Did anomalous atmospheric circulation favor the spread of COVID-19 in Europe?

The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is having negative health, social and economic consequences worldwide. In Europe, the pandemic started to develop strongly at the end of February and beginning of March 2020. Subsequently, it spread over the continent, with special virulence in northern Italy and inland Spain. In this study we show that an unusual persistent anticyclonic situation prevailing in southwestern Europe during February 2020 (i.e. anomalously strong positive phase of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillations) could have resulted in favorable conditions, e.g., in terms of air temperature and humidity among other factors, in Italy and Spain for a quicker spread of the virus compared with the rest of the European countries. It seems plausible that the strong atmospheric stability and associated dry conditions that dominated in these regions may have favored the virus propagation, both outdoors and especially indoors, by short-range droplet and aerosol (airborne) transmission, or/and by changing social contact patterns. Later recent atmospheric circulation conditions in Europe (July 2020) and the U.S. (October 2020) seem to support our hypothesis, although further research is needed in order to evaluate other confounding variables. Interestingly, the atmospheric conditions during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 seem to have resembled at some stage with the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Molecular markers of putative spermatogonial stem cells in the domestic cat.

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are an important tool for fertility preservation and species conservation. The ability to expand SSCs by in vitro culture is a crucial premise for their use in assisted reproduction. Because SSCs represent a small proportion of the germ cells in the adult testis, culture success is aided by pre-enrichment through sorting techniques based on cell surface-specific markers. Given the importance of the domestic cat as a model for conservation of endangered wild felids, herein we sought to examine culture conditions as well as molecular markers for cat SSCs. Using a cell culture medium for mouse SSCs supplemented with glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), germ cells from prepuberal cat testes remained viable in culture for up to 43 days. Immunohistochemistry for promyelocytic leukaemia zinc finger (PLZF) protein on foetal, prepuberal and adult testis sections revealed a pattern of expression consistent with the labelling of undifferentiated spermatogonia. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) with an antibody against epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EPCAM) was used to sort live cells. Then, the gene expression profile of EPCAM-sorted cells was investigated through RT-qPCR. Notably, EPCAM (+) cells expressed relatively high levels of CKIT (CD117), a surface protein typically expressed in differentiating germ cells but not SSCs. Conversely, EPCAM (-) cells expressed relatively high levels of POU domain class 5 transcription factor 1 (POU1F5 or OCT4), clearly a germ line stem cell marker. These results suggest that cat SSCs would probably be found within the population of EPCAM (-) cells. Future studies should identify additional surface markers that alone or in combination can be used to further enrich SSCs from cat germ cells.

Risk of tuberculosis after lung transplantation: the value of pretransplant chest computed tomography and the impact of mTOR inhibitors and azathioprine use.

BACKGROUND: It is necessary to determine the incidence and risk factors for tuberculosis (TB), as well as strategies to assess and treat latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in lung transplant recipients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 398 lung transplant recipients was performed. Episodes of TB were studied and the incidence rate was calculated. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze specific variables as potential risk factors for TB. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 558 days (range 1-6636). Six cases (1.5%) of TB were documented in 398 transplant patients. The incidence density of TB was 406.3 cases/10(5) patient-years (95% confidence interval [CI] 164.7-845), which is higher than in the general population (13.10 cases/10(5) person-years). All cases occurred in the period 1993-2006, when the tuberculin skin test (TST) and treatment of LTBI in positive TST patients were not part of the protocol. Pretransplant computed tomography (CT) showed residual lesions in 50% of patients who developed TB, although the TST was negative and the chest radiograph was inconclusive. Multivariate analysis identified the presence of residual lesions in the pretransplant chest CT (odds ratio [OR] 11.5, 95% CI 1.9-69.1, P = 0.008), use of azathioprine (OR 10.6, 95% CI 1.1-99.1, P = 0.038), and use of everolimus (OR 6.7, 95% CI 1.1-39.8, P = 0.036) as independent risk factors for TB. CONCLUSIONS: Residual lesions in the pretransplant chest CTs and the use of azathioprine and mTOR inhibitors are associated with the risk of TB.

Factors related to the development of CMV-specific CD8+ T cell response in CMV-seropositive solid organ transplant candidates.

