Harmonized classification of forest types in the Iberian Peninsula based on National Forest Inventories

National Forest Inventories (NFIs) collect and provide a large amount of information regarding the forest volume, carbon stocks, vitality, biodiversity, non-wood forest products and their changes. Forest stands variables data are paramount to understanding their composition, especially on those related with understory characteristics and the coverage of species according to canopy layers; they are essential to assess biodiversity and to support forest management. At the same time, these inventories allow the development of harmonized forest descriptions beyond the national scale. This study aims to develop a homogeneous characterization of the Iberian Peninsula’s forests, in order to classify and identify the forest types. For this purpose, harmonized data from NFIs of Portugal and Spain were used to assess the composition of species, dominance and the percentage of cover for each species in a vertical space defined by seven canopy layers. Using the “K-means” clustering algorithm, a set of clusters was identified and georeferenced using forest polygons from land use and cover maps of both countries. The interpretation and description of the clusters lead to the establishment of 28 forest types that characterize all of the Iberian Peninsula forests. Each forest area has been described through one of the forest types and their relation with other ecological characteristics of the stands was analyzed. Shrubs formations are generally widely distributed in the forest area of the Iberian Peninsula, however their abundance in terms of cover is lower in comparison with tree species. Around 71% of the forest types are dominated by trees, mainly species from the genera Pinus and Quercus, and 21% are dominated by shrub formations with species of Ulex spp., Cytisus spp., and Cistus spp. The Quercus ilex s.l. L. and Pinus pinaster Aiton are the common species of importance for both NFIs. The results represent a powerful and homogenous multi-use tool describing the Iberian Peninsula’s forestlands with applications on landscape analysis, forest management and conservation. This information can be used for comparisons at larger scales, allowing cross-border analysis in relation to various aspects, such as hazards and wildfires, as well as management and conservation of forest biodiversity. The developed method is adaptable to an updated dataset from more recent NFIs and to other study areasinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysis of formation in communication and the doctor-patient relationship in the degrees of medicine in Spain

En este artículo recogemos las conclusiones obtenidas de una investigación sobre la comunicación en la formación de los licenciados en medicina en torno al manejo de la relación médico-paciente a través del aná- lisis de las guías docentes de las materias de comunicación impartidas en los grados de Medicina en España. Estas observaciones se contrastaron con la valoración de expertos en comunicación y de los decanos o responsables de las titulaciones de Medicina y de Comunicación en España. Los resultados permiten valorar que la formación en comunicación que reciben los estudiantes de medicina es escasaIn this article we gather the conclusions of a study about the communication in the medical graduates training regarding the doctor-pacient relationship through the analysis of the communication study plans given in the medical schools in Spain. These observations were compared with the assessment of communication experts and those responsible of the communication and medical degrees in Spain. The results show that the communication training received by medical students is insufficientS

Análisis de la formación en comunicación y la relación médico-paciente en los grados de Medicina en España

In this article we gather the conclusions of a study about the communication in the medical graduates training regarding the doctor-pacient relationship through the analysis of the communication study plans given in the medical schools in Spain. These observations were compared with the assessment of communication experts and those responsible of the communication and medical degrees in Spain. The results show that the communication training received by medical students is insufficient.En este artículo recogemos las conclusiones obtenidas de una investigación sobre la comunicación en la formación de los licenciados en medicina en torno al manejo de la relación médico-paciente a través del análisis de las guías docentes de las materias de comunicación impartidas en los grados de Medicina en España. Estas observaciones se contrastaron con la valoración de expertos en comunicación y de los decanos o responsables de las titulaciones de Medicina y de Comunicación en España. Los resultados permiten valorar que la formación en comunicación que reciben los estudiantes de medicina es escasa

A Clinical Model Including Protein Biomarkers Predicts Radiographic Knee Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Study Using Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative

The Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) is a public-private partnership comprised of five contracts (N01-AR-2-2258; N01-AR-2-2259; N01-AR-2-2260; N01-AR-2-2261; N01-AR-2-2262) funded by the National Institutes of Health, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, and conducted by the OAI Study Investigators. Private funding partners include Pfizer, Inc.; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Merck Research Laboratories; and GlaxoSmithKline. Private sector funding for the OAI is managed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. This work has been supported by grants from Fondo Investigación Sanitaria (PI16/02124, PI17/00404, PI19/01206, DTS17/00200, CIBER-CB06/01/0040 and RETIC-RIER-RD16/0012/0002), integrated in the National Plan for Scientific Program, Development and Technological Innovation 2013–2016 and funded by the ISCIII-General Subdirection of Assessment and Promotion of Research-European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) “A way of making Europe”. This study has been also supported by grants IN607A2017/11, IN607D2020/10 and AE CICA-INIBIC (ED431E 2018/03) from Xunta de Galicia. The Proteomics Unit of GIR belongs to ProteoRed, PRB3- ISCIII (PT17/0019/0014). L.L. is supported by Xunta de Galicia (IN606B-2016/2005) and Contrato Sara Borrell (CD19/00229) Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, ISCIII. I.R.P. is supported by Contrato Miguel Servet-II Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (CPII17/00026). This work was also supported by the KTH Center for Applied Precision Medicine funded by the Ehrling Persson foundation, as well as the Human Protein Atlas project funded by Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationXunta de Galicia; IN607A2017/11Xunta de Galicia; IN607D2020/10Xunta de Galicia; ED431E 2018/03Xunta de Galicia; IN606B-2016/200

mtDNA Haplogroup A Enhances the Effect of Obesity on the Risk of Knee OA in a Mexican Population

