Testing the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement in Spanish Children: The Role of Parents’ Distress, Emotional Problems and Specific Parenting

The present study aimed to examine the effects of the Spanish confinement derived from the COVID-19 crisis on children and their families, accounting for child’s age. A range of child negative (e.g., conduct problems) and positive outcomes (e.g., routine maintenance) were examined, along with a set of parent-related variables, including resilience, perceived distress, emotional problems, parenting distress and specific parenting practices (e.g., structured or avoidant parenting), which were modeled through path analysis to better understand child adjustment. Data were collected in April 2020, with information for the present study provided by 940 (89.6%) mothers, 102 (9.7%) fathers and 7 (0.7%) different caregivers, who informed on 1049 Spanish children (50.4% girls) aged 3 to 12 years (Mage = 7.29; SD = 2.39). The results suggested that, according to parents’ information, most children did not show important changes in behavior, although some increasing rates were observed for both negative and positive outcomes. Child adjustment was influenced by a chain of effects, derived from parents’ perceived distress and emotional response to the COVID-19 crisis, via parenting distress and specific parenting practices. While parenting distress in particular triggered child negative outcomes, specific parenting practices were more closely related to child positive outcomes. These findings may help to better inform, for potential future outbreaks, effective guidelines and prevention programs aimed at promoting the child’s well-being in the familyThis research was funded by FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades—Agencia Estatal de Investigación/Grant (PSI2015-65766-R); Programa de Axudas á Etapa Posdoutoral da Xunta de Galicia; and Axudas para a Consolidación e Estruturación de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas e outras Accións de Fomento nas Univeridades; GRC, 2018 (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia)S

Palynology from “The Jurassic Dinosaur Coast” of Asturias (Lastres Fm., Northwestern Spain): palynostratigraphical and palaeoecological insights

Abundant fossils of vertebrates (mainly footprints and bones of dinosaurs) and numerous invertebrates occur in the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Lastres Formation in the Asturias region, North of Spain. However, no palynological study has been published from this geological formation; therefore, much palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological information is still unknown. In this study, a total of 62 morphospecies, belonging to 49 different morphogenera were identified, including pollen, spores, algae remains, fungi spores, dinoflagellates, foraminifera, and scolecodonts from four different locations on the Asturian coast. Spores are the dominant group of palynomorphs, both in diversity and abundance, contrasting with the minor diversity of pollen grains. The age of some key taxa indicates that the palynological assemblage cannot be older than the Kimmeridgian, suggesting a Kimmeridgian-Tithonian age. The botanical and environmental affinities of the pollen and spores indicate the presence of different plant assemblages, including plant communities from humid areas such as the margin of rivers and small freshwater ponds that were dominated by bryophytes and ferns, and a coastal plant community that would inhabit arid areas and would be dominated by gymnosperms and some pteridophytes. The SEM analyses of wood remains show the abundance of charcoalified remains suggesting that wildfires were usual in The Dinosaur Coast of Asturias during the Kimmeridgian.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2019/243Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2020/175Chinese Academy of Sciences | Ref. XDB26000000Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Ref. PGC2018-094034-B-C2

Improvement in detecting cytomegalovirus drug resistance mutations in solid organ transplant recipients with suspected resistance using next generation sequencing

