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In 2022, the United Kingdom reported an increase in drug resistance in Shigella sonnei isolates. We report 33 cases in Spain genetically related to the UK cases and 4 cases with similar antimicrobial resistance profiles infected with genetically distant strains. Our results suggest circulation of multiple genetic clusters of multidrug-resistant S. sonnei in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper presents a case of collaboration between different types of public services and the private sector for the promotion of an entrepreneurial culture. This collaboration is achieved by means of a centre established and developed by the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, the Centro de Iniciativas Emprendedoras (the Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives, CIADE). Since its creation CIADE has, because of a lack of university-allocated financial resources, been collaborating with a wide range of organizations in accordance with the Triple Helix model, including three levels of public administration (national, regional and local), several private businesses and different corporate civic bodies (mostly corporate foundations). CIADE's principal, distinctive attributes, with regard to the Triple Helix, are collaboration, self-financing, project management and a horizontal hierarchical structure which allows rapid accommodation of and adaptation to the changing circumstances of its environment. (Contains 6 tables.)

Explains the relationship between Spanish colonialism in Cuba, evangelization of the Indians, and the origins of Cuban culture, as well as the role the Jesuits played in this process of transculturation. Analyzes the first phase in the history of the educational work of the Jesuits in Cuba (1566-1574). (BT)

Despite these limitations, this pilot study suggests that belted EV occupants may have a lower risk of resulting killed or seriously injured in frontal impacts compared to belted ICE vehicles occupants outside urban areas, although this result was not statistically significant. In the case of crashes involving seriously injured occupants, the proportions were 2.84% (95%CI: 1.94% - 3.74%) for EV and 3.14% (95%CI: 2.99% - 3.29%) for ICE vehicles. The only two other studies reporting comparisons of the crash performance of EV and ICE vehicles included only a few cases of EV (n < 55), precluding drawing any robust conclusion (Chen et al. [1]; Lopez-Valdes et al. [5]). This study includes preliminary descriptive analyses to understand whether EV and ICE vehicles occupants are exposed to similar injury risks in case of participating in a crash. [Extracted from the article]

Objective To examine the effects of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) on pain sensitivity and motor performance in patients with thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) osteoarthritis (OA). Design Prospective, triple-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Setting Private practice, Malaga, Spain. Subjects Forty-three patients (mean ± SD age = 71 ± 12 years) with a diagnosis of thumb CMC OA grade 1–2 were randomized to the control group (N = 21) or experimental group (N = 22). Methods The experimental group (ExpG) received high-intensity laser therapy (HILT), and the control group (ConG) received a placebo treatment. The outcome measures were pain intensity (visual analog scale) and key pinch strength measurements (dynamometer). All outcome measures were collected at baseline, immediately following the intervention, at four weeks, and at 12 weeks following the intervention. Results Analysis of variance revealed a group × time interaction (F = 40.8, P  < 0.001) for pain intensity, with those patients receiving LT experiencing a greater reduction in pain compared with those receiving placebo therapy at the end of the intervention (P  < 0.001), as well as at 12 weeks after the intervention. Although mean values in the ExpG were higher than in the ConG for key pinch at assessment, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions HILT effectively diminishes pain intensity when used as an isolated treatment for patients with thumb CMC OA, but the effect of treatment decreases after 12 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the daily precipitation data recorded for the last 75-80 years in SE Spain. Prior to statistical analysis, homogeneity tests were performed to determine the usefulness of the data (recorded in six pluviometric stations). If the data were homogeneous, the Mann-Kendall test was performed to detect monotonic trends for variables such as total precipitation, number of days with precipitation greater than 1, 20 or 40 mm, number of consecutive dry days and number of consecutive wet days. Moreover, the linear tendency was calculated and accepted (or rejected) by performing a Student's t-test of the calculated residual values. The results showed, on average, a clear change in precipitation patterns for the last 20 years. Annual rainfall had decreased, with values ranging from 0 to 15%, dry periods had increased in length, and the number of rainy days had decreased (especially when high daily precipitation was considered). This latter notion did not exactly concur with the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) 2014 Synthesis Report related to the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paracetamol is one of the factors that have been associated with the observed increase in asthma prevalence in the last few years. The influence of environmental or genetic factors in this disease may be different in some countries than in others. The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between the paracetamol consumption and asthma prevalence in our community. