Malnutrition According to GLIM Criteria Is Associated with Mortality and Hospitalizations in Rehabilitation Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Malnutrition has a negative impact on patients with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD). The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of malnutrition, defined by the Global Leadership Initiative for Malnutrition (GLIM), in stable COPD patients referred to pulmonary rehabilitation, and to explore potential associations of malnutrition according to GLIM, and its components, with increased risk of mortality and hospitalizations in 2 years. In a post-hoc analysis of a prospective cohort of 200 rehabilitation patients with stable COPD, main outcome variables were hospital admissions, length of stay, and mortality during a 2-year follow-up. Covariates were malnutrition according to GLIM and its phenotypic criteria: unintentional weight loss, low body mass index (BMI), and low fat-free mass (FFM). Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using logistic and proportional hazard Cox regression. Malnutrition according to GLIM showed 45% prevalence and was associated with increased mortality risk. Low age-related BMI and FFM were independently associated with mortality, which persisted after adjustment for age and lung function. Malnutrition and low BMI were also associated with increased risk of hospitalization. Malnutrition according to GLIM criteria was highly prevalent in rehabilitation patients with COPD and was associated with nearly 3 times greater mortality and hospitalization risk

Low Phase Angle Values Are Associated with Malnutrition according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition Criteria in Kidney Transplant Candidates : Preliminary Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy in the FRAILMar Study

Malnutrition has a negative impact on patients with chronic diseases and its early identification is a priority. The primary objective of this diagnostic accuracy study was to assess the performance of the phase angle (PhA), a bioimpedance analysis (BIA)-derived parameter, for malnutrition screening using the Global Leadership Initiative for Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria as the reference standard in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) waiting for kidney transplantation (KT); criteria associated with low PhA in this population were also analyzed. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative likelihood ratios, predictive values, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were calculated for PhA (index test) and compared with GLIM criteria (reference standard). Of 63 patients (62.9 years old; 76.2% men), 22 (34.9%) had malnutrition. The PhA threshold with the highest accuracy was ≤4.85° (sensitivity 72.7%, specificity 65.9%, and positive and negative likelihood ratios 2.13 and 0.41, respectively). A PhA ≤ 4.85° was associated with a 3.5-fold higher malnutrition risk (OR = 3.53 (CI95% 1.0-12.1)). Considering the GLIM criteria as the reference standard, a PhA ≤ 4.85° showed only fair validity for detecting malnutrition, and thus cannot be recommended as a stand-alone screening tool in this population

Loss of smell and taste can accurately predict COVID-19 infection: a machine-learning approach

The COVID-19 outbreak has spread extensively around the world. Loss of smell and taste have emerged as main predictors for COVID-19. The objective of our study is to develop a comprehensive machine learning (ML) modelling framework to assess the predictive value of smell and taste disorders, along with other symptoms, in COVID-19 infection. A multicenter case-control study was performed, in which suspected cases for COVID-19, who were tested by real-time reversetranscription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), informed about the presence and severity of their symptoms using visual analog scales (VAS). ML algorithms were applied to the collected data to predict a COVID-19 diagnosis using a 50-fold cross-validation scheme by randomly splitting the patients in training (75%) and testing datasets (25%). A total of 777 patients were included. Loss of smell and taste were found to be the symptoms with higher odds ratios of 6.21 and 2.42 for COVID-19 positivity. The ML algorithms applied reached an average accuracy of 80%, a sensitivity of 82%, and a specificity of 78% when using VAS to predict a COVID-19 diagnosis. This study concludes that smell and taste disorders are accurate predictors, with ML algorithms constituting helpful tools for COVID-19 diagnostic prediction.Junta de Andalucí

Les occupations humaines sur le site de plein air du Paléolithique supérieur de Montlleó (Prats i Sansor, Lérida, Espagne) : nouvelles données

Le site de plein air de Montlleó (Prats i Sansor, Lérida, Espagne) a été découvert en 1998 ; le SERP de l’université de Barcelone y fouille depuis l’année 2000. La présence d’industrie lithique et osseuse et de parure a montré l’importance du site pour des chasseurs du Magdalénien et le rôle de la haute vallée du Segre comme carrefour des échanges transpyrénéens de matières premières lithiques sur l’axe Segre-Têt via la Cerdagne. Des nouvelles dates radiométriques suggérant une occupation du site dès 22 000 cal. BP, ainsi que la présence d’un outillage où les raclettes et les pointes à cran sont attestées, ouvrent la possibilité d’une occupation plus ancienne qu’on ne l’envisageait jusqu’ici. Les analyses spatiales de dispersion des vestiges montrent effectivement l’existence de deux niveaux archéologiques séparés par un bref hiatus stérile. Ces données montrent qu’il s’agit de la plus ancienne occupation de l’espace montagnard au cours du Dernier Maximum glaciaire dans la zone pyrénéenne méridionale.The open air site of Montlleó (Prats i Sansor, Lérida, Spain) was discovered in 1998 and has been excavated since 2000 by a multidisciplinary team from the SERP research group, University of Barcelona. The presence of lithic and bone industries, as well as shell ornaments, have shown the importance of the site for hunter-gatherer Magdalenian groups and the role of the high Segre valley as a crossroad for lithic raw materials exchanges on the Segre-Têt axis through the Cerdanya valley. New radiometric dates (which situate the first occupations up to 22,000 cal BP) and the presence of new typological tools such as raclettes and Solutrean shouldered points lead us to think that human occupations were more ancient than first expected, going back up to the beginning of the Last Glacial maximum. The dispersion analyzes actually show the existence of two archeological levels separated by a short sterile hiatus. These data thus show that this site represents the oldest occupation of a mountain area during the LGM in the southeastern Pyrenean region

