[Statement of the Spanish Interdisciplinary Vascular Prevention Committee on the updated European Guidelines on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention]. / Comentario del CEIPV a las nuevas Guías Europeas de Prevención Cardiovascular 2021.

Statement of the Spanish Interdisciplinary Vascular Prevention Committee on the updated European Guidelines on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. We present the Spanish adaptation of the 2021 European Guidelines on Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) prevention in clinical practice. The current guidelines besides the individual approach greatly emphasize on the importance of population level approaches to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Systematic global CVD risk assessment is recommended in individuals with any major vascular risk factor. Regarding LDL-Cholesterol, blood pressure, and glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus, goals and targets remain as recommended in previous guidelines. However, it is proposed a new, stepwise approach (Step 1 and 2) to treatment intensification as a tool to help physicians and patients pursue these targets in a way that fits patient profile. After Step 1, considering proceeding to the intensified goals of Step 2 is mandatory, and this intensification will be based on 10-year CVD risk, lifetime CVD risk and treatment benefit, comorbidities and patient preferences. The updated SCORE algorithm-SCORE2, SCORE-OP- is recommended in these guidelines, which estimates an individual's 10-year risk of fatal and non-fatal CVD events (myocardial infarction, stroke) in healthy men and women aged 40-89 years. Another new and important recommendation is the use of different categories of risk according different age groups (< 50, 50-69 ≥ 70 years). Different flow charts of CVD risk and risk factor treatment in apparently healthy persons, in patients with established atherosclerotic CVD, and in diabetic patients are recommended. Patients with chronic kidney disease are considered high risk or very high-risk patients according to the levels of glomerular filtration rate and albumin-to-creatinine ratio. New lifestyle recommendations adapted to the ones published by the Spanish Ministry of Health as well as recommendations focused on the management of lipids, blood pressure, diabetes and chronic renal failure are included.

Diabetic neuropathy: Molecular approach a treatment opportunity.

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) encompasses a group of clinical or subclinical manifestations involving a dysfunction in the peripheral nervous system. The cause of the dysfunction is the development of microvascular complications related to diabetes, a disease that affects about 381 million people worldwide. Approximately 50% of patients currently diagnosed with diabetes are expected to manifest DN in the next 10 years. The diagnosis can be made clinically by establishing a good patient history and delving into the symptoms to rule out other etiologies. Treatment of DN focuses on glycemic control and the use of medications to reduce pain, including NSAIDs, antidepressants and antiepileptic drugs. The pathogenesis is of multifactorial origin, associated with various metabolic, vascular, inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders. The three fundamental cellular alterations participating in the development of DN are chronic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Since the combination of all three is capable of giving rise to nerve ischemia and direct axonal injury, these factors play a key role in the development of polyneuropathy. However, neuronal and microvascular changes do not occur in the same way in all patients with DN, some of whom have no detectable blood abnormalities.

Aggressive behavior in cattle is associated with a polymorphism in the MAOA gene promoter.

Molecular mechanisms underlying aggressive behavior are primitive and similar among the subphylum Vertebrata. In humans, a primary goal in the study of aggression is to determine the neurobehavioral molecular factors triggering violence. Although several species have been used to study agonistic responses, researchers are limited by the difficulty of artificially inducing aggression in animals not selected for it. Conversely, the Lidia cattle breed has been selected since the eighteenth century to display agonistic responses based on traits such as aggressiveness, ferocity and mobility, all of them showing significant heritability values. This intensive selection may have driven shifts in specific allele frequencies. In a previous analysis across the autosomes, we revealed long-term selection regions including genes involved in behavioral development. In the present study, we focus on mapping recent signatures of selection associated with aggressiveness at chromosome X, by comparing Lidia cattle samples with two non-specialized Spanish breeds showing tamed behavior. The most significant markers peaked around the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene, and thus the associations of three functionally important regions located near the promoter of this gene were further investigated. A polymorphism consisting of a variable number of tandem repeats of the nucleotide 'C' (BTX:105,462,494) and displaying lower number of repetitions in the Lidia breed when compared with the tamed breeds was detected. In silico analyses predicted that the g.105,462,494delsinsC variant may code for the Sp1 binding motif, one of the major transcription factors controlling the core promoter and expression of the MAOA gene in humans.