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on more than 20 000 children and adolescents in Galicia, Spain. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood methodology was used to collect the information on asthma symptoms in children, paracetamol consumption, body mass index (BMI), pets in the home, education level of the mother and parental asthma and smoking habits. The influence of paracetamol consumption on the prevalence of asthma symptoms was calculated using logistic regression, adjusted for the other parameters included in the study. Results: After adjusting for gender, BMI, having a cat or dog, maternal education, parental asthma and smoking, in 6- to7-year-old children, the consumption of paracetamol during the first year of life is associated with asthma [odds ratio (OR) 2.04 (1.79–2.31) for wheezing at some time]. Paracetamol consumption in the previous year leads to a significant increase in the probability of wheezing at some time [OR 3.32 (2.51–4.41)] in young children and adolescents [OR 2.12 (1.68–2.67)]. Conclusions: Paracetamol consumption is associated with a significant increase in asthma symptoms. The effect is greater the more often the drug is taken. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Population (00324663) is the property of Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The emergence of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s had a significant impact in Europe because it reawakened concerns about infectious diseases thought to be long-conquered by that time. So it not only affected mortality at certain relatively young ages, but also shifted the perception of health care needs. Even today, AIDS mortality in Spain is among the highest in Europe. It peaked there in 1994 before the wider use of combination therapy reduced the probability of dying from the disease. Analysis of data for that year reveals excess AIDS mortality among young adults. This phenomenon created a temporary but significant deformation of the risks of dying for people in their thirties: in the mid-1990s, AIDS mortality represented almost a third of total mortality in this age group in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desalinated brackish groundwater is becoming a new source of water supply to comply with growing water demands, especially in (semi-) arid countries. Recent publications show that some chemical compounds may persist in an unaltered form after the desalination processes and that there is an associated risk of mixing waters with different salinity for irrigation. At the university of Alicante campus (Spain), a mix of desalinated brackish groundwater and water from the existing aquifer is currently applied for landscape irrigation. The presence of 209 emerging compounds, surfactants, priority substances according to the 2008/105/EC Directive, 11 heavy metals and microbiological organisms in blended water and aquifer samples was investigated. Thirty-five compounds were detected (pesticides, pharmaceuticals and surfactants) among them two priority substances Ã-endosulfan and Ni were found above the permitted maximum concentration. Blended water used for landscape irrigation during the summer period is supersaturated with respect to carbonates, which may ultimately lead to mineral precipitation in the soil-aquifer media and changes in hydraulic parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. In the past few years, deaths due to asthma appear to decrease at least in Western countries; but there are significant variations between populations. The aim of this study is to describe the trends in deaths due to asthma between 1993 and 2007 in our community and to analyze any factors associated with this. Methods. All cases, which had asthma as a cause of death, were included in the study. The mortality data were obtained from the official death certificate from the Deaths Register. Mortality relative risk, based on the calendar year, sociodemographic variables (age and gender), seasons, and days of the week, were estimated using a Poisson generalized linear model with a log-link. Results. In the 15 years of the study period, a total of 1180 people had died due to asthma, mainly in winter (34.5%), women (64.5%), and advanced age (65 years or above; 84.6%). A tendency