Antiviral resistance; Solid organ transplant; Next-generation sequencingResistencia a los antivirales; Trasplante de órganos sólidos; Secuenciación de próxima generaciónResistència als antivirals; Trasplantament d'òrgans sòlids; Seqüenciació de pròxima generacióOBJETIVES: The aim of this study was to identify CMV drug resistance mutations (DRM) in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients with suspected resistance comparing next-generation sequencing (NGS) with Sanger sequencing and assessing risk factors and the clinical impact of resistance. METHODS: Using Sanger sequencing as the reference method, we prospectively assessed the ability of NGS to detect CMV DRM in the UL97 and UL54 genes in a nationwide observational study from September 2013 to August 2016. RESULTS: Among 44 patients recruited, 14 DRM were detected by Sanger in 12 patients (27%) and 20 DRM were detected by NGS, in 16 (36%). NGS confirmed all the DRM detected by Sanger. The additional six mutations detected by NGS were present in <20% of the sequenced population, being located in the UL97 gene and conferring high-level resistance to ganciclovir. The presence of DRM by NGS was associated with lung transplantation (p = 0.050), the administration of prophylaxis (p = 0.039), a higher mean time between transplantation and suspicion of resistance (p = 0.038) and longer antiviral treatment duration before suspicion (p = 0.024). However, the latter was the only factor independently associated with the presence of DRM by NGS in the multivariate analysis (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.03 to 4.87). CONCLUSIONS: NGS showed a higher yield than Sanger sequencing for detecting CMV resistance mutations in SOT recipients. The presence of DRM detected by NGS was independently associated with longer antiviral treatment.The present study was funded by Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Research and Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PS12/02131 and PI17/02150) and by the Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR, FI-DGR 2017, Grant No. 00794), which is supported by the Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca (Economy and Knowledge Department, Generalitat de Catalunya), and co-funded by the European Social Fund and by Fundacio Marato TV3 project (201824). The study sponsor had no role in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data

Children Coping, Contextual Risk and Their Interplay During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spanish Case

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives of millions of people around the globe and some of the unprecedent emerged disruptions, are likely to have been particularly challenging for young children (e.g., school closures, social distancing measures, movement restrictions). Studying the impact of such extraordinary circumstances on their well-being is crucial to identify processes leading to risk and resilience. To better understand how Spanish children have adapted to the stressful disruptions resulting from the pandemic outbreak, we examined the effects of child coping and its interactions with contextual stressors (pandemic and family related) on child adjustment, incorporating in our analysis a developmental perspective. Data was collected in April 2020, through parent-reports, during the acute phase of the pandemic and, temporarily coinciding with the mandatory national quarantine period imposed by the Spanish Government. A sample of 1,123 Spanish children (50% girls) aged 3 to 12 (Mage = 7.26; SD = 2.39) participated in the study. Results showed differences in the use of specific strategies by children in different age groups (i.e., 3–6, 7–9 and 10–12-year-olds). Despite the uncontrollable nature of the pandemic-related stressors, child disengagement coping was distinctively associated to negative outcomes (i.e., higher levels of behavioral and emotional difficulties), whereas engagement coping predicted psychosocial adjustment across all age groups. Moreover, interactively with child coping, parent fear of the future and parent dispositional resilience appear as relevant contextual factors to predict both negative and positive outcomes, but their effects seem to be age dependent, suggesting a higher contextual vulnerability for younger children. These findings might have implications for identifying individual and contextual risk and informing potential preventive interventions aimed to reduce the impact of future pandemic outbreaks on children of different agesFEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades – Agencia Estatal de Investigación/Grant (PSI2015-65766-R) and Axudas para a Consolidación e Estruturación de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas e outras Accións de Fomento nas Univeridades; GRC, 2018 (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia) provided finantial support for this research. In addition, this study was supported by Programa de Formación de Profesorado Universitario/Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Reference: FPU 16/06777)S

The role of PemIK (PemK/PemI) type II TA system from Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical strains in lytic phage infection

Since their discovery, toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems have captivated the attention of many scientists. Recent studies have demonstrated that TA systems play a key role in phage inhibition. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the PemIK (PemK/PemI) type II TA system in phage inhibition by its intrinsic expression in clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae carrying the lncL plasmid, which harbours the carbapenemase OXA-48 and the PemK/PemI TA system. Furthermore, induced expression of the system in an IPTG-inducible plasmid in a reference strain of K. pneumoniae ATCC10031 was also studied. The results showed that induced expression of the whole TA system did not inhibit phage infection, whereas overexpression of the pemK toxin prevented early infection. To investigate the molecular mechanism involved in the PemK toxin-mediated inhibition of phage infection, assays measuring metabolic activity and viability were performed, revealing that overexpression of the PemK toxin led to dormancy of the bacteria. Thus, we demonstrate that the PemK/PemI TA system plays a role in phage infection and that the action of the free toxin induces a dormant state in the cells, resulting in inhibition of phage infections

Inhibition of gamma-secretase promotes axon regeneration after a complete spinal cord injury

