How Europeans move: a moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sitting time paradox in the European Union

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the interactions between physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour in a large population taking account of major sociodemographic characteristics. Study design: Cross-sectional population-based study. Methods: Data from 28,031 individuals living in the European Union who were aged ≥15 years were retrieved from a cross-sectional survey, the Eurobarometer 2017. Interactions among the four mobility components (vigorous, moderate, walking activity and sitting time) were assessed at the individual level across age, gender and place of residence, and at the country level by compositional data analysis, hierarchical linear regressions and principal component analysis. Results: The most frequently reported PA was walking; however, sitting time represented >95% of the reported weekly times, whereas moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) represented <1%. Women reported less PA and sitting time, age decreased total PA and increased sitting time, and individuals living in large urban areas reported lower PA and higher sitting times. MVPA decreased with age (β = -0.047, P < 0.001) and was lower in women (β = -0.760, P < 0.001) and those living in large urban areas (β = -0.581, P < 0.001), while walking and sitting times increased with age, being higher in women and lower in those living in rural areas. At the country level, sitting time was positively associated with moderate activity (β = 0.389, P = 0.041) and marginally non-significant with MVPA (β = 0.330, P = 0.087). Conclusions: Walking was the highest contributor to weekly PA, whereas sitting time was paradoxically associated with higher MVPA. Specific measures to reduce sitting time are required to achieve an active lifestyle

Uso de compostas y vermicompostas para la producción de tomate orgánico en invernadero

Una alternativa en la agricultura orgánica es la utilización de sustratos orgánicos. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar el efecto de tres compostas y tres vermicompostas mezcladas en diferentes proporciones (100, 75 y 50%) con arena, sobre el rendimiento y calidad de tomate, bajo condiciones de invernadero. Se utilizó el híbrido SUN-7705 de tomate (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Los 18 tratamientos se distribuyeron en un diseño completamente al azar con arreglo factorial 6×3 con cinco repeticiones en dos fechas de siembra. Se detectaron diferencias estadísticas entre fechas de siembra (p≤0,01). Los resultados indican que las mejores siete mezclas fueron vermicomposta de estiércol de ganado vacuno + rastrojo de maíz + tierra negra (VEMT) 75% + arena; vermicomposta de estiércol de ganado vacuno + pasto bahía (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) + tierra negra (VEPT) 100, 75 y 50% + arena; vermicomposta de estiércol de ganado vacuno + rastrojo de maíz + tierra negra (VEMT) 50% + arena; y vermicomposta de estiércol de ganado vacuno + rastrojo de maíz + zacate elefante (Pennisetum purpureum Schumacher; VEMZT) 100 y 75% + arena; con una media de 54,527t•ha-1. Los frutos de mayor tamaño se obtuvieron con la vermicomposta VEMT 75% + arena. El mayor contenido de sólidos solubles, se obtuvo con la mezcla VEPT 100% con 5,34ºBrix. Se concluye que se obtiene mayor rendimiento utilizando sustratos orgánicos con respecto al obtenido en producciones de tomate orgánico en campo, sin afectar la calidad del fruto

Front Matter

The carbohydrate Galα1-3Galβ1-(3)4GlcNAc-R (α-Gal) is produced in all mammals except for humans, apes and old world monkeys that lost the ability to synthetize this carbohydrate. Therefore, humans can produce high antibody titers against α-Gal. Anti-α-Gal IgE antibodies have been associated with tick-induced allergy (i.e. α-Gal syndrome) and anti-α-Gal IgG/IgM antibodies may be involved in protection against malaria, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. The α-Gal on tick salivary proteins plays an important role in the etiology of the α-Gal syndrome. However, whether ticks are able to produce endogenous α-Gal remains currently unknown. In this study, the Ixodes scapularis genome was searched for galactosyltransferases and three genes were identified as potentially involved in the synthesis of α-Gal. Heterologous gene expression in α-Gal-negative cells and gene knockdown in ticks confirmed that these genes were involved in α-Gal synthesis and are essential for tick feeding. Furthermore, these genes were shown to play an important role in tick-pathogen interactions. Results suggested that tick cells increased α-Gal levels in response to Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection to control bacterial infection. These results provided the molecular basis of endogenous α-Gal production in ticks and suggested that tick galactosyltransferases are involved in vector development, tick-pathogen interactions and possibly the etiology of α-Gal syndrome in humans.This research was supported by the Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, JCCM, Spain, project CCM17-PIC-036 (SBPLY/17/180501/000185). JJV was supported by Project FIT (Pharmacology, Immunotherapy, nanoToxicology), funded by the European Regional Development Fund.Peer Reviewe

