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The COVID-19 pandemic has confined millions in their homes, an unprecedented opportunity to spend more time together with family members. This paper explores subjective well-being in the uses of time for US and UK workers, differentiating between solo activities and activities done with family members, at home and outside the home. Using American and British time use surveys, we compute the instant utility associated with paid work, unpaid work, leisure, and childcare activities. OLS regressions on both men and women show that workers prefer joint leisure to solo leisure, and that significant differences exist for solo and joint market work and housework, between the sexes. Despite that, the effect magnitudes are relatively low. Furthermore, we simulate a strict lockdown situation by replacing where and with whom worker episodes would be, based on mid-2020 strict confinements. Results suggest diverging effects, since more time with the spouse/partner and children, and less time with others, seems to increase the experienced wellbeing of women, compared to that of men. The simulation exercise also reveals asymmetric effects in the US and in the UK. The conclusions of this paper may help in assessing the psychological consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns, beyond the negative economic and labour market consequences.

Point of care lung ultrasound (POCUS) has been recently used to assess prognosis in COVID-19 patients. However, there are no data comparing POCUS and chest-X ray, a technique widely used.Retrospective analysis in stable COVID-19 patients. Schalekamp radiological lung scale and LUZ-Score ultrasound scale were compared. Primary end-point was in-hospital death and/or need for Intensive Care Unit admission.A total of 138 patients were included. Median Schalekamp scale was 2 (2) and median LUZ-Score scale was 21 (10). No significant correlation was observed between both techniques. Patients with a LUZ-Score ≥ 21 points at admission had worse lung function and higher concentrations of LDH, CRP and Interleuquine-6. Schalekamp scale failed to identify patients at a higher risk at admission for the primary end-point. Addition of POCUS to a previous clinical model, improved risk prediction (AUC 0.805 [95% CI: 0.662-0.948];Chest X-ray and POCUS showed no correlation at admission in this analysis. Only POCUS identified a group of patients with greater clinical and analytical involvement. POCUS improved, previous clinical model, while chest X-ray did not add relevant predictive information for the primary endpoint.La ecografía torácica es una técnica novedosa para estratificar el riesgo de los pacientes COVID-19. Sin embargo, no existen datos que comparen dicha técnica con la radiografía de tórax, una técnica ampliamente utilizada en esta enfermedad.Análisis retrospectivo en pacientes estables COVID-19. Se compararon la escala de daño pulmonar radiológica de Schalekamp y ecográfica de LUZ-Score. El objetivo primario fue la muerte intrahospitalaria o la necesidad de ingreso en la UCI para tratamiento con ventilación mecánica.Se reclutaron 138 pacientes. La mediana de la escala de Schalekamp fue de 2 (2) y la del LUZ-Score de 21 (10). No se objetivó una correlación significativa entre ambas escalas. Los pacientes con un LUZ-Score ≥ 21 puntos al ingreso presentaron peor función pulmonar y mayores concentraciones de LDH, PCR e interleucina-6. La escala radiológica de Schalekamp no logró identificar a una población de mayor riesgo. Únicamente la adición de la ecografía pulmonar a un modelo de valoración clínica mejoró de manera significativa el área bajo la curva para el objetivo primario (ABC 0,805 [IC 95%: 0,662−0,948];No se objetivó una correlación entre la afectación radiológica y la ecográfica. Únicamente la ecografía pulmonar identificó un subgrupo de pacientes con una mayor afectación clínico-analítica. La ecografía pulmonar mejoró el modelo de predicción clínico, mientras que la radiografía de tórax no añadió información relevante.

This paper explores the gender gap in time allocation in European countries, offering a comparison of the 2000s and the 2010s, along with an explanation of the documented gender gaps, based on social norms and institutional factors. The results show that the gender gap in both paid and unpaid work has decreased in most countries, but with a significant level of cross-country heterogeneity in the size of the gender gaps. More traditional social norms are related to greater gender inequalities in paid and unpaid work, while countries with better family-friendly policies and a greater representation of women in politics and in the labour market exhibit smaller gender inequalities. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of gender gaps in Europe, and attempts to monitor the progress towards the elimination of gender inequalities. Despite that some degree of gender convergence in paid and unpaid work has taken place, there remain inequalities in the distribution of labour in European countries, and possible solutions may be related to social norms and family-friendly policies.