of decreased mortality in all age groups was observed during the period of the study, which was significant in both the sexes in the 35- to 64-year-old age group, and in males above 65 years. Conclusion. Death due to asthma is changing favorably in our community, with a tendency to decrease in the past few years. Advanced age, being female, and the winter period are associated with a higher mortality rate due to asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study assesses the impact on safety of a system designed to enhance sleep in car passengers. The system holds the head posteriorly and limits its rotation in the sagittal and frontal planes, modifying the occupant's head position. This device may have an influence on the interaction between the occupant and the vehicle restraint systems. Methods: It was a randomised, prospective, single-blind, cross-over controlled study in which 41 volunteers were exposed to using the system while riding as car passengers. Whether the device influenced the posture of the occupants and prevented them from adopting out-of-position (OOP) configurations was also analysed. Occupants were videotaped while they were using both the innovative system (cases) and their normal sleeping device (controls), if any. Results: Controls were exposed to OOP situations in 825 occasions (18.4%; 95% CI 17.3% to 19.6%), while cases were exposed in 416 occasions (9.3%; 95% CI 8.4% to 10.2%). The paper also analysed how many cases and controls were exposed at least once to a particular event and how frequent a single participant incurred in an OOP situation. In both cases, the innovative device showed a reduction in exposition. When OOP situations were grouped into severe, moderate and minor events, the innovative device produced a statistically significant reduction in the occurrence of severe and moderate events. Conclusions: A device originally designed to improve comfort and rest in car passengers has been found to reduce the exposure of the occupants to being OOP while resting in the car. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cahiers Quebecois de Demographie is the property of Association des Demographes du Quebec and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cahiers Quebecois de Demographie is the property of Association des Demographes du Quebec and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper we describe a new student registration system which has been developed at the University of Valencia, Spain. The system has two steps. First, the students make a computer-aided course selection from the courses available at the University. Thereafter, an assignment procedure allocates students to sections in order to respect two criteria: to provide the students with satisfactory schedules and to get balanced section enrollments. The assignment process has two phases. In Phase I, we obtain a set of the best solutions for each student. The algorithm is based on the construction of maximum cardinality independent sets. In Phase II, these solution sets are put together and a tabu search algorithm looks for a satisfactory balance between course sections without causing the solution obtained for each student to worsen significantly. The system was used at the beginning of the academic year 1996/97 in the Faculty of Mathematics and could be extended in the near future to the rest of the University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides solutions for school timetabling problem in Spain. Elements of the school timetabling problem; Development of an algorithm with three phases; Use of procedures to improve the compactness of feasible solutions; Requirements for the scheduling of the school lessons; Examination of a feasible timetable.

• Cost-optimal approach is applied to the residential building stock of Bilbao, northern Spain. • Energy renovation packages are explored under different scenarios. • Achieved cost-optimal levels represent the half of the current thermal consumption. • Adding renewable energies, all the existing buildings could be transformed into nZEB. • Public support is generally needed to make energy retrofitting attractive for the user. The low replacement rate of existing residential buildings, together with their high share in the final energy consumption, has put energy refurbishment of the current stock in the centre of the agenda. Nevertheless, due to the high up-front investment and long payback period that it usually implies, deep energy retrofitting is not yet widely applied. In this context, the cost-optimal methodology introduced by Directive 2010/31/EU created a framework to identify the energy efficiency measures that would maximize the economic return. However, the analysis of cost-optimality has often been limited to a single building or type of building, which cannot be extrapolated to an existing building stock. In other cases, the limited number of reference buildings hinders the capture of the great heterogeneity of an existing building stock into sufficiently homogeneous building