESS long-pulse neutron source of high flux, flexible resolution and large bandwidth. Each of them is predicted to provide world-leading performance at an accelerator power of 2 MW. This technical capability translates into a very broad range of scientific capabilities. The composition of the instrument suite has been chosen to maximise the breadth and depth of the scientific impact o

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. Methods: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015. Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years, 65 to 80 years, and = 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. Results: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 = 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients =80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%, 65 years; 20.5%, 65-79 years; 31.3%, =80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%, <65 years;30.1%, 65-79 years;34.7%, =80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%, =80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age = 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI = 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88), and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared, the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. Conclusion: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age = 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI), and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

RICORS2040 : The need for collaborative research in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent and poorly known killer. The current concept of CKD is relatively young and uptake by the public, physicians and health authorities is not widespread. Physicians still confuse CKD with chronic kidney insufficiency or failure. For the wider public and health authorities, CKD evokes kidney replacement therapy (KRT). In Spain, the prevalence of KRT is 0.13%. Thus health authorities may consider CKD a non-issue: very few persons eventually need KRT and, for those in whom kidneys fail, the problem is 'solved' by dialysis or kidney transplantation. However, KRT is the tip of the iceberg in the burden of CKD. The main burden of CKD is accelerated ageing and premature death. The cut-off points for kidney function and kidney damage indexes that define CKD also mark an increased risk for all-cause premature death. CKD is the most prevalent risk factor for lethal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the factor that most increases the risk of death in COVID-19, after old age. Men and women undergoing KRT still have an annual mortality that is 10- to 100-fold higher than similar-age peers, and life expectancy is shortened by ~40 years for young persons on dialysis and by 15 years for young persons with a functioning kidney graft. CKD is expected to become the fifth greatest global cause of death by 2040 and the second greatest cause of death in Spain before the end of the century, a time when one in four Spaniards will have CKD. However, by 2022, CKD will become the only top-15 global predicted cause of death that is not supported by a dedicated well-funded Centres for Biomedical Research (CIBER) network structure in Spain. Realizing the underestimation of the CKD burden of disease by health authorities, the Decade of the Kidney initiative for 2020-2030 was launched by the American Association of Kidney Patients and the European Kidney Health Alliance. Leading Spanish kidney researchers grouped in the kidney collaborative research network Red de Investigación Renal have now applied for the Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientadas a Resultados en Salud (RICORS) call for collaborative research in Spain with the support of the Spanish Society of Nephrology, Federación Nacional de Asociaciones para la Lucha Contra las Enfermedades del Riñón and ONT: RICORS2040 aims to prevent the dire predictions for the global 2040 burden of CKD from becoming true