First Measurement of Near-Threshold J/ψ Exclusive Photoproduction off the Proton.

We report on the measurement of the γp→J/ψp cross section from E_{γ}=11.8 GeV down to the threshold at 8.2 GeV using a tagged photon beam with the GlueX experiment. We find that the total cross section falls toward the threshold less steeply than expected from two-gluon exchange models. The differential cross section dσ/dt has an exponential slope of 1.67±0.39 GeV^{-2} at 10.7 GeV average energy. The LHCb pentaquark candidates P_{c}^{+} can be produced in the s channel of this reaction. We see no evidence for them and set model-dependent upper limits on their branching fractions B(P_{c}^{+}→J/ψp) and cross sections σ(γp→P_{c}^{+})×B(P_{c}^{+}→J/ψp).

Direct Observation of Proton-Neutron Short-Range Correlation Dominance in Heavy Nuclei.

We measured the triple coincidence A(e,e^{'}np) and A(e,e^{'}pp) reactions on carbon, aluminum, iron, and lead targets at Q^{2}>1.5 (GeV/c)^{2}, x_{B}>1.1 and missing momentum >400 MeV/c. This was the first direct measurement of both proton-proton (pp) and neutron-proton (np) short-range correlated (SRC) pair knockout from heavy asymmetric nuclei. For all measured nuclei, the average proton-proton (pp) to neutron-proton (np) reduced cross-section ratio is about 6%, in agreement with previous indirect measurements. Correcting for single-charge exchange effects decreased the SRC pairs ratio to ∼3%, which is lower than previous results. Comparisons to theoretical generalized contact formalism (GCF) cross-section calculations show good agreement using both phenomenological and chiral nucleon-nucleon potentials, favoring a lower pp to np pair ratio. The ability of the GCF calculation to describe the experimental data using either phenomenological or chiral potentials suggests possible reduction of scale and scheme dependence in cross-section ratios. Our results also support the high-resolution description of high-momentum states being predominantly due to nucleons in SRC pairs.

First Measurements of the Double-Polarization Observables F, P, and H in ω Photoproduction off Transversely Polarized Protons in the N

First measurements of double-polarization observables in ω photoproduction off the proton are presented using transverse target polarization and data from the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) FROST experiment at Jefferson Lab. The beam-target asymmetry F has been measured using circularly polarized, tagged photons in the energy range 1200-2700 MeV, and the beam-target asymmetries H and P have been measured using linearly polarized, tagged photons in the energy range 1200-2000 MeV. These measurements significantly increase the database on polarization observables. The results are included in two partial-wave analyses and reveal significant contributions from several nucleon (N^{*}) resonances. In particular, contributions from new N^{*} resonances listed in the Review of Particle Properties are observed, which aid in reaching the goal of mapping out the nucleon resonance spectrum.

Detection of selection signatures for agonistic behaviour in cattle.

The identification of genomic regions including signatures of selection produced by domestication and its subsequent artificial selection processes allows the understanding of the evolution of bovine breeds. Although several studies describe the genomic variability among meat or milk production cattle breeds, there are limited studies orientated towards bovine behavioural features. This study is focused on mapping genomic signatures of selection which may provide insights of differentiation between neutral and selected polymorphisms. Their effects are studied in the Lidia cattle traditionally selected for agonistic behaviour compared with Spanish breeds showing tamed behaviour. Two different approaches, BayeScan and SelEstim, were applied using genotypic 50K SNP BeadChip data. Both procedures detected two genomic regions bearing genes previously related to behavioural traits. The frequencies of the selected allele in these two regions in Lidia breed were opposite to those found in the tamed breeds. In these genomic regions, several putative genes associated with enriched metabolic pathways related to the behavioural development were identified, as neurochondrin gene (NCDN) or glutamate ionotropic receptor kainate type subunit 3 (GRIK3) both located at BTA3 or leucine-rich repeat and Ig domain containing 2 (LINGO2) and phospholipase A2-activating protein (PLAA) at BTA8.