GEICAM Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Breast Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women in Spain. During the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARSCoV-2 virus, patients with BC still require timely treatment and follow-up; however, hospitals are overwhelmed with infected patients and, if exposed, patients with BC are at higher risk for infection and serious complications if infected. Thus, health care providers need to evaluate each BC treatment and in-hospital visit to minimize pandemic-associated risks while maintaining adequate treatment efficacy. Here we present a set of guidelines regarding available options for BC patient management and treatment by BC subtype in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to the lack of evidence about COVID-19 infection, these recommendations are mainly based on expert opinion, medical organizations’ and societies’ recommendations, and some published evidence. We consider this a useful tool to facilitate medical decision making in this health crisis situation we are facing

Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome of neonatal onset simulating a congenital infection

Dismorfología y Genética ClínicaAicardi-Goutières Syndrome (AGS) is a genetic disorder with autosomal recessive aetiology characterized by an early developed encephalopathy with severe physical and mental handicaps. The neonatal form (20% of the cases) shows a phenotype similar to a congenital infection, hence there exists the possibility of misdiagnosis and misinformation to parents about the risk of recurrence. We present a new case of AGS with a neonatal onset and also review clinical patterns, laboratory and neuroimaging findings, and new advances in geneticmolecular diagnosis that have allowed us to delineate the phenotypic spectrum and confirm the aetiology in more than 80% of cases.N

The Rise and Fall of "Respectable" Spanish Liberalism, 1808-1923: An Explanatory Framework

The article focuses on the reasons behind both the consolidation of what I have termed “respectable” liberalism between the 1830s and the 1840s and its subsequent decline and fall between 1900 and 1923. In understanding both processes I study the links established between “respectable” liberals and propertied elites, the monarchy, and the Church. In the first phase these links served to consolidate the liberal polity. However, they also meant that many tenets of liberal ideology were compromised. Free elections were undermined by the operation of caciquismo, monarchs established a powerful position, and despite the Church hierarchy working with liberalism, the doctrine espoused by much of the Church was still shaped by the Counter-Reformation. Hence, “respectable” liberalism failed to achieve a popular social base. And the liberal order was increasingly denigrated as part of the corrupt “oligarchy” that ruled Spain. Worse still, between 1916 and 1923 the Church, monarch, and the propertied elite increasingly abandoned the liberal Monarchist Restoration. Hence when General Primo de Rivera launched his coup the rug was pulled from under the liberals’ feet and there was no one to cushion the fall

The Sensitivity of HAWC to High-Mass Dark Matter Annihilations

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory is a wide field-of-view detector sensitive to gamma rays of 100 GeV to a few hundred TeV. Located in central Mexico at 19 degrees North latitude and 4100 m above sea level, HAWC will observe gamma rays and cosmic rays with an array of water Cherenkov detectors. The full HAWC array is scheduled to be operational in Spring 2015. In this paper, we study the HAWC sensitivity to the gamma-ray signatures of high-mass (multi- TeV) dark matter annihilation. The HAWC observatory will be sensitive to diverse searches for dark matter annihilation, including annihilation from extended dark matter sources, the diffuse gamma-ray emission from dark matter annihilation, and gamma-ray emission from non-luminous dark matter subhalos. Here we consider the HAWC sensitivity to a subset of these sources, including dwarf galaxies, the M31 galaxy, the Virgo cluster, and the Galactic center. We simulate the HAWC response to gamma rays from these sources in several well-motivated dark matter annihilation channels. If no gamma-ray excess is observed, we show the limits HAWC can place on the dark matter cross-section from these sources. In particular, in the case of dark matter annihilation into gauge bosons, HAWC will be able to detect a narrow range of dark matter masses to cross-sections below thermal. HAWC should also be sensitive to non-thermal cross-sections for masses up to nearly 1000 TeV. The constraints placed by HAWC on the dark matter cross-section from known sources should be competitive with current limits in the mass range where HAWC has similar sensitivity. HAWC can additionally explore higher dark matter masses than are currently constrained.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, version to be published in PR