This cross-sectional study analyzes factors associated with the development of CMV-specific CD8+ response, measured by IFNg production after cytomegalovirus (CMV) peptide stimulation, in CMV-seropositive solid organ transplantation candidates. A total of 114 candidates were enrolled, of whom 22.8% (26/114) were nonreactive (IFNγ < 0.2 IU/mL). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, HLA alleles and organ to be transplanted were associated with developing CMV-specific CD8+ immunity (reactive; IFNγ ≥ 0.2 IU/mL). The probability of being reactive was higher in candidates over 50 than in those under 50 (OR 6.33, 95%CI 1.93-20.74). Candidates with HLA-A1 and/or HLA-A2 alleles had a higher probability of being reactive than those with non-HLA-A1/non-HLA-A2 alleles (OR 10.97, 95%CI 3.36-35.83). Renal candidates had a higher probability of being reactive than lung (adjusted OR 8.85, 95%CI 2.24-34.92) and liver candidates (OR 4.87, 95%CI 1.12-21.19). The AUC of this model was 0.84 (p < 0.001). Positive and negative predictive values were 84.8% and 76.9%, respectively. In renal candidates longer dialysis was associated with an increased frequency of reactive individuals (p = 0.040). Therefore, although the assessment of CMV-specific CD8+ response is recommended in all R+ candidates, it is essential in those with a lower probability of being reactive, such as non-renal candidates, candidates under 50 or those with non-HLA-A1/non-HLA-A2 alleles.

Cardiac tamponade secondary to pneumopericardium after lung transplantation: a case report.

Pneumopericardium is a rare cause of cardiac tamponade. It is an exceptional complication of lung transplantation. We have presented a case of a patient with cystic fibrosis who experienced cardiac tamponade secondary to a tension pneumopericardium during the postoperative course after lung transplantation. Dehiscence of the bronchial suture line was confirmed by fiberoptic bronchoscopy.

Urgency-code lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis: experience and results.

Lung transplantation (LT) under urgency-code mechanical ventilation (UCMV) has been identified in the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Registry as a negative prognostic factor increasing the likelihood of mortality. The objective of this study was to review our experience of UCLT for with cystic fibrosis (CF) patients compared with elective LT (ELT). From October 1993 to October 2007, we performed 259 consecutive LTs in 250 patients, of whom 78 (31.20%) had CF. Our study group comprised CF patients who received UCLT (n = 23). The type of LT in the UCLT group was as follows: bipulmonary (18), left unipulmonary (2), and bilobar transplantation from cadavers (3). The UCLT group more often required cardiopulmonary bypass (CB) (P = .025), pulmonary tailoring (P = .030), and longer periods of pulmonary ischemia (P = .066) than the ELT group. We noticed a greater number of cases of pneumonia during the first postoperative month in the UCLT group. However, incidence of surgical complications, early and perioperative mortality, and episodes of acute and chronic rejection (bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome) did not differ between the groups. Survival rates at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years were 73.66%, 63.74%, 42.49%, and 42.49%, respectively, in the UCLT group (mean, 1927 [SE = 366] days) and 75.95%, 71.32%, 63.37%, and 63.37% in the ELT group (mean, 2946 [SE = 281] days; P = .3417). In our experience, UCLT in patients with CF is fully justified. Careful selection of such cases permits acceptable long-term survival rates to be achieved with no increase in early or perioperative mortality.

Results of lung transplantation in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Lung transplantation (LT) is the only available option for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with end-stage lung disease. We reviewed our experience with LT in patients with end-stage CF (CFLT) to identify variables associated with survival and to compare the results with other indications for LT (OILT). Between October 1993 and October 2007, we performed 259 consecutive LTs in 250 patients for treatment of various end-stage pulmonary conditions. The indications for LT were CF in 78 patients idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 76, COPD in 64, bronchiectasis in 11, alfa-1-antitrypsin deficit in 5, primary pulmonary hypertension in 4, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome in 4, and other indications in 11. Our study group comprised 78 patients with CF (30.11%) (CFLT). We observed significant differences in the actuarial survival between the CFLT and OILT groups. Perioperative mortality and the incidence of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome were comparable in both groups. We found that in patients with CF, LT performed under urgency code (mechanical ventilation) showed no significant difference from LT performed electively insofar as long-term survival, early death, or perioperative death. The functional results in the CFLT group were excellent. We observed significant improvement in PaO(2), PaCO(2), forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration at 6, 12, and 36 months compared with the pretransplantation baseline values.