Dissection of ancestral genetic contributions to Creole goat populations.

Goats have played a key role as source of nourishment for humans in their expansion all over the world in long land and sea trips. This has guaranteed a place for this species in the important and rapid episode of livestock expansion triggered by Columbus' arrival in the Americas in the late 1400s. The aims of this study are to provide a comprehensive perspective on genetic diversity in American goat populations and to assess their origins and evolutionary trajectories. This was achieved by combining data from autosomal neutral genetic markers obtained in more than two thousand samples that encompass a wide range of Iberian, African and Creole goat breeds. In general, even though Creole populations differ clearly from each other, they lack a strong geographical pattern of differentiation, such that populations of different admixed ancestry share relatively close locations throughout the large geographical range included in this study. Important Iberian signatures were detected in most Creole populations studied, and many of them, particularly the Cuban Creole, also revealed an important contribution of African breeds. On the other hand, the Brazilian breeds showed a particular genetic structure and were clearly separated from the other Creole populations, with some influence from Cape Verde goats. These results provide a comprehensive characterisation of the present structure of goat genetic diversity, and a dissection of the Iberian and African influences that gave origin to different Creole caprine breeds, disentangling an important part of their evolutionary history. Creole breeds constitute an important reservoir of genetic diversity that justifies the development of appropriate management systems aimed at improving performance without loss of genomic diversity.

First Exclusive Measurement of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering off

We report on the first measurement of the beam-spin asymmetry in the exclusive process of coherent deeply virtual Compton scattering off a nucleus. The experiment uses the 6 GeV electron beam from the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) accelerator at Jefferson Lab incident on a pressurized ^{4}He gaseous target placed in front of the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). The scattered electron is detected by CLAS and the photon by a dedicated electromagnetic calorimeter at forward angles. To ensure the exclusivity of the process, a specially designed radial time projection chamber is used to detect the recoiling ^{4}He nuclei. We measure beam-spin asymmetries larger than those observed on the free proton in the same kinematic domain. From these, we are able to extract, in a model-independent way, the real and imaginary parts of the only ^{4}He Compton form factor, H_{A}. This first measurement of coherent deeply virtual Compton scattering on the ^{4}He nucleus, with a fully exclusive final state via nuclear recoil tagging, leads the way toward 3D imaging of the partonic structure of nuclei.

Genomic diversity and population structure of Mexican and Spanish bovine Lidia breed.

The Lidia bovine breed is distinguished for its low genetic exchangeability given its selection on aggressive behavior, its management uniqueness and its subdivided structure. In this study, we present a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of genetic diversity, population structure and admixture of 468 animals from Mexican and Spanish Lidia breed populations and 64 samples belonging to 10 Spanish native and American-creole breeds using 37 148 single nucleotide polymorphisms. We found similar average inbreeding values in the Lidia breed, with different distributions within groups; variability of inbreeding values among Spanish lineages was significant and no differences were found among the Mexican sub-populations. Together, the high FIS of the lineages and the behavior of the runs of homozygosity are consequences of the lineage's small effective population sizes, contributing to their inbreeding increase. Population admixture analysis discarded any influence on the genetic structure of the Lidia populations from the Spanish native and American-creole breeds. In addition, both Lidia populations depicted different genetic origins, with the exception of some Mexican individuals whose origins traced back to recent Spanish importations.

Spanish adaptation of the 2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. / Adaptación española de las guías europeas de 2016 sobre prevención de la enfermedad cardiovascular en la práctica clínica.