[Abstract] To evaluate the influence of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups on the risk of knee OA in terms of their interaction with obesity, in a population from Mexico. Samples were obtained from (n = 353) knee OA patients (KL grade ≥ I) and (n = 364) healthy controls (KL grade = 0) from Mexico city and Torreon (Mexico). Both Caucasian and Amerindian mtDNA haplogroups were assigned by single base extension assay. A set of clinical and demographic variables, including obesity status, were considered to perform appropriate statistical approaches, including chi-square contingency tables, regression models and interaction analyses. To ensure the robustness of the predictive model, a statistical cross-validation strategy of B = 1000 iterations was used. All the analyses were performed using boot, GmAMisc and epiR package from R software v4.0.2 and SPSS software v24. The frequency distribution of the mtDNA haplogroups between OA patients and healthy controls for obese and non-obese groups showed the haplogroup A as significantly over-represented in knee OA patients within the obese group (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.22-4.05; p-value = 0.008). The subsequent logistic regression analysis, including as covariate the interaction between obesity and mtDNA haplogroup A, supported the significant association of this interaction (OR 2.57; 95% CI 1.24-5.32; p-value = 0.011). The statistical cross-validation strategy confirmed the robustness of the regression model. The data presented here indicate a link between obesity in knee OA patients and mtDNA haplogroup A.This work is supported by Grants from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI17/00210, PI16/02124, PI20/00614, RETIC-RIER-RD16/0012/0002 and PRB3-ISCIII-PT17/0019/0014) integrated in the National Plan for Scientific Program, Development and Technological Innovation 2013–2016 and funded by the ISCIII-General Subdirection of Assessment and Promotion of Research-European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) “A way of making Europe” and Grant IN607A2017/11 from Xunta de Galicia. The authors further acknowledge AE CICA-INIBIC (ED431E 2018/03) for financial support. IRP is supported by Contrato Miguel Servet-II Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (CPII17/00026) and AD-S is supported by Grant IN606A-2018/023 from Xunta de Galicia, Spain. The Biomedical Research Networking Center (CIBER) is an initiative from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)Xunta de Galicia; IN607A2017/11Xunta de Galicia; ED431E 2018/03Xunta de Galicia; IN606A-2018/02

Predictive modeling of therapeutic response to chondroitin sulfate/glucosamine hydrochloride in knee osteoarthritis

[Abstract] Background: In the present study, we explored potential protein biomarkers useful to predict the therapeutic response of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients treated with pharmaceutical grade Chondroitin sulfate/Glucosamine hydrochloride (CS+GH; Droglican, Bioiberica), in order to optimize therapeutic outcomes. Methods: A shotgun proteomic analysis by iTRAQ labelling and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was performed using sera from 40 patients enrolled in the Multicentre Osteoarthritis interVEntion trial with Sysadoa (MOVES). The panel of proteins potentially useful to predict KOA patient’s response was clinically validated in the whole MOVES cohort at baseline (n = 506) using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays kits. Logistic regression models and receiver-operating-characteristics (ROC) curves were used to analyze the contribution of these proteins to our prediction models of symptomatic drug response in KOA. Results: In the discovery phase of the study, a panel of six putative predictive biomarkers of response to CS+GH (APOA2, APOA4, APOH, ITIH1, C4BPa and ORM2) were identified by shotgun proteomics. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD012444. In the verification phase, the panel was verified in a larger set of KOA patients (n = 262). Finally, ITIH1 and ORM2 were qualified by a blind test in the whole MOVES cohort at baseline. The combination of these biomarkers with clinical variables predict the patients’ response to CS+GH with a specificity of 79.5% and a sensitivity of 77.1%. Conclusions: Combining clinical and analytical parameters, we identified one biomarker that could accurately predict KOA patients’ response to CS+GH treatment. Its use would allow an increase in response rates and safety for the patients suffering KOA.Insituto de Salud Carlos III; PI14/01707Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI16/02124Insituto de Salud Carlos III; PI17/00404Instituto de Salud Carlos III; DTS17/00200Instituto de Salud Carlos III; CIBER-CB06/01/0040Insituto de Salud Carlos III; RETIC-RIER-RD16/0012/000

