Ministerio De Ciencia Research Articles

The role of nutritional additives in prevention: dietary supplementation with Spirulina reduces myocardial damage and improves cardiac function post-myocardial infarction in swine

Abstract Introduction The outcome of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction depends, to a large extent, on the size of the infarct. Myocardial damage due to infarction involves several pathogenic mechanisms among which excessive generation of reactive oxygen species and an exacerbated inflammatory reaction play a critical role. Spirulina is a dietary supplement made from blue-green algae (Arthrospira platensis) used to manage weight loss and metabolic syndrome disorders. In addition, Spirulina has experimentally shown to exert anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties because its composition rich in antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential amino-acids, and minerals. Purpose The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with Spirulina may serve as a cardioprotective agent by attenuating cardiac damage and ventricular dysfunction due to myocardial infarction in a highly translatable animal model. Methods Pigs (n=10) were fed a normocholesterolemic diet supplemented with Spirulina (1 gr/animal/bid; n=5) or placebo (n=5) for 10 days and then they were subjected to myocardial infarction by means of 1.5h balloon occlusion of the mid left anterior descending coronary artery. Thereafter animals were reperfused for 2.5h and then sacrificed. Infarct size was assessed by TTC staining and ischemic and non-ischemic myocardial tissue was obtained for molecular analysis of cardioprotective kinases, anti-apoptotic- and anti-inflammatory- related markers. Biochemical analyses (lipid levels, kidney and liver parameters) and weight gain were monitored throughout the study. Results Supplementation with Spirulina led to an absolute significant reduction in infarct size of 10±1% of the left ventricle (LV) as compared to control animals (p<0.05). At a functional level, all animals displayed comparable LV ejection fraction (LVEF) prior-MI induction (control: 64.5±2.6%; Spirulina: 61.5±2.6%). However, after 2.5h of reperfusion control animals showed a worsening of 18.2±2.0% LVEF whereas it was only of 7.2±2.5% in Spirulina-administered pigs (60% relative improvement vs. controls; p<0.05). At a molecular level, Spirulina administered animals showed higher expression of PI3K, Bcl-2, and Cox-2 and reduced content of MCP-1 in the jeopardized myocardium. Supplementation with Spirulina for 10 days markedly reduced total- cholesterol by 25% (p<0.04), LDL- cholesterol by 47% (p<0.05), enhanced HDL-cholesterol concentration by 79% (p<0.03) and limited weight gain (p<0.05) as compared to controls. Kidney and liver enzymes were found to be within the physiological range. Conclusion Supplementation with Spirulina, beyond its proven benefits in weight loss and lipid profile, exerts cardioprotection by inducing myocardial survival kinases, and triggering cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, thereby limiting cardiac damage and improving ventricular contractility post-MI. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Ministerio de Ciencia Innovacion y Universidades / Instituto de Salud Carlos III

Elsepa—Dirac partial-wave calculation of elastic scattering of electrons and positrons by atoms, positive ions and molecules (New Version Announcement)