The VI European Guidelines for Cardiovascular Prevention recommend combining population and high-risk strategies with lifestyle changes as a cornerstone of prevention, and propose the SCORE function to quantify cardiovascular risk. The guidelines highlight disease specific interventions, and conditions as women, young people and ethnic minorities. Screening for subclinical atherosclerosis with noninvasive imaging techniques is not recommended. The guidelines distinguish four risk levels (very high, high, moderate and low) with therapeutic objectives for lipid control according to risk. Diabetes mellitus confers a high risk, except for subjects with type 2 diabetes with less than <10 years of evolution, without other risk factors or complications, or type 1 diabetes of short evolution without complications. The decision to start pharmacological treatment of arterial hypertension will depend on the blood pressure level and the cardiovascular risk, taking into account the lesion of target organs. The guidelines don't recommend antiplatelet drugs in primary prevention because of the increased bleeding risk. The low adherence to the medication requires simplified therapeutic regimes and to identify and combat its causes. The guidelines highlight the responsibility of health professionals to take an active role in advocating evidence-based interventions at the population level, and propose effective interventions, at individual and population level, to promote a healthy diet, the practice of physical activity, the cessation of smoking and the protection against alcohol abuse.

The legacy of Columbus in American horse populations assessed by microsatellite markers.

Criollo horse populations descend from horses brought from the Iberian Peninsula over the period of colonization (15th to 17th century). They are spread throughout the Americas and have potentially undergone genetic hybridization with other breeds in the recent past. In this study, 25 autosomal microsatellites were genotyped in 50 horse breeds representing Criollo populations from 12 American countries (27 breeds), breeds from the Iberian Peninsula (19), one breed each from France and Morocco and two cosmopolitan horse breeds (Thoroughbred and Arabian). The genetic relationships among breeds identified five clusters: Celtic; Iberian; North American with Thoroughbred influence; most Colombian breeds; and nearly all other Criollo breeds. The group of "all other Criollo breeds" had the closest genetic relationship with breeds originating from the Iberian Peninsula, specifically with the Celtic group. For the whole set of Criollo breeds analysed, the estimated genetic contribution from other breeds was approximately 50%, 30% and 20% for the Celtic, Iberian and Arab-Thoroughbred groups, respectively. The spatial distribution of genetic diversity indicates that hotspots of genetic diversity are observed in populations from Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay and western United States, possibly indicating points of arrival and dispersion of Criollo horses in the American continent. These results indicate that Criollo breeds share a common ancestry, but that each breed has its own identity.

Genetic diversity of the Mexican Lidia bovine breed and its divergence from the Spanish population.

Lidia bovine breed exists since the XIV century in the Iberian Peninsula. These animals were initially produced for meat but some, showing an aggressive behaviour which difficulted their management, were used to participate in popular traditional and social events. A specialization of the breed giving rise to the original Lidia population is documented in Spain since mid-XVIII century. Following the same tradition than in the Spanish population, Mexico used aggressive animals at the beginning of the XX century until two families of breeders started importing Lidia breed bovines from Spain with the aim of specializing their production. Each family (Llaguno and González) followed different breeding managements, and currently, most of the Lidia Mexican population derives from the Llaguno line. Although genetic structure and diversity of the Spanish population have been studied (using autosomal microsatellite markers, Y chromosome DNA markers and mitochondrial DNA sequences), the Mexican population is not analysed. The aim of the study was to assess both the genetic structure and diversity of the Mexican Lidia breed and its relationship with the original Spanish population using the same molecular tools. A total of 306 animals belonging to 20 breeders issued from both existing Mexican families were genotyped, and the genetic information was compared to the previously existing Spanish information. Slightly higher levels of genetic diversity in Mexican population were found when comparing to the Spanish population, and the variability among populations accounted for differences within them showing mean values of 0.18 and 0.12, respectively. Animals from the Mexican breeders, belonging to each of the two families, clustered together, and there was little evidence of admixture with the Spanish population. The analysis of Y chromosome diversity showed a high frequency of the H6 haplotype in the Mexican population, whereas this haplotype is rare in the Spanish, which is only found in the Miura (100%) and Casta Navarra (38%) lineages. Mitochondrial DNA revealed similar haplotypic pattern in both Spanish and Mexican populations, which is in accordance with most of the Mediterranean bovine breeds. In conclusion, as the Mexican Lidia population had initially a small number of founders and its current population has been reared isolated from their Spanish ancestors since a long time, these bottleneck effects and a combination of mixed cattle origin are the factors that might erase any trace of the Spanish origin of this population.