Mobility gives individuals access to different daily activities, facilities, and places, but at the cost of imposing environmental externalities. The sustainable growth of society is linked to green mobility (e.g., public transport, walking, cycling) as a way to alleviate individual carbon footprints. This study explores the socio-demographic profile of individuals performing green travel (public and active modes of transport) and identifies cross-country differences in green travel behavior. We rely on information from the Multinational Time Use Study, MTUS, for Bulgaria, Canada, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from 2000 to 2019. We estimate Ordinary Least Squares regressions modelling individual decisions regarding green mobility. Our results indicate that the socio-demographic and family profile of travelers is not homogenous across green modes of transport, with walking as a mode of travel exhibiting a much more consistent profile, across countries, in comparison to the use of public transport and cycling. Results indicate that some countries are more prone to green travel, and that transport infrastructure is a factor in the proportion of time spent on both public and active transport. Our findings help in understanding who is committed to green mobility, while revealing interesting systematic differences across countries Fil: Echeverría, Lucía. CONICET. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina. Fil: Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio. University of Zaragoza. EDIS; Spain. Fil: Molina, josé Alberto. University of Zaragoza. EDIS; Spain.

Los cálculos del conducto biliar común se resuelven, habitualmente, a través de una colangiopancreatografía retrógrada endoscópica. En ocasiones, la coledocolitiasis resulta un desafío terapéutico, ya sea por la morfología de los litos, el tamaño, la consistencia o la relación de estos con el calibre y la anatomía de la vía biliar. La coledocolitiasis gigante plantea un desafío terapéutico para el cual, afortunadamente, contamos con cada vez más herramientas para su tratamiento endoscópico. Entre las opciones disponibles, mencionamos la esfinteroplastia con balón de grandes volúmenes, la litotricia mecánica con canastilla, la litotricia extracorpórea y la litotricia guiada por colangioscopia, ya sea electrohidráulica o con láser. Presentamos dos casos de coledocolitiasis gigantes tratadas con litotricia con láser guiada por colangioscopia. El primer caso es el de una paciente de sexo femenino, de 70 años, colecistecomizada y derivada de otro centro por coledocolitiasis gigante, con dos intentos de resolución fallidos por colangiopancreatografía retrógrada endoscópica. El segundo caso se trata de un paciente masculino, de 58 años, colecistectomizado, con un intento previo de colangiopancreatografía retrógrada endoscópica por coledocolitiasis gigante, sin éxito. Ambos fueron tratados con éxito a través de litotricia con láser guiada por colangioscopia, en una sola sesión.

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between Body Mass Index of the members of the couple and the distribution of housework within the same couple. Prior research has documented that higher-BMI spouses compensate their partners by increasing their market work hours. The question remains, does this compensation mechanism extend to the share of the time dedicated to housework. Using the British Household Panel Surveys for the years 2004 and 2006, we analyze the relationship between spouses’ Body Mass Index and the time devoted to housework. Our results show that a relatively higher BMI of any member of the couple is related to a decrease in his/her fraction of housework. This result is maintained when we restrict our sample to two-earner couples. We find no evidence for the compensation mechanism by which higher-BMI spouses work longer hours. By analyzing the relationship between housework time and Body Mass Index within the couple, we examine an important issue, given the significant contribution that members of couples make to their households via housework time.

Sustainable modes of transport, including both public transit and active transport, have been promoted as strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, one factor that may influence their use is related to security concerns, although prior evidence on this topic is scarce and inconclusive. We explore whether perceived security in 10 large cities in Latin America is related to mode choice for commuting. We rely on the 2017 CAF Survey implemented by the Development Bank of Latin America, where individuals report their levels of satisfaction with neighbourhood security. Our results suggest that individuals who feel more satisfied with their neighbourhood security engage in more public transit commuting, although this result holds only for male commuters. Our results suggest that strategies aimed at increasing security can alleviate concerns about neighbourhood crime, increasing the use of public transit in Latin America.