A new version of the Fortran program elsepa, which calculates differential and integrated cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons and positrons, is presented. Details of the program and its applications are given in the original paper [Comput. Phys. Commun.165 (2005) 157–190]. Dirac phase shifts are now calculated by using the recently published subroutine package radial (Salvat and Fernández-Varea, 2019), which solves the radial wave equation for real or complex central potentials by means of a robust and accurate power-series method. In addition, elastic collisions with atoms in elemental solids are described by using the muffin-tin optical model potential proposed by Bote et al., (2009), which is somewhat more elaborate and flexible than that in the original elsepa code and allows adjusting the absorption potential to give inelastic cross sections in close agreement with empirical data. With the use of the radial subroutines, the work of elsepa is reduced to (1) the definition of the interaction potential and (2) the summation of the partial-wave series of the scattering amplitudes. The structure of the new code has been simplified and stricter criteria for the convergence of the partial-wave series have been adopted. The distribution package includes gnuplot scripts for easy visualization of the calculation results. Program summaryProgram Title:elsepaCPC Library link to program files:https://doi.org/10.17632/w4hm5vymym.1Licensing provisions: CC BY NC 3.0Programming language: Fortran 90Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Commun. 165 (2005) 157–190Does the new version supersede the previous version?: YesReasons for the new version: This new version offers increased accuracy, and a more flexible modeling of elastic collisions of electrons and positrons with atoms in elemental solids.Summary of revisions: The calculation of phase shifts is now performed by the generic subroutines of the radial package [1]. A more flexible optical-model potential for scattering in solids is included [2]. Stricter criteria for convergence of the partial-wave series are applied. The distribution package has been reorganized, with the numerical database files now placed in a separate directory; scripts for direct visualization of the calculation results with the plotting program gnuplot (http://www.gnuplot.info) are also included.Nature of problem: The code calculates differential cross sections, total cross sections and transport cross sections for single elastic scattering of electrons and positrons by neutral atoms, positive ions and randomly oriented molecules. When the energy of the projectile is less than about 5 MeV, the programs also compute scattering amplitudes and spin polarization functions.Solution method: The effective interaction between the projectile and the target atom is represented by a local central potential that can optionally include an imaginary (absorptive) part to account approximately for the coupling with inelastic channels. For projectiles with kinetic energy less that about 5 MeV, the code performs a conventional relativistic Dirac partial-wave analysis. For higher kinetic energies, where the convergence of the partial-wave series is too slow, approximate factorization methods are used. The programs only admit kinetic energies higher than 5 eV, a practical lower limit that may be changed by editing the source files.Additional comments including restrictions and unusual features: The calculations are based on the static-field approximation. The optional correlation-polarization and inelastic absorption corrections are obtained from approximate, semi-empirical models. elsepa allows considering an absorption potential only for projectiles with energies less than about 1 MeV; for higher energies, the absorption potential is set to zero to prevent the occurrence of numerical instabilities. Calculations for molecules are based on a single-scattering independent-atom approximation. To ensure accuracy of the results for scattering by ions, the electron density of the ion must be supplied by the user; it can be generated, e.g., by running the program dhfs of the radial package [1].AcknowledgmentsWe are indebted to Dr John Villarrubia for pointing out various cases of incomplete convergence of the original code. Financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades / Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Spain / European Regional Development Fund , European Union, (project no. RTI2018-098117-B-C22) is gratefully aknowledged.

Low Zinc Levels at Clinical Admission Associates with Poor Outcomes in COVID-19

Background: Biomarkers to predict Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) outcome early at infection are urgently needed to improve prognosis and treatment. Zinc balances immune responses and also has a proven direct antiviral action against some viruses. Importantly, zinc deficiency (ZD) is a common condition in elderly and individuals with chronic diseases, two groups with more severe COVID-19 outcomes. We hypothesize that serum zinc content (SZC) influences COVID-19 disease progression and thus might represent a useful biomarker.Methods: We run a retrospective observational study with 249 COVID-19 patients admitted in Hospital del Mar. We have studied COVID-19 severity and progression attending to SZC at admission. In parallel we have studied SARS-CoV2 replication in the Vero E6 cell line modifying zinc concentrations.Findings: Our study demonstrates a correlation between serum zinc levels and COVID-19 outcome. Serum zinc levels lower than 50 µg/dl at admission correlated with worse clinical presentation, longer time to reach stability and higher mortality. Our in vitro results indicate that low zinc levels favor viral expansion in SARS-CoV2 infected cells.Interpretation: SZC is a novel biomarker to predict COVID-19 outcome. We encourage performing randomized clinical trials to study zinc supplementation as potential prophylaxis and treatment with people at risk of zinc deficiency.Funding: This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through grants PID2019-106755RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 to RV and PID2019-106959RB-I00/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 to JD, an institutional “Maria de Maeztu” Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (CEX2018-000792-M) to RV and JD and by the 2017 SGR 909 grant from the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement of the Generalitat de Catalunya to JD. RGF received support and funding from Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CIBERFES) [Grant number CB16/10/00245], FEDER funds and the FIS Project from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación [Grant number (PI19/00019)]Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that no competing interests exist.Ethics Approval Statement: The Institutional Ethics Committee of Hospital del Mar of Barcelona approved the study and due to the nature of the retrospective data review, and waived the need for informed consent from individual patients (CEIm 2020/9352).

Peacock.jl: Photonic crystals in Julia

S.J.P. acknowledges his studentship from the Centre for Doctoral Training on Theory and Simulation of Materials at Imperial College London funded by EPSRC Grant No. EP/L015579/1. V.G. acknowledges the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad for financial support through the grant NANOTOPO (FIS2017-91413-EXP) and also the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades through the grant MELODIA (PGC2018-095777-B-C21).