typologies for a reliable extrapolation of the assessment results. To address such a challenge, this research proposes the application of the cost-optimal method on an urban scale, aiming to identify the suitable range of energy performance that is reasonable to promote in different types of buildings, keeping in mind their specific characteristics. The methodology is applied to the residential building stock of the city of Bilbao, northern Spain, through a comprehensive approach that also incorporates deeper interventions pointing at nearly zero-energy building levels. The results aim to support decision-makers in outlining the most suitable energy efficiency policy and determining the priority targets that demand the mobilisation of investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the use of hydrated lime and calcite waste marble powder as remediation treatments of contaminated jarosite-rich sediments from Portman Bay (SE, Spain), one of the most contaminated points in the Mediterranean coast by mining-metallurgical activities. We tested two commercial hydrated limes with different Ca(OH) 2 percentages (28 and 60% for Lime-1 and Lime-2 respectively) and two different waste marble powder, WMP, from the marble industry (60 and 96% of calcite for WMP-1 and WMP-2 respectively). Mixture and column experiments and modelling of geochemical reactions using PHREEQC were performed. Lime caused the precipitation of hematite, gypsum and calcite, whereas WMP treatments formed iron carbonates and hematite. The fraction of amorphous phases was mainly composed of iron oxides, hydroxides and oxyhydroxides that was notably higher in the lime treatment in comparison to the WMP treatment. The reactive surface area showed a positive trend with the amorphous phase concentration. Results highlighted the effectiveness of lime treatments, where Lime-2 showed a complete elimination of jarosite. Column experiments revealed a clear reduction of heavy metal concentration in the lixiviate for the treated sediments compared to the original sediments. Particularly, Lime-2 showed the highest reduction in the peak concentration of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cd. The studied treatments limited the stabilisation of Cr and Ni, whereas contrarily As increases in the treated sediment. PHREEQC calculations showed that the most concentrated heavy metals (Zn and Mn) are stabilized mainly by precipitation whereas Cu, Pb and Cd by a combination of precipitation and sorption processes. This chemical environment leads to the precipitation of stable iron phases, which sorb and co-precipitate considerable amounts of potentially toxic elements. Lime is significantly more effective than WMP, although it is recommended that the pH value of the mixture should remain below 9 due to the amphoteric behaviour of heavy metals. Image 1 • Jarosite dissolution releases high levels of heavy metals into the environment. • Lime is more effective than calcite-rich waste marble powder in metal immobilisation. • Lime forms hematite, gypsum and calcite and WMP forms hematite and iron carbonates. • The amorphous phases fix heavy metals by sorption and co-precipitation. • Jarosite was eliminated in the lime treatment with major Ca(OH) 2 concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Samples from 13 beaches along the northern Spanish coast, a region with a history of heavy industries, were first screened to identify signs of pollution. High concentrations of Hg and Ba on Vega beach were found, both elements belong to the fluorite ore paragenesis, mined in the surroundings. Samples of beach and fluvial sediments, and nearby soils were collected in Vega beach area to address potential Hg pollution, fate and sources. Most samples showed a similar pollutants fingerprint to that of beach samples, especially those taken from white dunes, registering notable Hg concentrations. Hg was enriched in the finer fractions, and overall the main input was attributed to the mining waste discharged along the coast in the past. Although a specific risk assessment and study of the submerged sediments are advisable for this area, Hg bioavailability and methylation were low, thus indicating that this metal poses a reduced environmental risk. • Pollution by PTEs in several beaches from Northern Spain was assessed. • Comprehensive study in Vega beach was performed due to high concentrations of Hg. • Dunes of the beach and surrounding soils presented the major affection. • Multivariate statistics linked pollution to fluorite paragenesis and its mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the changes of motorcycle licensing policy in Spain. The Spanish government allows individuals who have held a license to drive a passenger car for at least 3 years to drive a motorcycle of no more than 125 cc with no further licensing requirements beginning in 2004. Preliminary consequences of the policy change and the need for policymakers to consider the implications for injury risk and to obtain expert guidance are also discussed.