Background Malnutrition is frequent in patients with heart failure (HF) and contributes to increased systemic congestion, but also hinders its correct assessment, especially during decompensations. Estimating the degree of malnutrition and its relationship with systemic congestion is important to optimize treatment during decompensations. Material and methods Retrospective cohort study in patients with acute HF. The population was stratified according to CONUT (Controlling Nutritional Status) and PNI (Prognostic Nutritional Index) nutrition indices in order to analyse their relationship with objective parameters of congestion and the prognostic value of malnutrition. Results 309 patients were included. More than half presented some degree of malnutrition upon admission. The degree of congestion was significantly higher in malnourished patients, with a higher proportion of «comet tail artifacts» and a higher relative plasma volume. NT-proBNP concentrations, both on admission and at discharge, were also significantly higher in malnourished patients, regardless of the scale used. The univariate analysis identified the CONUT and PNI index as factors associated with one-year mortality from any cause (HR 1.62 [1.22–2.14]; p = 0.001) and PNI (HR 65 [0.53–0.80]; p ≤ 0.001), respectively. Conclusions A higher degree of malnutrition (determined by means of the CONUT and PNI indices) in patients with acute HF was associated with a higher presence of objective parameters of congestion and a higher one-year all-cause mortality.

Resumen Fundamento El examen fisico presenta una rentabilidad limitada en la estimacion de la congestion venosa sistemica y en la prediccion de la mortalidad de los pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca. Hemos evaluado la utilidad del fragmento amino terminal del peptido natriuretico cerebral (NT-proBNP), del antigeno de cancer 125 (CA125), los hallazgos de la ecografia pulmonar, la estimacion del volumen plasmatico relativo (VPr) y el cociente urea/creatinina, como parametros subrogados de congestion venosa y predictores de mortalidad. Material y metodos Estudio retrospectivo de 203 pacientes ingresados por insuficiencia cardiaca aguda en el servicio de medicina interna de un hospital terciario, con seguimiento monografico en consultas externas entre los anos 2013 y 2018. Los datos clinicos se recogieron de los registros hospitalarios. Las intervenciones terapeuticas se guiaron por el criterio clinico del medico responsable de cada paciente. El desenlace principal fue mortalidad general tras un ano de seguimiento. Resultados La edad media de los pacientes fue 78,8 anos, 47% eran varones. Un total de 130 (65%) pacientes presentaban insuficiencia cardiaca cronica, 51 (26,2%) pacientes se encontraban en clase III-IV de la New York Heart Association y 116 (60%) pacientes presentaban fraccion de eyeccion de ventriculo izquierdo preservada. Durante el seguimiento fallecieron 42 (22%) pacientes. Los valores de NT-proBNP ≥ 3.804 pg/mL (HR 2,78 [1,27-6,08]; p = 0,010) y el VPr ≥ –4,54% (HR 2,74 [1,18-6,38]; p = 0,019) fueron predictores independientes de mortalidad general tras un ano de seguimiento. Conclusiones El NT-proBNP y el VPr son predictores independientes de mortalidad a un ano entre los pacientes ingresados por insuficiencia cardiaca descompensada.

Hospitalization for acute decompensation of heart failure (ADHF) is a frequent event associated with long‑term adverse effects. Prognosis is even worse if acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs during hospitalization.The study aimed to determine whether kidney damage biomarkers neutrophil gelatinase‑associatedlipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM‑1), and interleukin18 (IL‑18) might predict AKI and have prognostic value in ADHF.Serum NGAL on admission and urine NGAL, KIM‑1, and IL‑18 on discharge were determined in 187 ADHF patients enrolled in a prospective, observational, unblinded study. AKI was diagnosed using the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Patients were followedfor 12 months to record all‑cause mortality.A total of 22% patients died during the follow‑up, with 52.5% dying within 4 months after discharge. Serum NGAL (P0.001), urine NGAL (P = 0.047), and urinary KIM‑1 (P = 0.014) levels were significantly higher in the deceased patients at discharge. After adjustment for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), only urinary KIM‑1 independently predicted mortality at month 4 (hazard ratio [HR], 3.166; 95% CI, 1.203-8.334; P = 0.020) and month 12 (HR, 1.969; 95% CI, 1.123-3.454; P = 0.018) in Cox regression models. In receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis urinary KIM‑1 (area under the ROC curve [AUC] = 0.830) outperformed other markers of renal function. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed KIM‑1 predictive value as additive to that of AKI incidence and admission eGFR. Admission serum NGAL was higher in AKI patients (P ≤0.001) with a modest diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.667), below that of urea (AUC = 0.732), creatinine (AUC = 0.696), or cystatin C (AUC = 0.676).Discharge urinary KIM‑1 was a strong and independent predictor of mortality, particularly during the most vulnerable period shortly after hospitalization. Admission serum NGAL was inferior to conventional renal function parameters in predicting AKI during ADHF.