Effects of including endurance and speed sessions within small-sided soccer games periodization on physical fitness.

The main aim of this study was to analyse the effects of including additional speed and endurance sessions during small-sided games (SSG) training periodization on physical fitness in professional soccer players. Sixteen outfield players (age = 25.6 ± 7.6 years) who competed in the First Division of a European League participated in this study. Players were randomly assigned to perform only the SSG periodization (G-SSG group) or to add endurance and speed training contents to the SSG (ES-SSG group). Before and after the 6-week experimental period, a Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test level 1 (YYIR1) and a 40 m sprinting test were performed. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was also measured after each training session. The G-SSG group showed a large improvement in the YYIR1 performance (p = 0.018–0.028; ES = 0.521–0.576) after the training programme, whereas no significant changes were observed for the ES-SSG group (p = 0.763–1.000; ES = 0.000–0.014). In addition, no significant differences (p > 0.05, ES = 0.005–361, trivial to small) in sprint performance at 5 and 10 m intervals up to 40 m were observed at post-training in comparison to pre-training evaluation in G-SSG and ES-SSG groups. No significant differences (p > 0.05) between groups were observed at baseline in the YYIR1 test. The 6-week SSG training supported with only six endurance and speed training sessions was no more effective than well-organized SSG alone for improving running endurance in professional soccer players.

Incidence and genetic diversity of cucurbit viruses in Spain

This study was partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades grants AGL2017-85563-C2 (1-R and 2-R) and RTA2017-00061-C03-03 (INIA) cofounded with FEDER funds, and by the PROMETEO project 2017/078 (to promote excellence groups) by the Conselleria d'Educacio , Investigacio , Cultura i Esports (Generalitat Valenciana). C. Saez is a recipient of a predoctoral fellowship (ACIF/2016/188) from Generalitat Valenciana, cofunded by the Operational Program of the European Social Fund (FSECV 2014-2020).

An explanation of the Bernstein‐Vazirani and Deustch‐Josza algorithms with the quantum stabilizer formalism

This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (“Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad”) from Spain/FEDER under grant MINECO‐16‐TEC2015‐67387‐C4‐3‐R, by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (“Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad”) from Spain/FEDER under grant MTM‐2017‐83506‐C2‐2‐P, by Ministry of Science and Innovation (“Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion”) from Spain/FEDER under grant RTI2018‐098085‐B‐C44, and by he Regional Ministry of the Principality of Asturias (“Consejeria de Empleo, Industria y Turismo del Principado de Asturias”) under grants FC‐GRUPIN‐IDI/2018/000193 and FC‐GRUPIN‐IDI/2018/000226.

Two-neutron transfer reactions as a tool to study the interplay between shape coexistence and quantum phase transitions * *This work has been partially supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain) under projects number FIS2017-88410-P, PID2019-104002GB-C21 and PID2019-104002GB-C22, by the Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad de la Junta de Andalucía (Spain) under Group FQM-160 (JMA) and FQM-370

The atomic mass table presents zones where the structure of the states changes rapidly as a function of the neutron or proton number. Among them, notable examples are the A ≈ 100 Zr region, the Pb region around the neutron midshell (N = 104), and the N ≈ 90 rare-earth region. The observed phenomena can be understood in terms of either shape coexistence or quantum phase transitions. The objective of this study is to find an observable that can distinguish between both shape coexistence and quantum phase transitions. As an observable to be analyzed, we selected the two-neutron transfer intensity between the 0+ states in the parent and daughter nuclei. The framework used for this study is the Interacting Boson Model (IBM), including its version with configuration mixing (IBM-CM). To generate wave functions of isotope chains of interest needed for calculating transfer intensities, previous systematic studies using IBM and IBM-CM were used without changing the parameters. The results of two-neutron transfer intensities are presented for Zr, Hg, and Pt isotopic chains using IBM-CM. Moreover, for Zr, Pt, and Sm isotopic chains, the results are presented using IBM with only a single configuration, i.e., without using configuration mixing. For Zr, the two-neutron transfer intensities between the ground states provide a clear observable, indicating that normal and intruder configurations coexist in the low-lying spectrum and cross at A = 98 → 100. This can help clarify whether shape coexistence induces a given quantum phase transition. For Pt, in which shape coexistence is present and the regular and intruder configurations cross for the ground state, there is almost no impact on the value of the two-neutron transfer intensity. Similar is the situation with Hg, where the ground state always has a regular nature. For the Sm isotope chain, which is one of the quantum phase transition paradigms, the value of the two-neutron transfer intensity is affected strongly.