[Spanish adaptation of the 2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice]. / Adaptación española de las guías europeas de 2016 sobre prevención de la enfermedad cardiovascular en la práctica clínica.

The VI European Guidelines for Cardiovascular Prevention recommend combining population and high-risk strategies with lifestyle changes as a cornerstone of prevention, and propose the SCORE function to quantify cardiovascular risk. The guidelines highlight disease specific interventions, and conditions as women, young people and ethnic minorities. Screening for subclinical atherosclerosis with noninvasive imaging techniques is not recommended. The guidelines distinguish four risk levels (very high, high, moderate and low) with therapeutic objectives for lipid control according to risk. Diabetes mellitus confers a high risk, except for subjects with type 2 diabetes with less than <10 years of evolution, without other risk factors or complications, or type 1 diabetes of short evolution without complications. The decision to start pharmacological treatment of arterial hypertension will depend on the blood pressure level and the cardiovascular risk, taking into account the lesion of target organs. The guidelines don't recommend antiplatelet drugs in primary prevention because of the increased bleeding risk. The low adherence to the medication requires simplified therapeutic regimes and to identify and combat its causes. The guidelines highlight the responsibility of health professionals to take an active role in advocating evidence-based interventions at the population level, and propose effective interventions, at individual and population level, to promote a healthy diet, the practice of physical activity, the cessation of smoking and the protection against alcohol abuse.

Conservation priorities of Iberoamerican pig breeds and their ancestors based on microsatellite information.

Criollo pig breeds are descendants from pigs brought to the American continent starting with Columbus second trip in 1493. Pigs currently play a key role in social economy and community cultural identity in Latin America. The aim of this study was to establish conservation priorities among a comprehensive group of Criollo pig breeds based on a set of 24 microsatellite markers and using different criteria. Spain and Portugal pig breeds, wild boar populations of different European geographic origins and commercial pig breeds were included in the analysis as potential genetic influences in the development of Criollo pig breeds. Different methods, differing in the weight given to within- and between-breed genetic variability, were used in order to estimate the contribution of each breed to global genetic diversity. As expected, the partial contribution to total heterozygosity gave high priority to Criollo pig breeds, whereas Weitzman procedures prioritized Iberian Peninsula breeds. With the combined within- and between-breed approaches, different conservation priorities were achieved. The Core Set methodologies highly prioritized Criollo pig breeds (Cr. Boliviano, Cr. Pacifico, Cr. Cubano and Cr. Guadalupe). However, weighing the between- and within-breed components with FST and 1-FST, respectively, resulted in higher contributions of Iberian breeds. In spite of the different conservation priorities according to the methodology used, other factors in addition to genetic information also need to be considered in conservation programmes, such as the economic, cultural or historical value of the breeds involved.

Statement of the Spanish Interdisciplinary Cardiovascular Prevention Committee (CEIPC for its Spanish acronym) on the 2012 European Cardiovascular Prevention Guidelines.

Based on the two main frameworks for evaluating scientific evidence (SEC and GRADE) European cardiovascular prevention guidelines recommend interventions across all life stages using a combination of population-based and high-risk strategies with diet as the cornerstone of prevention. The evaluation of cardiovascular risk (CVR) incorporates HDL levels and psychosocial factors, a very high risk category, and the concept of age-risk. They also recommend cognitive-behavioural methods (e.g., motivational interviewing, psychological interventions) led by health professionals and with the participation of the patient's family, to counterbalance psychosocial stress and reduce CVR through the institution of positive habits such as a healthy diet, physical activity, smoking cessation, and adherence to treatment. Additionally, public health interventions - such as smoking ban in public areas or the elimination of trans fatty acids from the food chain - are also essential. Other innovations include abandoning antiplatelet therapy in primary prevention and the recommendation of maintaining blood pressure within the 130-139/80-85 mmHg range in diabetic patients and individuals with high CVR. Finally, due to the significant impact on patient progress and medical costs, special emphasis is given to the low therapeutic adherence levels observed. In sum, improving cardiovascular prevention requires a true partnership among the political class, public administrations, scientific and professional associations, health foundations, consumer associations, patients and their families. Such partnership would promote population-based and individual strategies by taking advantage of the broad spectrum of scientific evidence available, from clinical trials to observational studies and mathematical models to evaluate population-based interventions, including cost-effectiveness analyses.