INTRODUCTION Hospitalization for acute decompensation of heart failure (ADHF) is a frequent event associated with long-term adverse effects. Prognosis is even worse if acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs during hospitalization.OBJECTIVES The study aimed to determine whether kidney damage biomarkers neutrophil gelatinase--associatedlipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), and interleukin 18 (IL-18) might predict AKI and have prognostic value in ADHF.PATIENTS AND METHODS Serum NGAL on admission and urine NGAL, KIM-1, and IL-18 on discharge were determined in 187 ADHF patients enrolled in a prospective, observational, unblinded study. AKI was diagnosed using the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Patients were followed for 12 months to record all-cause mortality.RESULTS A total of 22% patients died during the follow-up, with 52.5% dying within 4 months after discharge. Serum NGAL (P

BACKGROUND Diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) during acute decompensations of heart failure (ADHF) remain challenging. We analysed the incidence and prognosis of AKI, and the significance of small increases of creatinine, during ADHF and after stabilization. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients admitted for ADHF were prospectively included. Creatinine was measured at admission, 48h thereafter and 24h before discharge. AKI was diagnosed when creatinine increased≥50% in 7 days (RIFLE criteria) or≥0.3mg/dL in 48h (AKIN criteria) during admission. Changes between baseline creatinine (measured within 3-month before admission) and one month after discharge were assessed, to seek for residual impairment of renal function and its significance. RESULTS Two hundred and four patients were included. Incidence of AKI was 28.4% (n=58). Creatinine peaked by day 5 in patients with AKI vs. non-AKI (1.9 vs. 1.1mg/dL; P

Resumen Antecedentes El diagnostico de dano renal agudo (DRA) durante los episodios de insuficiencia cardiaca aguda (ICA) sigue siendo un desafio. Analizamos la incidencia y el pronostico del DRA y la importancia de los aumentos pequenos de creatinina durante los episodios de ICA y tras su estabilizacion. Pacientes y metodos Se incluyeron prospectivamente pacientes ingresados por ICA. La creatinina se midio al ingreso, a las 48 h de este y 24 h antes del alta. El DRA se diagnostico cuando la creatinina aumento ≥ 50% en 7 dias (criterio RIFLE) o ≥ 0,3 mg/dL en 48 h (criterio AKIN) durante el ingreso. Se evaluaron los cambios entre la creatinina basal (medida dentro de los 3 meses previos al ingreso) y un mes despues del alta, para buscar el deterioro residual de la funcion renal y su importancia. Resultados Se incluyeron 204 pacientes. La incidencia de DRA fue del 28,4% (n = 58). La creatinina alcanzo su maxima concentracion al quinto dia en pacientes con DRA vs. no DRA (1,9 vs. 1,1 mg/dL; p Conclusiones La presencia de DRA es un potente predictor de mortalidad en las ICA. Pequenos incrementos en las concentraciones de creatinina, por debajo del umbral aceptado para la definicion de DRA, tienen un pronostico significativo.