In a recent study, we showed that GABA and baclofen (a GABAB receptor agonist) inhibit caspase activation and promote axon regeneration in descending neurons of the sea lamprey brainstem after a complete spinal cord injury (Romaus-Sanjurjo et al., 2018a). Now, we repeated these treatments and performed 2 independent Illumina RNA-Sequencing studies in the brainstems of control and GABA or baclofen treated animals. GABA treated larval sea lampreys with their controls were analyzed 29 days after a complete spinal cord injury and baclofen treated larvae with their controls 9 days after the injury. One of the most significantly downregulated genes after both treatments was a HES gene (HESB). HES proteins are transcription factors that are key mediators of the Notch signaling pathway and gamma-secretase activity is crucial for the activation of this pathway. So, based on the RNA-Seq results we subsequently treated spinal cord injured larval sea lampreys with a novel gamma-secretase inhibitor (PF-3804014). This treatment also reduced the expression of HESB in the brainstem and significantly enhanced the regeneration of individually identifiable descending neurons after a complete spinal cord injury. Our results show that gamma-secretase could be a novel target to promote axon regeneration after nervous system injuriesGrant sponsors: FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades – Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Grant number: BFU-2017-87079-P) and the Xunta de Galicia (Grant number: ED431C 2018/28). DR was supported by the BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme Grants to the Roslin Institute (BB/P013732/1, BB/P013740/1, and BB/P013759/1)S

Mid-Holocene Palaeoenvironment, Plant Resources and Human Interaction in Northeast Iberia: An Archaeobotanical Approach

MDPI accés obert UTPThe role of the adoption of farming economies in the transformation of mid-Holocene landscapes in Northeast Iberia is under discussion given that the Neolithization coincides with the cold climatic phase dated ca. 7500-7000 cal BP. The main aim of this paper is to assess whether human activities or climate were the main driver of vegetation changes during the Middle Holocene through the study of the archaeobotanical data from three case studies: Cova del Sardo, La Draga, and Coves del Fem. The application of diverse archaeobotanical techniques to the different plant remains provides a complete picture of the vegetation composition and plant uses. During the early Neolithic, settlement surroundings were intensively exploited for firewood, wood raw material, timber, and plant fibers. The resources were obtained mainly from deciduous and pine forests, de-pending on the site localization, but also from riparian zones. The diversity of plants exploited was high, not only trees but shrubs and herbs. Evidence of deforestation has been identified in the settlement surroundings in La Draga and Cova del Sardo. The combination of plant exploitation with other agropastoral activities favored the expansion of colonizing species and enhanced biodiversity at a local scale

Pluronic®/casein micelles for ophthalmic delivery of resveratrol: in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo tests

Ocular health may strongly benefit from the supply of antioxidant agents that counteract free radicals and reactive oxygen species responsible for long-term eye diseases. Additionally, natural antioxidants like resveratrol can inhibit bacteria growth and restore natural microbiota. However, their use is hindered by limited solubility, fast degradation, and low ocular permeability. This work aimed to overcome these limitations by preparing single and mixed micelles of Pluronic® F127 and casein that serve as resveratrol nanocarriers. Single and mixed (0.1 % casein) micelles (0.0 to −17.0 mV; 2.4 to 32.7 nm) increased 50-fold resveratrol solubility, remained stable for one month at 4 °C, withstood fast dilution, underwent sol-to-gel transitions in the 23.9–27.1 °C range, and exhibited potent antioxidant properties. All formulations successfully passed the HET-CAM assay but showed Pluronic®-casein dose-dependent toxicity in the zebrafish embryo model. Resveratrol-loaded single and mixed micelles (10–15 mM Pluronic® F127) displayed antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. The micelles favored resveratrol accumulation in cornea and sclera, but mixed micelles showed larger lag times and provided lower amount of resveratrol permeated through sclera. In vivo (rabbit) tests confirmed the safety of resveratrol-loaded single micelles and their capability to supply resveratrol to anterior and posterior eye segmentsThe work was supported by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 [PID 2020-113881RB-I00 to A.C. and C.A.-L., and PID2020-115121GB-I00 to L.S. and A.B.-I.], Spain, Xunta de Galicia [ED431C 2020/17], and FEDER. M. Vivero-Lopez acknowledges Xunta de Galicia (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria) for a predoctoral research fellowship [ED481A-2019/120]S