Reliability of a novel electro-medical device for wheal size measurement in allergy skin testing: An exploratory clinical trial

Skin prick testing (SPT) is the cornerstone of IgE-mediated allergy diagnosis,1 due to its high sensitivity and specificity.2 However, a uniform method for wheal measurement does not exist. Ansotegui et al.2 recommends to measure wheals in millimeters with a ruler, in many centers they are outlined with a pen and transfer by tape to a paper and then measured. Subsequently, the specialist is able to manually measure the maximum (MD) and orthogonal diameter (OD) of the wheal. This procedure is time consuming and makes repro-ducible measurements difficult.2,3 Knowing the wheal's area could help make a more accurate diagnosis.4 Over the last 30 years, many attempts have been made to develop a device to measure the size of SPT.3 Nexkin DSPT® (Figure S1A,B) is a novel mechatronic system based on 3D laser technology, that automatically locates allergen's wheal and measures its size (MD, OD and area in square millimeters) (Figure S1C)

Aportacions clau de la Cova del Parco (Alòs de Balaguer, la Noguera, Lleida) al Magdalenià: vint-i-cinc anys de recerca arqueològica

La Cova del Parco es troba en el Prepirineu lleidatà i més concretament en el terme municipal d'Alòs de Balaguer, a la comarca de la Noguera (coord. UTM 31T-X: 329322; Y: 4642202). El jaciment es situa a 420 m s. n. m. i a 120 m sobre el riu Segre, amb una orientació nord-sud. La cavitat està formada per una galeria única de planta triangular de 10,5 m de llarg per 4,5 m d'ample màxim a l'entrada, que comunica lateralment amb un gran abric de 5,5 m per 30 m, tancat per un mur de pedra seca d'època històrica. El descobriment del jaciment arqueològic es remunta a mitjan dècada dels setanta del segle passat, quan es dugueren a terme les primeres intervencions per part del professor Joan Maluquer de Motes els anys 1974, 1975 i 1981, que comportaren gairebé el buidatge complet dels nivells superiors de l'estratigrafia que contenien els nivells ceràmics

Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP). Núcleo de cohesión en formación e investigación en Prehistoria de la Universidad de Barcelona desde 1987

El artículo es un resumen amplio de todas las actividades científicas y académicas llevadas a cabo por el SERP (Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques) desde su fundación en 1987 por parte del Dr. Fullola. Abarca desde programas de excavaciones a proyectos internacionales pasando por temas de Patrimonio arqueológico o de historiografía, entre muchos otros. Además del resumen de dichas actividades, se añade también una completa lista de publicaciones, la gran mayoría en revistas de impacto nacional e internacional. Se incide especialmente en siete líneas básicas de trabajo dentro del grupo, la arqueopetrología, la arqueozoología, el arte prehistórico, la geoarqueología, la paleobotánica, la tecnología, el patrimonio y los estudios territoriales. También se repasan todos y cada uno de los yacimientos objeto de excavación por parte del SERP en estos últimos tres decenios

Exploring APOE genotype effects on Alzheimer's disease risk and amyloid β burden in individuals with subjective cognitive decline: The FundacioACE Healthy Brain Initiative (FACEHBI) study baseline results

Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) has been proposed as a potential preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nevertheless, the genetic and biomarker profiles of SCD individuals remain mostly unexplored. Methods: We evaluated apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4's effect in the risk of presenting SCD, using the Fundacio ACE Healthy Brain Initiative (FACEHBI) SCD cohort and Spanish controls, and performed a meta-analysis addressing the same question. We assessed the relationship between APOE dosage and brain amyloid burden in the FACEHBI SCD and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohorts. Results: Analysis of the FACEHBI cohort and the meta-analysis demonstrated SCD individuals presented higher allelic frequencies of APOE ε4 with respect to controls. APOE dosage explained 9% (FACEHBI cohort) and 11% (FACEHBI and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohorts) of the variance of cerebral amyloid levels. Discussion: The FACEHBI sample presents APOE ε4 enrichment, suggesting that a pool of AD patients is nested in our sample. Cerebral amyloid levels are partially explained by the APOE allele dosage, suggesting that other genetic or epigenetic factors are involved in this AD endophenotype

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