En torno a la exposición “Naturalezas Ilustradas. La Colección Van Berkhey del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales” que se celebra en el MNCN.CSIC

Sección: La RedLa conocida como colección Van Berkhey, que se custodia en el Archivo del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, fue comprada por la Corona en 1785: un rey a quién le gustaba la Ciencia (https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/galeria-on-line/galeria-on-line/obra/carlos-iii-nino/), un Secretario de Estado y del Despacho que deseaba ilustrar a la sociedad española, un Cónsul de España en Ámsterdam polifacético y un Director de uno de los mejores Gabinetes de Historia Natural, se comprometieron en la tarea de adquirir la colección de Historia Natural del médico neerlandés Johannes Le Francq van Berkhey, una de las más famosas de Europa en su época.N

Wnt receptors, bone mass, and fractures: gene-wide association analysis of LRP5 and LRP6 polymorphisms with replication

Objectives. Genes explaining the susceptibility to osteoporosis have not been fully elucidated. Our objective was to explore the association of polymorphisms capturing common variations of the lipoprotein receptor related protein (LRP) 5 and 6 genes, encoding two Wnt receptors, with femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporotic fractures of the spine and the hip. Design. Cross-sectional, case-control and replication genetic association study. Methods. Thirty nine tagging and functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were analyzed in a group of 1043 postmenopausal women and 394 women with hip fractures. The results were replicated in a different group of 342 women. Results. Three SNPs of the LRP6 gene were associated with BMD (nominal uncorrected pvalues< 0.05) in the discovery cohort. One showed a significant association after multiple test correction; two of them were also associated in the replication cohort, with a combined standardized mean difference of 0.51 (p=0.009) and 0.65 (p<0.0001) across rs11054704 and rs2302685 genotypes. In the discovery cohort, several LRP5 SNPs were associated with vertebral fractures (odds ratio 0.67; p=0.01), with hip fractures (unadjusted odds ratios between 0.59 and 1.21, p=0.005-0.033, but not significant after multiple test- or age-adjustment), and with height and the projected femoral neck area, but not with BMD. Transcripts of LRP5 and LRP6 were similarly abundant in bone samples. Conclusions. In this study we found common polymorphisms of LRP5 associated with osteoporotic fractures, and polymorphisms of the LRP6 gene associated with BMD, thus suggesting them as likely candidates to contribute explaining the hereditary influence on osteoporosis

Genetic Structure of the Spanish Population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genetic admixture is a common caveat for genetic association analysis. Therefore, it is important to characterize the genetic structure of the population under study to control for this kind of potential bias.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we have sampled over 800 unrelated individuals from the population of Spain, and have genotyped them with a genome-wide coverage. We have carried out linkage disequilibrium, haplotype, population structure and copy-number variation (CNV) analyses, and have compared these estimates of the Spanish population with existing data from similar efforts.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In general, the Spanish population is similar to the Western and Northern Europeans, but has a more diverse haplotypic structure. Moreover, the Spanish population is also largely homogeneous within itself, although patterns of micro-structure may be able to predict locations of origin from distant regions. Finally, we also present the first characterization of a CNV map of the Spanish population. These results and original data are made available to the scientific community.</p

Evaluating the Potential of Polygenic Risk Score to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening

Background: Colorectal cancer has high incidence and associ-ated mortality worldwide. Screening programs are recommended for men and women over 50. Intermediate screens such as fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) select patients for colonoscopy with suboptimal sensitivity. Additional biomarkers could improve the current scenario. Methods: We included 2,893 individuals with a positive FIT test. They were classified as cases when a high-risk lesion for colorectal cancer was detected after colonoscopy, whereas the control group comprised individuals with low-risk or no lesions. 65 colorectal cancer risk genetic variants were geno-typed. Polygenic risk score (PRS) and additive models for risk prediction incorporating sex, age, FIT value, and PRS were generated. Results: Risk score was higher in cases compared with controls [per allele OR = 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.06; P = 65), compared with those in the first decile (<= 54; OR = 2.22; 95% CI, 1.59-3.12; P < 0.0001). The model combining sex, age, FIT value, and PRS reached the highest accuracy for identifying patients with a high-risk lesion [cross-validated area under the ROC curve (AUROC): 0.64; 95% CI, 0.62-0.66]. Conclusions: This is the first investigation analyzing PRS in a two-step colorectal cancer screening program. PRS could improve current colorectal cancer screening, most likely for higher at-risk subgroups. However, its capacity is limited to predict colorectal cancer risk status and should be complemented by additional biomarkers.Impact: PRS has capacity for risk stratification of colorectal cancer suggesting its potential for optimizing screening strategies alongside with other biomarkers

Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Post-Surgical Mediastinitis in Adults Consensus Guidelines of the Spanish Society of Cardiovascular Infections (SEICAV), the Spanish Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (SECTCV) and the Biomedical Research Centre Network for Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES)

Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Post-Surgical Mediastinitis in Adults Consensus Guidelines of the Spanish Society of Cardiovascular Infections (SEICAV), the Spanish Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (SECTCV) and the Biomedical Research Centre Network for Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES) doctors and radiologists. Despite the clinical and economic consequences of sternal wound infections, to date, there are no specific guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and management of mediastinitis based on a multidisciplinary consensus. The purpose of the present document is to provide evidencebased guidance on the most effective diagnosis and management of patients who have experienced or are at risk of developing a post-surgical mediastinitis infection in order to optimise patient outcomes and the process of care. The intended users of the document are health care providers who help patients make decisions regarding their treatment, aiming to optimise the benefits and minimise any harm as well as the workload.Funding: J.M. Miró was a recipient of a personal 80:20 research grant from IDIBAPS during the period 2017–2021