Beating the Thermal Conductivity Alloy Limit Using Long-Period Compositionally Graded Si1–xGex Superlattices

The Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades, is gratefully acknowledged for its support through Grant No. SEV-2015-0496 in the framework of the Spanish Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence program and through Grants MAT2016-79759-R (PHONTANNA), MAT2015-70850-P (HIBRI2), and CSD2010-00044 (Consolider NANOTHERM). The authors also thank the Catalan agency AGAUR for Grant 2017-SGR-00488.

S wave resonance * * This work has been partially funded by COFAA-IPN (México) and by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and EU FEDER (FPA2016-77177-C2-2-P, PID2019-105439GB-C22, RED2018-102572-T)

We use an existing model of the three-body system based on two-body separable interactions to study the three-body channel. For the , , and amplitudes, we have constructed separable potentials based on the most recent results of the HAL QCD Collaboration. They are characterized by the existence of a resonance just below or above the threshold in the H-dibaryon channel, . A three-body resonance appears 2.3 MeV above the threshold. We show that if the H-dibaryon channel is not considered, the S wave resonance disappears. Thus, the possible existence of a resonance would be sensitive to the interaction. The existence or nonexistence of this resonance could be evidenced by measuring, for example, the cross section.

Enseñanzas y aprendizajes sobre la Cátedra de la paz en Colombia

La Cátedra de la Paz es un espacio académico obligatorio para todas las instituciones educativas de Colombia, que tiene como objetivo generar competencias ciudadanas para una convivencia democrática, respetuosa de los Derechos Humanos y en paz. Este artículo analiza la producción bibliográfica sobre la Cátedra de la Paz a partir de tres categorías: cómo se define la paz, qué rol se les asigna a las instituciones educativas en la formación de ciudadanías de paz y cuáles son los enfoques y metodologías de enseñanza para la aplicación de los principios y contenidos de la Cátedra. Se concluye que la bibliografía sobre la Cátedra de la Paz debe profundizar en el estudio de imaginarios, posibilidades y características de los estudiantes, para crear rutas de acción más certeras sobre la formación de ciudadanos para la paz. Por otro lado, se encontró un consenso sobre el rol de los colegios como responsables principales de la formación ciudadana, teniendo como punto de partida la participación de los estudiantes.

Whole-genome sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis directly from clinical samples for high-resolution genomic epidemiology and drug resistance surveillance: an observational study

Direct whole-genome sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from clinical specimens will be a major breakthrough in tuberculosis diagnosis and control. To date, direct whole-genome sequencing has never been used in genomic epidemiology, and its accuracy in transmission inference remains unknown. We investigated the technical challenges imposed by direct whole-genome sequencing, and used it to infer transmission clusters and predict drug resistance. Using an optimised workflow, we did direct whole-genome sequencing for 37 clinical specimens from 23 tuberculosis patients. Nine sputum samples from nine patients who were infected with different non-tuberculous mycobacteria and culture-negative for tuberculosis were used as controls in the qPCR assays and pre-sequencing runs. Additionally, 780 clinical isolates in the region of Comunidad Valenciana (Spain) were whole-genome sequenced between Jan 1, 2014, and Dec 31, 2016. We analysed the genomic variants to build a tuberculosis transmission network for the region, including the clinical specimens, and to predict drug susceptibility profiles. After sequencing 37 clinical specimens, 28 specimens (22 [85%] of 26 smear-positive and six [55%] of 11 smear-negative) met the quality criteria for downstream analysis. All 28 clinical specimens clustered with their matching culture isolates, with a median distance of 0 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Of the 28 clinical specimens, 16 (57%) were accurately assigned to ten transmission clusters in the region, and 12 (43%) were unique cases. Transmission inferences and drug-susceptibility predictions from direct whole-genome sequencing data were concordant with sequences from corresponding cultures and phenotypic drug-susceptibility testing. Complete genomic analysis, within a week of specimen receipt, cost €217 per sample (excluding personnel costs). Direct whole-genome sequencing could be used to accurately delineate transmission clusters of tuberculosis and conduct culture-independent surveillance. Compared with conventional approaches, direct whole-genome sequencing allows researchers to do real-time genomic epidemiology and drug resistance surveillance in settings where culture and drug susceptibility testing are not available. European Research Council; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Spanish Government).

