SEPAR Recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients With Respiratory Diseases

[ES] La Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica (SEPAR) ha elaborado este documento de recomendaciones sobre la vacuna para la COVID-19 en las enfermedades respiratorias, con el objetivo de ayudar al personal sanitario en la toma de decisiones sobre cómo actuar en la vacunación de estos pacientes. Las recomendaciones han sido elaboradas por un grupo de expertos en la materia, tras la revisión de la literatura recopilada hasta el 7 de marzo del 2021, y de la información aportada por distintas sociedades científicas, agencias del medicamento y estrategias de organismos gubernamentales hasta esa fecha. Podemos concluir que las vacunas para la COVID-19 no solo son seguras y eficaces, sino que, en aquellos pacientes vulnerables con enfermedades respiratorias crónicas, son prioritarias. Además, la implicación activa de los profesionales sanitarios que manejan estas patologías en la estrategia de vacunación es clave para lograr una buena adherencia y coberturas vacunales elevadas.[EN] The Spanish Society of Pneumonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) has elaborated this document of recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination in patients with respiratory diseases aimed to help healthcare personnel make decisions about how to act in case of COVID-19 vaccination in these patients. The recommendations have been developed by a group of experts in this field after reviewing the materials published up to March 7, 2021, the information provided by different scientific societies, drug agencies and the strategies of the governmental bodies up to this date. We can conclude that COVID-19 vaccines are not only safe and effective, but also prior in vulnerable patients with chronic respiratory diseases. In addition, an active involvement of healthcare professionals, who manage these diseases, in the vaccination strategy is the key to achieve good adherence and high vaccination coverage

Staging Parkinson’s Disease According to the MNCD (Motor/Non-motor/Cognition/Dependency) Classification Correlates with Disease Severity and Quality of Life

Background: Recently, a novel simple classification called MNCD, based on 4 axes (Motor; Non-motor; Cognition; Dependency) and 5 stages, has been proposed to classify Parkinson's disease (PD). Objective: Our aim was to apply the MNCD classification in a cohort of PD patients for the first time and also to analyze the correlation with quality of life (QoL) and disease severity. Methods: Data from the baseline visit of PD patients recruited from 35 centers in Spain from the COPPADIS cohort from January 2016 to November 2017 were used to apply the MNCD classification. Three instruments were used to assess QoL: 1) the 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire [PDQ-39]); PQ-10; the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8). Results: Four hundred and thirty-nine PD patients (62.05 +/- 7.84 years old; 59% males) were included. MNCD stage was: stage 1, 8.4% (N = 37); stage 2, 62% (N = 272); stage 3, 28.2% (N = 124); stage 4-5, 1.4% (N = 6). A more advanced MNCD stage was associated with a higher score on the PDQ39SI (p < 0.0001) and a lower score on the PQ-10 (p < 0.0001) and EUROHIS-QOL8 (p < 0.0001). In many other aspects of the disease, such as disease duration, levodopa equivalent daily dose, motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, and autonomy for activities of daily living, an association between the stage and severity was observed, with data indicating a progressive worsening related to disease progression throughout the proposed stages. Conclusion: Staging PD according to the MNCD classification correlated with QoL and disease severity. The MNCD could be a proper tool to monitor the progression of PD

Genome-wide association analysis of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes reveal novel loci associated with Alzheimer's disease and three causality networks : The GR@ACE project

Introduction: Large variability among Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases might impact genetic discoveries and complicate dissection of underlying biological pathways. Methods: Genome Research at Fundacio ACE (GR@ACE) is a genome-wide study of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes, defined based on AD's clinical certainty and vascular burden. We assessed the impact of known AD loci across endophenotypes to generate loci categories. We incorporated gene coexpression data and conducted pathway analysis per category. Finally, to evaluate the effect of heterogeneity in genetic studies, GR@ACE series were meta-analyzed with additional genome-wide association study data sets. Results: We classified known AD loci into three categories, which might reflect the disease clinical heterogeneity. Vascular processes were only detected as a causal mechanism in probable AD. The meta-analysis strategy revealed the ANKRD31-rs4704171 and NDUFAF6-rs10098778 and confirmed SCIMP-rs7225151 and CD33-rs3865444. Discussion: The regulation of vasculature is a prominent causal component of probable AD. GR@ACE meta-analysis revealed novel AD genetic signals, strongly driven by the presence of clinical heterogeneity in the AD series

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Staging Parkinson’s Disease According to the MNCD (Motor/Non-motor/Cognition/Dependency) Classification Correlates with Disease Severity and Quality of Life