This study extends the truancy literature by exploring correlates of both committing truancy and the numbers of days truant among Spanish secondary school students. The study incorporates cyberbullying, peer truancy and parenting style as key predictors. Several count data regression models are estimated using a nationally representative survey of Spanish students (N = 37,476; Mage = 15.73; 50.9 % females). The results suggest that cyberbullying and parenting style play a significant role in a student’s decision to commit truancy, while peer truancy plays a significant role in both the decision of whether or not to commit truancy (OR = 1.61) and the number of days truant (IRR = 1.41). These results suggest that reducing cyberbullying and promoting specific parenting styles may serve to reduce truancy, and that this direct effect or reduction could be further increased indirectly via peer or social multipliers.

Los adolescentes son los que más usan Internet y el grupo más vulnerable frente al uso desadaptativo de Internet. La promoción de estrategias dirigidas a reducir la ansiedad y la depresión, así como a incrementar la autoestima, pueden ayudar a reducir el excesivo uso de las nuevas tecnologías. Partiendo de la Encuesta sobre Uso de Drogas en Enseñanzas Secundarias en España (2016) analizamos, estimando un sistema de ecuaciones aparentemente no relacionadas, el tiempo dedicado por los adolescentes españoles a actividades online: correo y mensajes, redes sociales, juegos, apuestas y páginas con violencia/ sexo. Los resultados sugieren que fomentar la práctica de deportes y concienciar a los padres sobre los beneficios de mantener relaciones de afecto con los hijos pueden ser estrategias útiles para reducir el tiempo dedicado a las nuevas tecnologías.

En el presente documento se va a realizar un estudio con el fin de hacer una comparativaentre la gente que trabaja y teletrabaja en Estados Unidos. Con este análisis se pretendetambién identificar el tiempo que dedican a las distintas actividades rutinarias en función delmodelo de trabajo. El mismo análisis se realiza para conocer las diferencias que puedanexistir en los distintos sectores de ocupación, teniendo en cuenta únicamente la variable detiempo dedicado a trabajar. Además, se hace una comparativa, entre hombres y mujeres,sobre los minutos dedicados a las distintas actividades entre los que teletrabajan, con elobjetivo de conocer mejor los hábitos de vida en función del género. Dichas actividades sonel tiempo dedicado a trabajar, tiempo dedicado al ocio, al cuidado personal, al cuidado de loshijos y el cuidado del hogar.Para finalizar, se ha llevado a cabo un análisis econométrico de regresión lineal simple quepretende conocer si existe dependencia entre las variables dependientes e independientes.

Millions of people travel every day by car in cities around the world, with daily mobility being one of the main contributors to CO2 emissions. Bicycle-sharing systems are a mobility alternative to cars that may help to reduce CO2 and GHG emissions. We analyze a public bike-sharing service (BIZI, in Zaragoza, Spain, May 2008–August 2019, 24 million uses), from the perspective of both efficiency and demand profiles, to determine whether the use of bicycles in the city can be increased. We study the evolution of the use of the BIZI service, showing that efficiency increased rapidly at first and reached an optimum value after the first two years. Using regression models, we characterize the groups that use this service the most and relate bicycle demand to factors such as weather conditions, number of bike lanes, and service extensions. Our analysis allows us to characterize the demand for BIZI as being subject, primarily, to weather conditions. This factor may reduce or boost the demand for this kind of service, which may help bike-sharing firms to decide on possible locations.

Existing research has focused on factors explaining self-employment decisions, and the intergenerational transmission of self-employment has been posited as one explanatory factor. However, findings differ across countries, and the channels for such transmission remain unclear. Using data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, we analyse whether working in the same occupation as parents, conditional on parents'' self-employment, is related to being self-employed. Results show that working in the same occupation as parents is statistically and significantly related to being self-employed, which may indicate the existence of intergenerational transmission of self-employment. Furthermore, this relationship is especially significant between fathers and sons.