Strangeness suppression of qq creation observed in exclusive reactions.

We measured the ratios of electroproduction cross sections from a proton target for three exclusive meson-baryon final states: ΛK(+), pπ(0), and nπ(+), with the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. Using a simple model of quark hadronization, we extract qq creation probabilities for the first time in exclusive two-body production, in which only a single qq pair is created. We observe a sizable suppression of strange quark-antiquark pairs compared to nonstrange pairs, similar to that seen in high-energy production.

Genetic relationships of the Portuguese Lidia bovine populations.

To clarify the genetic relationships among the Lidia breed lineages and two main Portuguese Lidia bovine populations, Casta Portuguesa and Brava dos Açores, 24 autosomal microsatellites were analyzed in 120 samples. Brava dos Açores showed the highest observed and expected heterozygosity (0.73 and 0.70, respectively) while Casta Portuguesa showed the lowest observed and expected heterozygosity (0.51 and 0.50, respectively). The results of this study were compared with the previous microsatellites data from the main Lidia bovine lineages. Casta Portuguesa was the most genetically isolated Lidia bovine population as revealed by the average FST genetic distance value with respect to the other lineages (32%). All the populations of Portuguese Lidia had negative FIS values. The Neighbour-joining dendrogram grouped Casta Portuguesa in the same branch with Miura, which was supported by the STRUCTURE software. The results evidenced low levels of genetic diversity and high levels of genetic differentiation in Casta Portuguesa and high levels of genetic diversity in Brava dos Açores populations, probably due to the crossbreeding of different bovine lineages at origin, and genetic flow among herds.

Association of bovine meat quality traits with genes included in the PPARG and PPARGC1A networks.

Understanding which are the genetic variants underlying the nutritional and sensory properties of beef, enables improvement in meat quality. The aim of this study is to identify new molecular markers for meat quality through an association study using candidate genes included in the PPARG and PPARGC1A networks given their master role in coordinating metabolic adaptation in fat tissue, muscle and liver. Amongst the novel associations found in this study, selection of the positive marker variants of genes such as BCL3, LPL, PPARG, SCAP, and SCD will improve meat organoleptic characteristics and health by balancing the n-6 to n-3 fatty acid ratio in meat. Also previous results on GDF8 and DGAT1 were validated, and the novel ATF4, HNF4A and PPARGC1A associations, although slightly under the significance threshold, are consistent with their physiological roles. These data contribute insights into the complex gene-networks underlying economically important traits.

Genetic characterization of Latin-American Creole cattle using microsatellite markers.

Genetic diversity in and relationships among 26 Creole cattle breeds from 10 American countries were assessed using 19 microsatellites. Heterozygosities, F-statistics estimates, genetic distances, multivariate analyses and assignment tests were performed. The levels of within-breed diversity detected in Creole cattle were considerable and higher than those previously reported for European breeds, but similar to those found in other Latin American breeds. Differences among breeds accounted for 8.4% of the total genetic variability. Most breeds clustered separately when the number of pre-defined populations was 21 (the most probable K value), with the exception of some closely related breeds that shared the same cluster and others that were admixed. Despite the high genetic diversity detected, significant inbreeding was also observed within some breeds, and heterozygote excess was detected in others. These results indicate that Creoles represent important reservoirs of cattle genetic diversity and that appropriate conservation measures should be implemented for these native breeds in order to minimize inbreeding and uncontrolled crossbreeding.