Selective sentinel lymph node biopsy in male breast cancer. / Biopsia selectiva del ganglio centinela en el cáncer de mama del varón.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reproducibility of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) technique in male breast cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively analysed 21 male patients diagnosed with breast cancer in our hospital from 2008 to 2016 with, at least, 18 months follow-up. Fifteen patients underwent selective sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) following the usual protocols with peritumoral injection of 18.5-111MBq of 99mTc-nanocoloides and acquisition of planar images 2hours after the injection. In 2 cases it was necessary to perform a SPECT/CT to locate the SLN. Immunohistochemistry and molecular techniques (OSNA) were used for their analysis. Six patients did not undergo SLNB because they had pathological nodes or distant disease at the time of diagnosis. RESULTS: SLNB was performed in 15 patients. The SLN was negative in 6 patients and positive in the remaining 9. Three patients with positive SLNB did not need axillary lymphadenectomy because of the low number of copies by molecular analysis OSNA. Axillary lymphadenectomy was performed in the remaining 6 patients with the result of 4 positive axillary lymphadenectomies and 2 that did not show further extension of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: According to our experience, SLNB in males is a reproducible, useful, safe and reliable technique which avoids unnecessary axillary lymphadenectomy and prevents the appearance of undesirable effects.

[Distinctive brain correlates in conscious and unconscious learning: an approach based on sequence learning]. / Correlatos cerebrales distintivos del aprendizaje consciente e inconsciente: una aproximación desde el aprendizaje de secuencias.

AIM: To report on the most recent evidence concerning the neuroanatomical correlates that distinguish conscious and unconscious sequence learning. DEVELOPMENT: Sequence-learning tasks are the most widely used test for evaluating learning that takes place with no intention to learn and without awareness of what has been learnt (implicit learning). In these tasks, participants respond to successive stimuli without being told that their run follows a sequence; with practice they improve their performance, even thought they are unable to generate the sequence when directly asked to do so. In this article we review the research that has been carried out to evaluate the performance of neurological patients or that uses neuroimaging techniques to pinpoint the neuroanatomical correlates of learning. CONCLUSIONS: Studies conducted using functional neuroimaging techniques reveal that conscious learning processes are linked to activity in the anterior cingulate and that there is an important overlap between the structures involved in implicit and explicit learning. Nevertheless, greater differences are seen depending on whether the learning takes place with distractions (in order to prevent subjects from discovering the sequence) or without distractions. These differences can be explained using models that draw a distinction between a dorsal pathway of non-attentional (implicit) learning and a more ventral attentional pathway (which is implicit, or explicit if the sequence is discovered). Studies with neurological patients confirm the involvement of a wide range of structures both in implicit and explicit learning, including the prefrontal lobe, the motor cortex, the temporal lobe, the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. Finally, we present evidence of the functions carried out by each structure.

Evaluation of patients referred for lung transplantation: fourteen years experience.

We present a descriptive study of patients referred as candidates for lung transplantation in the last 14 years. The 837 requests were evaluated stepwise in three phases: phase I, derivation report; phase II, outpatient evaluation; and phase III, inpatient evaluation. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was the most common reason for referral (31%). Cystic fibrosis was the referral disease with the best transplanted/referred relation (57%) and pulmonary fibrosis was the disease that had the highest mortality (39.7% of all deaths). Forty-three percent of all patients reached phase III and 29% were transplanted. Mortality on the waiting list was 3.7%. The most important causes of exclusion were inadequate indications and the presence of severe associated diseases. The mean study was 44 days. Knowledge of the natural history, local factors that influence organ availability, expected time on the waiting list, and disease progression allow optimization of this therapeutic option.

Management of cytomegalovirus infection in solid organ transplant recipients: SET/GESITRA-SEIMC/REIPI recommendations.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection remains a major complication of solid organ transplantation. Because of management of CMV is variable among transplant centers, in 2011 the Spanish Transplantation Infection Study Group (GESITRA) of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) developed consensus guidelines for the prevention and treatment of CMV infection in solid organ transplant recipients. Since then, new publications have clarified or questioned the aspects covered in the previous document. For that reason, a panel of experts revised the evidence on CMV management, including immunological monitoring, diagnostics, prevention, vaccines, indirect effects, treatment, drug resistance, immunotherapy, investigational drugs, and pediatric issues. This document summarizes the recommendations.