• A DCE is conducted to assess households' willingness to insulate their homes. • Determinants for the adoption of façade thermal insulation are identified. • The investment cost required in the existing building stock is below the obtained WTP. • The required subsidy level is lower than the grants set by existing aid programs. • Increased tax rebate has greater incentive effect than soft financing. This paper assesses Spanish households' willingness to thermally insulate their homes and the drivers that influence such a decision-making process. Stated preference data were collected through a discrete choice experiment (DCE). The final sample of 191 respondents and 1,145 observations was analysed by the use of a mixed logit model, weighing the factors that encourage homeowners to carry out façade energy renovations or not. The model enables the quantitative estimation of renovation adoption rates depending on the households' characteristics and public support instruments in place. The results show that homeowners are extremely interested in increasing the thermal insulation of their homes. The actual investment cost required in the existing building stock is lower than the obtained willingness-to-pay. Furthermore, it was found a relevant effect of a variety of household features on renovation choice (income, age, heating system, etc.), which should be contemplated in the energy efficiency policy design. Additionally, a case analysis is performed which comprises 3 household categories. The results reveal that the required subsidy level is different in each case, sometimes even unnecessary, although all of them lower than the grants set by existing aid programs. Thus, to reduce the free-riding effect, a closer perspective would enable targeted support mechanisms towards each household category. Moreover, the policy performance can be improved by combining subsidies with other measures such as low-interest loans or increased tax rebates, which could contribute to improving the cost effectiveness of the public expense associated with direct grants. Overall, an increased tax rebate is preferred to soft financing, although the influence of the latter increases in low-income households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work develops a software to control and diagnose building thermal facilities based on thermoeconomics. It is tested with the data obtained from three building blocks in the Basque Country (northern Spain) with the aim of detecting the potential energy saving points and mitigating environmental impacts. Some obstacles, solved, are related to the insufficient number of probes and the inherent errors of sensors. Besides, new methodologies for performing a thermoeconomic dynamic analysis are described. Apart from this, the inefficiencies of components are quantified, a dynamic cost calculation of all flows is done and different operation modes are discussed. The outcomes of operation modes are discussed and their exergetic, economic and environmental average unit cost are calculated. In such way, the intervention of the control system is analysed and the operation modes with lower and higher fuel consumption are detected. The results show that domestic hot water (DHW) production has an average value of 13.72 c€/kWh and heating of 12.92 c€/kWh; in addition, boilers have 1,587 MWh of real losses. Besides, the operating modes dynamic analysis opens a new research line for thermoeconomics applications. This information is a key fact for control optimization searching the high performance of buildings. • A versatile thermoeconomic dynamic software is created for building thermal systems. • Exergy, exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental costs in real time were dynamically calculated. • Information needed for energy savings and environment impact mitigation is obtained. • Operation modes are individually analysed for the implementation of control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO 2 emissions are one of the major contributors to global warming. The variety of emission sources and the nature of CO 2 hinders estimating its concentration in real time and therefore to adopt flexible policies that contribute to its control and, ultimately, to reduce its effects. Spain is not exempted from this challenge and CO 2 emissions are published only at the end of the year and as an aggregated value for the whole country, without recognising the existing differences between the regions (the so-called, Autonomous Communities). The recent COVID-19 pandemic is a clear example of the need of accurate and fast estimation methods so that policies can be tailored to the current status and not to a past one. This paper provides a method to estimate monthly emissions of CO 2 for each AACC in Spain based on data that are published monthly by the relevant administrations. The paper discusses the approximations needed in the development of the method, predicts the drop in emissions due to the reduced industrial activity during the pandemic in Spain and provides the estimation of future emissions under three recovery scenarios after the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the