© 2023 – The authors. Published by IOS Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0).Background: Recently, a novel simple classification called MNCD, based on 4 axes (Motor; Non-motor; Cognition; Dependency) and 5 stages, has been proposed to classify Parkinson's disease (PD).Objective: Our aim was to apply the MNCD classification in a cohort of PD patients for the first time and also to analyze the correlation with quality of life (QoL) and disease severity.Methods: Data from the baseline visit of PD patients recruited from 35 centers in Spain from the COPPADIS cohort fromJanuary 2016 to November 2017 were used to apply the MNCD classification. Three instruments were used to assess QoL:1) the 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire [PDQ-39]); PQ-10; the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8).Results: Four hundred and thirty-nine PD patients (62.05±7.84 years old; 59% males) were included. MNCD stage was:stage 1, 8.4% (N = 37); stage 2, 62% (N = 272); stage 3, 28.2% (N = 124); stage 4-5, 1.4% (N = 6). A more advancedMNCD stage was associated with a higher score on the PDQ39SI (p < 0.0001) and a lower score on the PQ-10 (p< 0.0001) and EUROHIS-QOL8 (p< 0.0001). In many other aspects of the disease, such as disease duration, levodopa equivalent daily dose, motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, and autonomy for activities of daily living, an association between the stage and severity was observed, with data indicating a progressive worsening related to disease progression throughout the proposed stages.Conclusion: Staging PD according to the MNCD classification correlated with QoL and disease severity. The MNCD could be a proper tool to monitor the progression of PD.COPPADIS and the present study were developed with the help of Fundación Española de Ayuda a la Investigación en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas y/o de Origen Genético (https://fundaciondegen.org/) and Alpha Bioresearch (www.alphabioresearch.com). Also, we received grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [PI16/01575] co-founded by ISCIII (Concesión de subvenciones de Proyectos de Investigación en Salud de la convocatoria 2020 de la Acción Estratégica en Salud 2017-2020 por el Proyecto “PROGRESION NO MOTORA E IMPACTO EN LA CALIDAD DE VIDA EN LA ENFERMEDAD DE PARKINSON”) to develop a part of the COPPADIS project.Peer reviewe

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

Tras la huella de Gonzalo Peláez

Algunas rutas, fotos y reseñas para conocer los lugares desde donde el conde asturiano Gonzalo Peláez llevó a cabo su rebelión contra el rey de León Alfonso VII en el siglo XII, y de cómo se relacionan con otros personajes históricos como: Urraca la Asturiana, primera y única reina de Asturias; Gausón, legendario caudillo astur; Gonzalo Peláez de Coalla, conde saqueador que asoló Grao; Alfonso Henriques, primer rey de Portugal o el gobernador Munuza, aniquilado con sus tropas, cuando abandonaba Asturias tras la derrota en Covadonga, en la legendaria batalla de Olalies.Peer reviewe

Nuevos materiales y tecnologías para el tratamiento del agua

314 páginasVivimos en una sociedad que demanda cantidades importantes de agua para su uso en numerosas actividades, por lo que la extracción de caudales de su ámbito natural de circulación es algo natural. En este libro se analizan los nuevos tratamientos y tecnologías que actualmente se llevan a cabo para el tratamiento en el ciclo del agua

Molienda de coque metalúrgico asistida con microondas

[EN] Microwave-assisted grinding of metallurgical coke. Metallurgical cokes are composed of graphitic carbon (s2p2) and different inorganic compounds with very different capacities to absorb microwave radiation. Moreover, due to the electric conductivity shown by the metallurgical cokes, microwave radiation produces electric arcs or microplasmas, which gives rise to hot spots. Therefore, when these cokes are irradiated with microwaves some parts of the particle experiment a rapid heating, while some others do not heat at all. As a result of the different expansion and stress caused by thermal the shock, small cracks and micro-fissures are produced in the particle. The weakening of the coke particles, and therefore an improvement of its grindability, is produced. This paper studies the microwave-assisted grinding of metallurgical coke and evaluates the grinding improvement and energy saving.[ES] Los coques metalúrgicos están compuestos mayoritariamente de carbono grafítico (s2p2) y diferentes compuestos inorgánicos con distintas capacidades de absorber la radiación de microondas. Cuando se irradian con microondas fragmentos de estos coques, algunas partes de las partículas experimentan un rápido calentamiento, mientras otras no. Además, debido a que el coque presenta una cierta conductividad eléctrica, al ser irradiados con microondas se producen de forma puntual arcos eléctricos o microplasmas, dando lugar a puntos muy calientes. Como consecuencia de las diferentes dilataciones y tensiones producidas por el choque térmico, se producen en las partículas pequeñas grietas y microfisuras. Esto produce una mayor fragilidad en las partículas de coque y un incremento en la molturabilidad de las mismas. En el presente artículo se estudia la molienda de coque asistida con microondas y se evalúan las mejoras en la molturabilidad y el ahorro de energía producido.Los autores agradecen a Arcelor Mittal (Asturias) la financiación del trabajo.Peer reviewe

Ball lightning plasma and plasma arc formation during the microwave heating of carbons

[EN] Microwave heating can be used to promote heterogeneous reactions with carbon materials, mainly because of the heating mechanism involved in microwave radiation and the phenomenon known as microplasmas. This work presents photographic evidence of plasma formation when different carbon materials are subjected to microwave heating. Two different kinds of plasmas were observed: ball lightning and arc discharge plasmas. The intensity of the plasmas in the less ordered carbon was significantly higher at the beginning of the process.The financial support from the PCTI-Asturias (Projects PEST08-03 and PEST08-21) and the Carburos Metálicos-Air Products Group, under Project CEN-2008-1027, a CENIT Project belonging to the Program Ingenio 2010, of the Spanish Government (CDTI), is acknowledged.Peer reviewe