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in children with allergic asthma

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in children with allergic asthma

La agrupación temporal y los patrones como facilitadores de la comprensión psicológica de la información rítmica.

La estructuración y la agrupación influyen en la fragmentación mental de sonidos en la memoria, por lo que han sido consideradas como elementos fundamentales en las teorías modernas de cognición musical. En este trabajo se realiza una revisión de las aportaciones científicas al conocimiento de los fenómenos de estructuración temporal, agrupación de eventos y formación de patrones rítmicos. Con ello, se pretende delinear y ofrecer un panorama actualizado respecto a alguno de los factores facilitadores del procesamiento cognitivo del ritmo, para posteriormente considerar estos elementos en la formación musical inicial. Los principales hallazgos indican que la regularidad de los patrones rítmicos es un elemento clave para su procesamiento. Además, las secuencias rítmicas con relaciones 2:1 parecen ser las más sencillas de reproducir y percibir.
 Esta investigación fue patrocinada por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España (PID2019-105762GB-I00).

Radical Arylation of Triphenyl Phosphite Catalyzed by Salicylic Acid: Mechanistic Investigations and Synthetic Applications.

A straightforward and scalable methodology to synthesize diphenyl arylphosphonates at 20 °C within 1-2 h is reported using inexpensive SA as the catalytic promoter of the reaction. Mechanistic investigations suggest that the reaction proceeds via radical-radical coupling, consistent with the so-called persistent radical effect. The reaction tolerated a wide range of functional groups and heteroaromatic moieties. The synthetic usefulness and the unique reactivity of the obtained phosphonates were demonstrated in different one-step transformations.

A practical approach to switch from a multiple pill therapeutic strategy to a polypill-based strategy for cardiovascular prevention in patients with hypertension.

: Pharmacological treatment recommended by guidelines for very high-risk patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes lipid-lowering drugs, antihypertensive agents and antiplatelet therapy. Depending on the associated comorbidities, this baseline regimen has to be complemented with other drugs. Therefore, the number of pills to be taken is usually high and adherence to these multiple pill therapeutic regimens and long-term persistence on treatment is low, being the main factor for insufficient control of cardiovascular risk factors. The CNIC (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, España) polypill is the only polypill containing low-dose aspirin approved by the EMA and marketed in Europe, and has demonstrated to improve adherence. For this reason, guidelines recommend its use for secondary prevention of CVD, and also for primary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors and advanced atherosclerotic process at high risk of thrombosis and low risk of bleeding. This article pretends to simplify the steps that clinicians may follow to switch from any baseline regimen to the polypill with the use of several algorithms and tables showing the equivalent effective daily doses of different angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers and statins to facilitate switching, as well as the steps to be followed depending of the initial levels of BP and LDL-cholesterol values to achieve BP and lipid control with the association to the polypill of other BP-lowering or lipid-lowering drugs whenever needed.

Discussion on "Assessing the goodness of fit of logistic regression models in large samples: A modification of the Hosmer-Lemeshow test" by Giovanni Nattino, Michael L. Pennell, and Stanley Lemeshow.

This work was supported by the Marsden Fund (Award Num-ber E2987-3648) administrated by the Royal Society of NewZealand and also supported by grant RTI2018-100927-J-I00 administrated by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MCI,Spain), by the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI, Spain),and by the European Regional Development Fund FEDER(FEDER, UE). We are grateful to Dr Louise McMillan for helpful comments.

Discussion on “Assessing the goodness of fit of logistic regression models in large samples: A modification of the Hosmer‐Lemeshow test” by Giovanni Nattino, Michael L. Pennell, and Stanley Lemeshow

This work was supported by the Marsden Fund (Award Num-ber E2987-3648) administrated by the Royal Society of NewZealand and also supported by grant RTI2018-100927-J-I00 administrated by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MCI,Spain), by the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI, Spain),and by the European Regional Development Fund FEDER(FEDER, UE). We are grateful to Dr Louise McMillan for helpful comments.

VOFTools 5: An extension to non-convex geometries of calculation tools for volume of fluid methods

VOFTools 5: An extension to non-convex geometries of calculation tools for volume of fluid methods

On Factorised Finite Groups

The first and third authors are supported by the grant PGC2018-095140-B-I00 from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades and the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion, Spain, and FEDER, European Union and by Prometeo/2017/057 of Generalitat (Valencian Community, Spain). Funding was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 11401597).