The hippocampus and flexible spatial knowledge in rats.

Lesions to the hippocampal system in rats result in a profound impairment of place or locale spatial learning although other learning strategies remain unaltered. The main objective of the present study was to investigate whether the spatial knowledge preserved in the hippocampal animals can be expressed flexibly under conditions different from those of the acquisition period. Rats with neurotoxic lesions to the dorsal hippocampus and sham-operated subjects were trained to reach the goal arm in a four-arm plus-shaped maze using a constant starting arm. During the training a transparent plexiglas barrier divided the maze in two equal halves in such a way that the animals could only travel from the starting arm to the goal arm, not having access to the remaining 50% of the maze. After seven days of training, a transfer test was used in which the starting arms were the two arms from which the animals had not started during the training phase. Results indicated that the lesioned rats made significantly more errors than the control subjects. But the most interesting results revealed that the kind of error made by the lesioned animals was congruent with the turn that they had to make during the acquisition phase in order to access the goal arm (reinforced). These results suggest that when the hippocampus is damaged a preserved highly inflexible egocentric strategy is employed to solve the spatial problem.

[The nonexcisional palliative surgical treatment of carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus and cardia]. / Tratamiento quirúrgico paliativo no exerético del carcinoma de esófago torácico y cardias.

OBJECTIVE: To review our experience with the palliative treatment for unresectable carcinoma of the esophagus over a 15 years period. The available methods, their indications and results are analyzed. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A retrospective study where the palliative methods used, their indication, their complications and the survival of the patients have been analyzed. PATIENTS: A whole of 114 patients with unresectable carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus and esophagogastric junction, have been included. RESULTS: The most widely used palliative method was the Celestine tube and the main indication was the unresectable tumor. Mean survival was 4.6 months, and mean hospital stay was 10 days. CONCLUSIONS: The carcinoma of the esophagus is diagnosed too late. That's why, in most cases, it is unresectable. However, it is important to offer some palliative treatment to the patients to improve, if possible, their quality of life. We suggest that the requirements for a palliative method are the following: easy and quick technique, brief hospital stay, improvement of patient comfort and low morbimortality.

Lung cancer in patients with lung transplants.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to describe the incidence of lung cancer in patients after lung transplantation (LT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed an observational, retrospective, descriptive study based on data from 340 patients undergoing lung transplantation between October 1993 and December 2010. We collected data about the donors, recipients, intra- and postoperative periods, and survivals. RESULTS: We identified 9 (2.6%) patients who developed lung cancer after LT. Their average age was 56 ± 9.3 years (range, 18-63). All cases were men with 8/9 (88.8%) having received a single lung transplant. All cancers developed in the native lung. The indications for transplantation were: emphysema type chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; n = 5), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (n = 3), or cystic fibrosis (n = 1); 77% of them were former smokers. All of the COPD patient were affected. The interval from transplantation to diagnosis was 53.3 ± 12 months (range 24-86). Survival after cancer diagnosis was 49.3 ± 6.3 (range = 0-180) months. CONCLUSIONS: LT was associated with a relatively high incidence of lung cancer, particularly in the native lung. In our series, lung cancer was related more to patients with emphysema-type COPD and a history of smoking. We believe that these patients should be closely followed to establish the diagnosis and apply early treatment.

[Utility of 3D computed tomography for the surgical planning of pelvic fractures]. / Utilidad de la tomografía computarizada tridimensional en la planificación quirúrgica de las fracturas de pelvis.

BACKGROUND: To determine the utility of 3D computed tomography for the preoperative planning of pelvic rim fractures assessing possible changes in fracture classification as well as in the surgical indication itself. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients who had undergone surgery for complex pelvic fractures during a 15-month period. The mechanism of injury was recorded and the availability of a multi-slice spiral volumetric CT scan was requested as a preoperative study. RESULTS: Ten cases (58%) were pelvic rim fractures and 7 were acetabular fractures. The mean ISS was 23.82 (9-50), and 82.3% of cases were severe traumas (ISS > 16). After the CT scan was obtained, the initial classification of the fracture was changed in four cases (23.5%), without any changes in the surgical indication. An artifact was detected in the volumetric reconstruction but it did not limit the surgeon's interpretation. CONCLUSION: Tridimensional CT-based modeling is very helpful in the surgical planning of pelvic fractures and is a complement of the plain X-rays.