With the expansion and diversification of global aquaculture, efforts continue to develop new bio-technologies for assisted reproduction in species that present reproductive dysfunctions. Flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) held in intensive conditions in the Mediterranean region, display a severe reproductive dysfunction, where males do not produce fluent milt and females are arrested at previtellogenesis or early stages of vitellogenesis. In the present study, weekly injections of species-specific single-chain recombinant gonadotropins (rGths); follicle stimulating hormone (rFsh) (6 to 12 μg kg-1 doses) and luteinizing hormone (rLh) (2.5 to 24 μg kg-1 doses) were administered to induce vitellogenesis, from previtellogenesis / early vitellogenesis to the completion of vitellogenic growth in females and enhance spermatogenesis to produce adequate volumes of sperm from non-fluent males. During the experiment, all treated females (n = 21) developed oocytes in late vitellogenesis with 603 ± 8 μm diameter and all treated males produced fluent sperm. To induce oocyte maturation, ovulation and spawning, females were treated with either (i) a priming dose of 30 μg kg-1 of rLh and a resolving dose of 40 mg kg-1 of progesterone (P4), (ii) priming and resolving doses of 30 μg kg-1 of rLh, or (iii) priming and resolving doses of 40 mg kg-1 of P4 given 24:05 ± 0:40 h apart. Females were placed in spawning tanks with rGth treated males that had fluent sperm. Spontaneous spawns of fertilised eggs were obtained after inducing with rLh + P4 or rLh + rLh (priming and resolving injections) with a spawning success of the 85% (8 of 9 females) and 100% (n = 6), respectively. The eggs collected from the tanks presented 64 ± 22% fertilization with embryo development and 57 ± 24 % hatching. The treatment P4 + P4 had a lower ovulation success (50 % - 3 of 6 females) and spawning success (17 %) with no fertilised eggs. Success was independent of the initial gonadal stage of females. In comparison, control females did not show any advance in gonadal development from initial stages and control males did not produce fluent sperm. The present results confirm the possibility of controlling oogenesis from previtellogenesis to the completion of maturation and fertilised tank spawning using exclusively rFsh and rLh in a teleost species.

