El valor del idioma español en ciencia y tecnología

Se analiza el valor del español como idioma principal en las revistas científicas editadas en España y en los países latinoamericanos, así como a través de la producción científica mundial recogida en las principales bases de datos bibliográficas de cobertura internacional. El estudio evidencia la importancia del español como lengua de comunicación científica en determinados ámbitos disciplinares ligados, por una parte, a intereses socioeconómicos y territoriales de los países de habla española, como es el caso de la economía regional, la medicina clínica, la geología y medio ambiente y, por otra, a determinados ámbitos científicos propios de las humanidades, como la literatura, la historia de los países iberoamericanos, etc. Este estudio pretende contribuir al mejor conocimiento y comprensión del valor real y potencial del español en la ciencia, de cara a la adecuada utilización de este recurso para el desarrollo de nuestras sociedades y su proyección cultural y económica a escala internacional.We analyse the specific weight of the Spanish as a primary language in scientific journals published in Spain and Latin American countries, as well as through the global scientific output covered by the main bibliographic databases of international coverage. The study highlights the importance of the Spanish as a language of scientific communication in certain disciplinary areas linked on the one hand to socio-economic regional interests of Spanish-speaking countries, as it is the case of Clinical medicine, Geology and Environment, and, on the other, to certain scientific fields of the Social sciences and Humanities, as it is the case of the Regional economy, the Literature, the History of Ibero-American countries, etc. This study aims to contribute to the better knowledge and understanding of the real and potential value of the Spanish in the scientific world, with regard to the appropriate use of this resource for the development of our societies, and its cultural and economic projection at the international level

Genetic Testing to Inform Epilepsy Treatment Management From an International Study of Clinical Practice

IMPORTANCE: It is currently unknown how often and in which ways a genetic diagnosis given to a patient with epilepsy is associated with clinical management and outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how genetic diagnoses in patients with epilepsy are associated with clinical management and outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients referred for multigene panel testing between March 18, 2016, and August 3, 2020, with outcomes reported between May and November 2020. The study setting included a commercial genetic testing laboratory and multicenter clinical practices. Patients with epilepsy, regardless of sociodemographic features, who received a pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variant were included in the study. Case report forms were completed by all health care professionals. EXPOSURES: Genetic test results. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Clinical management changes after a genetic diagnosis (ie, 1 P/LP variant in autosomal dominant and X-linked diseases; 2 P/LP variants in autosomal recessive diseases) and subsequent patient outcomes as reported by health care professionals on case report forms. RESULTS: Among 418 patients, median (IQR) age at the time of testing was 4 (1-10) years, with an age range of 0 to 52 years, and 53.8% (n = 225) were female individuals. The mean (SD) time from a genetic test order to case report form completion was 595 (368) days (range, 27-1673 days). A genetic diagnosis was associated with changes in clinical management for 208 patients (49.8%) and usually (81.7% of the time) within 3 months of receiving the result. The most common clinical management changes were the addition of a new medication (78 [21.7%]), the initiation of medication (51 [14.2%]), the referral of a patient to a specialist (48 [13.4%]), vigilance for subclinical or extraneurological disease features (46 [12.8%]), and the cessation of a medication (42 [11.7%]). Among 167 patients with follow-up clinical information available (mean [SD] time, 584 [365] days), 125 (74.9%) reported positive outcomes, 108 (64.7%) reported reduction or elimination of seizures, 37 (22.2%) had decreases in the severity of other clinical signs, and 11 (6.6%) had reduced medication adverse effects. A few patients reported worsening of outcomes, including a decline in their condition (20 [12.0%]), increased seizure frequency (6 [3.6%]), and adverse medication effects (3 [1.8%]). No clinical management changes were reported for 178 patients (42.6%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Results of this cross-sectional study suggest that genetic testing of individuals with epilepsy may be materially associated with clinical decision-making and improved patient outcomes

El valor del idioma español en ciencia y tecnología

[EN] We analyse the specific weight of the Spanish as a primary language in scientific journals published in Spain and Latin American countries, as well as through the global scientific output covered by the main bibliographic databases of international coverage. The study highlights the importance of the Spanish as a language of scientific communication in certain disciplinary areas linked on the one hand to socio-economic regional interests of Spanish-speaking countries, as it is the case of Clinical medicine, Geology and Environment, and, on the other, to certain scientific fields of the Social sciences and Humanities, as it is the case of the Regional economy, the Literature, the History of Ibero-American countries, etc. This study aims to contribute to the better knowledge and understanding of the real and potential value of the Spanish in the scientific world, with regard to the appropriate use of this resource for the development of our societies, and its cultural and economic projection at the international level[ES] Se analiza el peso específico del español como idioma principal en las revistas científicas editadas en España y en los países latinoamericanos, así como a través de la producción científica mundial recogida en las principales bases de datos bibliográficas de cobertura internacional. El estudio pone de manifiesto la importancia del español como lengua de comunicación científica en determinados ámbitos disciplinares ligados por una parte a intereses socioeconómicos y territoriales de los países de habla española, como es el caso de la medicina clínica, la geología y medio ambiente y, por otra, a determinados ámbitos científicos propios de las ciencias sociales y las humanidades, como es el caso de la economía regional, la literatura, la historia de los países iberoamericanos, etc. Este estudio pretende contribuir al mejor conocimiento y comprensión del valor real y potencial del español en el mundo científico, de cara a la adecuada utilización de este recurso para el desarrollo de nuestras sociedades, y su proyección cultural y económica a escala internacional.Peer reviewe

Old Silk Endowed with New Properties

ABSTRACT: High-performance regenerated silkworm Bombyx mori silk fibers with new properties that mimic those of spider silk can be produced through a wet spinning process modified with an immersion postspinning drawing (IPSD) step. IPSD fibers show the ability to recover from irreversible deformation, and their tensile behavior can be tailored repeatedly, features solely exhibited until now by natural spider silk. It is further shown that the new properties emerge from a microstructure that is closer to that of spider than to natural silkworm silk. This work demonstrates that processing plays a role at least comparable to that of the amino acid sequence in the final properties of the material. The spinning process does not only modify the mechanical parameters of the fiber but also can even prompt the emergence of new properties, opening a wide range of new applications for regenerated silk fibers. It also represents a significant change of the paradigm in the field of biomimetics, given that it relaxes the condition of copying the natural protein sequences as close as possible to recover the outstanding properties of the natural materials