transcriptomic profile of endometrial gene alterations during the window of implantation in infertile obese patients.Design: Multicenter, prospective, case-control study.Setting: Three academic medical centers for reproductive medicine.Patient(s): Infertile patients, stratified into body mass index (BMI) categories according to the World Health Organization guidelines, were included in the study.Intervention(s): Endometrial samples were obtained from women undergoing standardized estrogen and P replacement cycles after 5 days of vaginal P supplementation.Main Outcome Measure(s): To identify endometrial gene expression alterations that occur during the window of implantation in infertile obese patients as compared with infertile normal-weight controls using a microarray analysis.Result(s): XCL1, XCL2, HMHA1, S100A1, KLRC1, COTL1, COL16A1, KRT7, and MFAP5 are significantly dysregulated during the window of implantation in the receptive endometrium of obese patients. COL16A1, COTL1, HMHA1, KRCL1, XCL1, and XCL2 were down-regulated and KRT7, MFAP5, and S100A1 were up-regulated in the endometrium of obese patients. These genes are mainly involved in chemokine, cytokine, and immune system activity and in the structural extracellular matrix and protein-binding molecular functions.Conclusion(s): Obesity is associated with significant endometrial transcriptomic differences as compared with non-obese subjects. Altered endometrial gene expression in obese patients may contribute to the lower implantation rates and increased miscarriage rates seen in obese infertile patients.Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT02205866. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes (A-F) and their association with the G1896A precore mutation in 486 patients positive for HBV surface antigen. Genotypes were determined by RFLP and precore mutation by real-time PCR. Genotypes D (48.1%) and A (39.5%) were the most common, followed by F (4.1%) and B, C and E (<1%). The A to D ratio (A:D) was 1.4 in HBeAg+ chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 0.6 in HBeAg- CHB and 1.4 in HBeAg- inactive carriers. Distribution of these genotypes was different between HBeAg+ CHB and HBeAg- CHB (P = 0.02), and between HBeAg- CHB and HBeAg- inactive carriers (P = 0.009). Genotype A was the most prevalent in HBeAg+ CHB with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (68.6%) and genotype D in HBeAg+ CHB with fluctuating ALT (60.7%). There was a difference in genotype prevalence between chronic and acute infection (P = 0.03). The precore mutant correlated with high levels of HBV-DNA in genotype d HBeAg- CHB. Genotype D is not as highly prevalent in Spanish patients as would be expected in a Mediterranean area. The unequal prevalence of genotypes between acute and chronic infection suggests that genotype A is associated with a higher tendency to cause chronic infection.

Background/aims: In industrialized countries hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is rare and its diagnosis is difficult because the utility of available tests is not well established., Methods: We studied the presence of acute HEV infection markers in a cluster of 11 cases of acute hepatitis with IgG anti-HEV antibodies., Results: Three cases were confirmed as acute hepatitis E and 8 as presumptive hepatitis E, two as a past HEV infection and one could not be determined. Three different HEV strains were identified in serum from 3 patients. Two strains belonged to genotype 3, the predominant genotype found in local urban sewage and the other strain belonged to genotype 1 and was considered an imported strain., Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the presence of some autochthonous, sporadic acute hepatitis E cases as well as an imported case in our area and the transitory nature of virological and serological markers for HEV.

Background/aims: To determine the prevalence and significance of hepatitis B virus (HBV) basic core promoter (BCP) mutations and to establish their relationship with precore (preC) mutations, HBV genotypes and HBV-DNA levels., Methods: BCP and preC mutations and genotypes were determined by sequencing., Results: Genomic analysis was performed in 129 (71%) of 182 patients. BCP mutations were detected in 83% of 18 HBeAg-negative (e-) chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with fluctuating ALT levels, and in 76% of 58 e- CHB with elevated ALT. The prevalence was lower and similar, 55% in 30 HBeAg-positive CHB (e+ CHB) with elevated ALT and in 23 e- inactive carriers. Frequency of preC mutations was higher in e- CHB (80%) than in e- inactive carriers (65%). Among e- CHB, patients with elevated ALT and preC mutations at nt 1896 showed highest HBV-DNA, regardless of BCP mutations. BCP mutations were similar in genotypes A and D, while preC mutations were most common in genotype D (82 vs. 40%). Simultaneous presence of the main BCP (1762, 1764) and preC (1896, 1899) mutations was associated with the degree of histological injury., Conclusions: Combined BCP and preC mutational and genotype analysis provides clinically relevant information in the study of HBV infection.