Under intensive captive conditions, wild-caught flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) females remained arrested in previtellogenic stages of gonadal development and no sperm could be obtained from males. With the aim to induce oogenesis from previtellogenesis to oocyte maturation, induce the release of sperm and obtain fertilized eggs, female and male flathead grey mullet were treated with Mugil cephalus single-chain recombinant gonadotropins (rGths), follicle-stimulating (rFsh) and luteinizing (rLh) hormones. In Experiment 1, fish were treated with a weekly dose of rFsh (15 μg kg−1), which in females significantly (P 75% motile spermatozoa) was obtained from males in both experiments, and in Exp. 2 the addition of rLh induced the production of higher quantities of sperm that were used to fertilise the eggs. Although fertilisation was low (0.4%), these fertilized eggs with embryo development produced viable larvae (71% hatching). In comparison, control females remained arrested at previtellogenesis and control males did not produce sperm. The study demonstrated that both rGths are effective to induce the process of oogenesis in female flathead grey mullet and to obtain flowing sperm from males, adding more data to confirm the roles of the Gths in teleost gametogenesis. This is the first report, in a teleost species, of the use of rGths (rFsh and rLh) to induce oogenesis from previtellogenesis through to maturation to obtain eggs and larvae. This advance provides the bases for the development of therapies for the use in the aquaculture of teleost of commercial interest or the conservation of endangered species. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Treatments with homologous recombinant follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones (rFsh and rLh, respectively) are known to enhance spermatogenesis and sperm production in sole, but the response can be highly variable depending on the dose, duration and time of the year of the rFsh treatment. To further investigate the physiological effects of rFsh and rLh on sperm production in sole, here we examined the pattern of spermiation of F1 males, of approximately 450 g, treated with rFsh and rLh under controlled temperature. In an initial trial at 12 °C, males were weekly injected intramuscularly with 18 μg kg−1 rFsh over five weeks and subsequently treated with a single injection of 18 μg kg−1 rLh. Histological analysis indicated that the rFsh+rLh treatment increased gonad weight and stimulated spermatogenesis, and also enlarged the size of the seminiferous and efferent duct (ED) tubules, resulting in a doubling of sperm production with respect to the controls. Sperm counts in the ED and sequential stripping of males at 24, 48 and 72 h post rLh injection further revealed that only one batch of spermatids is recruited into spermatozoa (Spz) differentiation after a single rLh induction. A peak of sperm accumulation in the ED occurs at 48 h, coinciding with the upregulation of genes potentially involved in Spz maturation. In a second experiment, we tested the effect of two rFsh doses (10 or 18 μg kg−1) over five weeks as previously, followed by one rLh injection at 12 °C or 17 °C. The results confirmed that spermiation was the highest 48 h after rLh treatment at 12 °C, which was increased in a dose-dependent manner with the dose of rFsh previously supplied (from 0.36 to 0.95 × 109 Spz kg−1). However, sperm production elicited with the low rFsh dose was potentiated by ~3-fold (from 0.36 to 1.06 × 109 Spz kg−1) when the rLh treatment was given at 17 °C. These data suggest that in Senegalese sole sperm collection should be carried out at 48 h after rLh treatment, and that a low dose of rFsh at 12 °C is highly efficient for stimulating sperm production when rLh is administered at a temperature close to that occurring during maximum natural spermiation. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Background: Risk stratification of COVID-19 patients is fundamental to improving prognosis and selecting the right treatment. We hypothesized that a combination of lung ultrasound (LUZ-score), biomarkers (sST2), and clinical models (PANDEMYC score) could be useful to improve risk stratification. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study designed to analyze the prognostic value of lung ultrasound, sST2, and PANDEMYC score in COVID-19 patients. The primary endpoint was in-hospital death and/or admission to the intensive care unit. The total length of hospital stay, increase of oxygen flow, or escalated medical treatment during the first 72 h were secondary endpoints. Results: a total of 144 patients were included; the mean age was 57.5 ± 12.78 years. The median PANDEMYC score was 243 (52), the median LUZ-score was 21 (10), and the median sST2 was 53.1 ng/mL (30.9). Soluble ST2 showed the best predictive capacity for the primary endpoint (AUC = 0.764 (0.658–0.871); p = 0.001), towards the PANDEMYC score (AUC = 0.762 (0.655–0.870); p = 0.001) and LUZ-score (AUC = 0.749 (0.596–0.901); p = 0.002). Taken together, these three tools significantly improved the risk capacity (AUC = 0.840 (0.727–0.953); p = 0.001). Conclusions: The PANDEMYC score, lung ultrasound, and sST2 concentrations upon admission for COVID-19 are independent predictors of intra-hospital death and/or the need for admission to the ICU for mechanical ventilation. The combination of these predictive tools improves the predictive power compared to each one separately. The use of decision trees, based on multivariate models, could be useful in clinical practice. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

Background Lung ultrasound (LUS) is feasible for assessing lung injury caused by COVID-19. However, the prognostic meaning and time-line changes of lung injury assessed by LUS in COVID-19 hospitalised patients, is unknown. Methods Prospective cohort study designed to analyse prognostic value of LUS in COVID-19 patients by using a quantitative scale (LUZ-score) during the first 72 h after admission. Primary endpoint was in-hospital death and/or admission to the intensive care unit. Total length of hospital stay, increase of oxygen flow or escalate medical treatment during the first 72 h, were secondary endpoints. Results 130 patients were included in the final analysis; mean age was 56.7±13.5 years. Time since the beginning of symptoms until admission was 6 days (4–9). Lung injury assessed by LUZ-score did not differ during the first 72 h (21 points [16–26] at admission versus 20 points [16–27] at 72 h; p=0.183). In univariable logistic regression analysis estimated PaO2/FiO2 (HR 0.99 [0.98–0.99]; p=0.027) and LUZ-score>22 points (5.45 (1.42–20.90); p=0.013) were predictors for the primary endpoint. Conclusions LUZ-score is an easy, simple and fast point of care ultrasound tool to identify patients with severe lung injury due to COVID-19, upon admission. Baseline score is predictive of severity along the whole period of hospitalisation. The score facilitates early implementation or intensification of treatment for COVID-19 infection. LUZ-score may be combined with clinical variables (as estimated PAFI) to further refine risk stratification., Lung injury caused by COVID-19 can be measured through lung ultrasound (LUS). LUS identify COVID-19 patients at a higher risk of complications. LUS could support clinical-decision making in COVID-19 patients.