Labelfish – towards a universal methodology to combat seafood fraud

44th WEFTA meeting, 9-11 June 2014, Bilbao (Spain)Fraud refers to deliberate actions intended for the misleading of consumers in different ways. In the case of seafood, most of the time the term fraud involves the substitution of valuable species by others of lower price, therefore meaning an economic loss for consumers, but also mislabelling can hide other malpractices such as illegal capture procedures. Traceability of fish and seafood is mandatory since 2005 within the EU. Full implementation requires an adequate management of information and also the availability of techniques, which allow the verification of the information transmitted. These are essential tools to combat food fraud, however recent cases have shown that although legislation and techniques are available there are still some crisis related with food fraud which merit a deep evaluation and analysis of the problem . LABELFISH is a project funded by the Atlantic Area Programme and includes participants of six countries in Europe, mainly from the Atlantic area, which are characterized by an intense economic and social relationship with marine resources. One of the main aims of LABELFISH is the establishment of a network of laboratories and national control bodies with experience and interest in seafood labelling and traceability. The objectives include the level of implementation of traceability schemes in most important European seafood value chains, the analysis and detection of possible examples of seafood fraud across Europe, the consumers perception about seafood labelling, the current ethodologies used for controlling the veracity of seafood labels, and how to propose harmonized methodologies for the adequate control of seafood labelling in the European Union. This talk will focus on the Labelfish aspects related with the harmonization of fish species identification methodologies in the context of LABELFISHN

Epidemiological trends of HIV/HCV coinfection in Spain, 2015-2019

Altres ajuts: Spanish AIDS Research Network; European Funding for Regional Development (FEDER).Objectives: We assessed the prevalence of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies and active HCV infection (HCV-RNA-positive) in people living with HIV (PLWH) in Spain in 2019 and compared the results with those of four similar studies performed during 2015-2018. Methods: The study was performed in 41 centres. Sample size was estimated for an accuracy of 1%. Patients were selected by random sampling with proportional allocation. Results: The reference population comprised 41 973 PLWH, and the sample size was 1325. HCV serostatus was known in 1316 PLWH (99.3%), of whom 376 (28.6%) were HCV antibody (Ab)-positive (78.7% were prior injection drug users); 29 were HCV-RNA-positive (2.2%). Of the 29 HCV-RNA-positive PLWH, infection was chronic in 24, it was acute/recent in one, and it was of unknown duration in four. Cirrhosis was present in 71 (5.4%) PLWH overall, three (10.3%) HCV-RNA-positive patients and 68 (23.4%) of those who cleared HCV after anti-HCV therapy (p = 0.04). The prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies decreased steadily from 37.7% in 2015 to 28.6% in 2019 (p < 0.001); the prevalence of active HCV infection decreased from 22.1% in 2015 to 2.2% in 2019 (p < 0.001). Uptake of anti-HCV treatment increased from 53.9% in 2015 to 95.0% in 2019 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In Spain, the prevalence of active HCV infection among PLWH at the end of 2019 was 2.2%, i.e. 90.0% lower than in 2015. Increased exposure to DAAs was probably the main reason for this sharp reduction. Despite the high coverage of treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents, HCV-related cirrhosis remains significant in this population

Izaña Atmospheric Research Center. Activity Report 2019-2020

Editors: Emilio Cuevas, Celia Milford and Oksana Tarasova.[EN]The Izaña Atmospheric Research Center (IARC), which is part of the State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET), is a site of excellence in atmospheric science. It manages four observatories in Tenerife including the high altitude Izaña Atmospheric Observatory. The Izaña Atmospheric Observatory was inaugurated in 1916 and since that date has carried out uninterrupted meteorological and climatological observations, contributing towards a unique 100-year record in 2016. This reports are a summary of the many activities at the Izaña Atmospheric Research Center to the broader community. The combination of operational activities, research and development in state-of-the-art measurement techniques, calibration and validation and international cooperation encompass the vision of WMO to provide world leadership in expertise and international cooperation in weather, climate, hydrology and related environmental issues.[ES]El Centro de Investigación Atmosférica de Izaña (CIAI), que forma parte de la Agencia Estatal de Meteorología de España (AEMET), representa un centro de excelencia en ciencias atmosféricas. Gestiona cuatro observatorios en Tenerife, incluido el Observatorio de Izaña de gran altitud, inaugurado en 1916 y que desde entonces ha realizado observaciones meteorológicas y climatológicas ininterrumpidas y se ha convertido en una estación centenaria de la OMM. Estos informes resumen las múltiples actividades llevadas a cabo por el Centro de Investigación Atmosférica de Izaña. El liderazgo del Centro en materia de investigación y desarrollo con respecto a las técnicas de medición, calibración y validación de última generación, así como la cooperación internacional, le han otorgado una reputación sobresaliente en lo que se refiere al tiempo, el clima, la hidrología y otros temas ambientales afines