Hazardous faults of South America; compilation and overview

The heterogeneous South American geology has coined a wide variety of neotectonic settings where crustal seismogenic sources do occur. This fact has led to different approaches for mapping and inventory neotectonic structures. The South American Risk Assessment project promoted the discussion and update under uniform standards of the available information on neotectonic deformation, for its application in regional Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessments. As a result, 1533 hazardous faults have been inventoried onshore South America, 497 of them qualifying to feed the engine model driving probabilistic maps. Main hazardous structures are concentrated throughout the eastern boundary of the Northern Andean Sliver and along the foreland-facing Andean Thrust Front. Space geodesy and seismicity illuminate the seismogenic significance of these deformation belts, although few neotectonic surveys have been conducted to date in the latter region. The characteristics of the main structures or deformation zones are here outlined according to their filiation to neotectonic domains, which are dependant on the geologic, seismotectonic, or morphotectonic settings in Andean and extra-Andean regions. The knowledge accrued on the hazardous faults in South America here compiled, reinforces the fact that some of these structures constitute significant hazard sources for many urban areas and critical facilities and should be incorporated in seismic hazard assessments. However, the available fault data are insufficient in many cases or carry significant epistemic uncertainties for fault source characterization. This contribution aims to summarize the present knowledge on the South American hazardous faults as well as the main challenges for successful fault data incorporation into seismic hazard models

Emergence and spread of a B.1.1.28-derived P.6 lineage with Q675H and Q677H spike mutations in Uruguay

Uruguay controlled the viral dissemination during the first nine months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Unfortunately, towards the end of 2020, the number of daily new cases exponentially increased. Herein, we analyzed the country-wide genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 between November 2020 and April 2021. We identified that the most prevalent viral variant during the first epidemic wave in Uruguay (December 2020–February 2021) was a B.1.1.28 sublineage carrying Spike mutations Q675H + Q677H, now designated as P.6, followed by lineages P.2 and P.7. P.6 probably arose around November 2020, in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital department, and rapidly spread to other departments, with evidence of further local transmission clusters; it also spread sporadically to the USA and Spain. The more efficient dissemination of lineage P.6 with respect to P.2 and P.7 and the presence of mutations (Q675H and Q677H) in the proximity of the key cleavage site at the S1/S2 boundary suggest that P.6 may be more transmissible than other lineages co-circulating in Uruguay. Although P.6 was replaced by the variant of concern (VOC) P.1 as the predominant lineage in Uruguay since April 2021, the monitoring of the concurrent emergence of Q675H + Q677H in VOCs should be of worldwide interest

Lack of replication of higher genetic risk load in men than in women with systemic lupus erythematosus

Introduction: We aimed to replicate a recent study which showed higher genetic risk load at 15 loci in men than in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This difference was very significant, and it was interpreted as indicating that men require more genetic susceptibility than women to develop SLE. Methods: Nineteen SLE-associated loci (thirteen of which are shared with the previous study) were analyzed in 1,457 SLE patients and 1,728 healthy controls of European ancestry. Genetic risk load was calculated as sex-specific sum genetic risk scores (GRS(s)). Results: Our results did not replicate those of the previous study at either the level of individual loci or the global level of GRS(s). GRS(s) were larger in women than in men (4.20 ± 1.07 in women vs. 3.27 ± 0.98 in men). This very significant difference (P < 10(-16)) was more dependent on the six new loci not included in the previous study (59% of the difference) than on the thirteen loci that are shared (the remaining 41%). However, the 13 shared loci also showed a higher genetic risk load in women than in men in our study (P = 6.6 × 10(-7)), suggesting that heterogeneity of participants, in addition to different loci, contributed to the opposite results. Conclusion: Our results show the lack of a clear trend toward higher genetic risk in one of the sexes for the analyzed SLE loci. They also highlight several limitations of assessments of genetic risk load, including the possibility of ascertainment bias with loci discovered in studies that have included mainly women

Healthcare workers hospitalized due to COVID-19 have no higher risk of death than general population. Data from the Spanish SEMI-COVID-19 Registry

Aim To determine whether healthcare workers (HCW) hospitalized in Spain due to COVID-19 have a worse prognosis than non-healthcare workers (NHCW). Methods Observational cohort study based on the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry, a nationwide registry that collects sociodemographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data on patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Spain. Patients aged 20-65 years were selected. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to identify factors associated with mortality. Results As of 22 May 2020, 4393 patients were included, of whom 419 (9.5%) were HCW. Median (interquartile range) age of HCW was 52 (15) years and 62.4% were women. Prevalence of comorbidities and severe radiological findings upon admission were less frequent in HCW. There were no difference in need of respiratory support and admission to intensive care unit, but occurrence of sepsis and in-hospital mortality was lower in HCW (1.7% vs. 3.9%; p = 0.024 and 0.7% vs. 4.8%; p<0.001 respectively). Age, male sex and comorbidity, were independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality and healthcare working with lower mortality (OR 0.211, 95%CI 0.067-0.667, p = 0.008). 30-days survival was higher in HCW (0.968 vs. 0.851 p<0.001). Conclusions Hospitalized COVID-19 HCW had fewer comorbidities and a better prognosis than NHCW. Our results suggest that professional exposure to COVID-19 in HCW does not carry more clinical severity nor mortality