Genomic Analysis of Molecular Bacterial Mechanisms of Resistance to Phage Infection

[Abstract] To optimize phage therapy, we need to understand how bacteria evolve against phage attacks. One of the main problems of phage therapy is the appearance of bacterial resistance variants. The use of genomics to track antimicrobial resistance is increasingly developed and used in clinical laboratories. For that reason, it is important to consider, in an emerging future with phage therapy, to detect and avoid phage-resistant strains that can be overcome by the analysis of metadata provided by whole-genome sequencing. Here, we identified genes associated with phage resistance in 18 Acinetobacter baumannii clinical strains belonging to the ST-2 clonal complex during a decade (Ab2000 vs. 2010): 9 from 2000 to 9 from 2010. The presence of genes putatively associated with phage resistance was detected. Genes detected were associated with an abortive infection system, restriction–modification system, genes predicted to be associated with defense systems but with unknown function, and CRISPR-Cas system. Between 118 and 171 genes were found in the 18 clinical strains. On average, 26% of these genes were detected inside genomic islands in the 2000 strains and 32% in the 2010 strains. Furthermore, 38 potential CRISPR arrays in 17 of 18 of the strains were found, as well as 705 proteins associated with CRISPR-Cas systems. A moderately higher presence of these genes in the strains of 2010 in comparison with those of 2000 was found, especially those related to the restriction–modification system and CRISPR-Cas system. The presence of these genes in genomic islands at a higher rate in the strains of 2010 compared with those of 2000 was also detected. Whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics could be powerful tools to avoid drawbacks when a personalized therapy is applied. In this study, it allows us to take care of the phage resistance in A. baumannii clinical strains to prevent a failure in possible phage therapy.This study was funded by grants PI16/01163 and PI19/00878 awarded to MT within the State Plan for R + D + I 2013–2016 (National Plan for Scientific Research, Technological Development and Innovation 2008–2011) and co-financed by the ISCIII-Deputy General Directorate of evaluation and Promotion of Research-European Regional Development Fund “A way of Making Europe” and Instituto de Salud Carlos III FEDER. MT was financially supported by the Miguel Servet Research Programme (SERGAS and ISCIII

Pluronic®/casein micelles for ophthalmic delivery of resveratrol: In vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo tests

Ocular health may strongly benefit from the supply of antioxidant agents that counteract free radicals and reactive oxygen species responsible for long-term eye diseases. Additionally, natural antioxidants like resveratrol can inhibit bacteria growth and restore natural microbiota. However, their use is hindered by limited solubility, fast degradation, and low ocular permeability. This work aimed to overcome these limitations by preparing single and mixed micelles of Pluronic® F127 and casein that serve as resveratrol nanocarriers. Single and mixed (0.1 % casein) micelles (0.0 to −17.0 mV; 2.4 to 32.7 nm) increased 50-fold resveratrol solubility, remained stable for one month at 4 °C, withstood fast dilution, underwent sol-to-gel transitions in the 23.9–27.1 °C range, and exhibited potent antioxidant properties. All formulations successfully passed the HET-CAM assay but showed Pluronic®-casein dose-dependent toxicity in the zebrafish embryo model. Resveratrol-loaded single and mixed micelles (10–15 mM Pluronic® F127) displayed antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. The micelles favored resveratrol accumulation in cornea and sclera, but mixed micelles showed larger lag times and provided lower amount of resveratrol permeated through sclera. In vivo (rabbit) tests confirmed the safety of resveratrol-loaded single micelles and their capability to supply resveratrol to anterior and posterior eye segments.Funding: The work was supported by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 [PID 2020-113881RB-I00 to A.C. and C.A.-L., and PID2020-115121GB-I00 to L.S. and A.B.-I.], Spain, Xunta de Galicia [ED431C 2020/17], and FEDER. M. Vivero-Lopez acknowledges Xunta de Galicia (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria) for a predoctoral research fellowship [ED481A-2019/120].S