Pompeu Fabra University

About: Pompeu Fabra University is a education organization based out in Barcelona, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 8093 authors who have published 23570 publications receiving 858431 citations. The organization is also known as: Universitat Pompeu Fabra & UPF.

The Gut Microbiome Profile in Obesity: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Gut microbiome has been identified in the past decade as an important factor involved in obesity, but the magnitude of its contribution to obesity and its related comorbidities is still uncertain. Among the vast quantity of factors attributed to obesity, environmental, dietary, lifestyle, genetic, and others, the microbiome has aroused curiosity, and the scientific community has published many original articles. Most of the studies related to microbiome and obesity have been reported based on the associations between microbiota and obesity, and the in-depth study of the mechanisms related has been studied mainly in rodents and exceptionally in humans. Due to the quantity and diverse information published, the need of reviews is mandatory to recapitulate the relevant achievements. In this systematic review, we provide an overview of the current evidence on the association between intestinal microbiota and obesity. Additionally, we analyze the effects of an extreme weight loss intervention such as bariatric surgery on gut microbiota. The review is divided into 2 sections: first, the association of obesity and related metabolic disorders with different gut microbiome profiles, including metagenomics studies, and second, changes on gut microbiome after an extreme weight loss intervention such as bariatric surgery.

Genomic insights into the Ixodes scapularis tick vector of Lyme disease

Abstract: Ticks transmit more pathogens to humans and animals than any other arthropod. We describe the 2.1 Gbp nuclear genome of the tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say), which vectors pathogens that cause Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis and other diseases. The large genome reflects accumulation of repetitive DNA, new lineages of retro-transposons, and gene architecture patterns resembling ancient metazoans rather than pancrustaceans. Annotation of scaffolds representing ∼57% of the genome, reveals 20,486 protein-coding genes and expansions of gene families associated with tick-host interactions. We report insights from genome analyses into parasitic processes unique to ticks, including host 'questing', prolonged feeding, cuticle synthesis, blood meal concentration, novel methods of haemoglobin digestion, haem detoxification, vitellogenesis and prolonged off-host survival. We identify proteins associated with the agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, an emerging disease, and the encephalitis-causing Langat virus, and a population structure correlated to life-history traits and transmission of the Lyme disease agent.

Towards a complete map of the human long non-coding RNA transcriptome

Abstract: Gene maps, or annotations, enable us to navigate the functional landscape of our genome. They are a resource upon which virtually all studies depend, from single-gene to genome-wide scales and from basic molecular biology to medical genetics. Yet present-day annotations suffer from trade-offs between quality and size, with serious but often unappreciated consequences for downstream studies. This is particularly true for long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are poorly characterized compared to protein-coding genes. Long-read sequencing technologies promise to improve current annotations, paving the way towards a complete annotation of lncRNAs expressed throughout a human lifetime.

Betting on Hitler—The Value of Political Connections in Nazi Germany

Abstract: This paper examines the value of connections between German industry and the Nazi movement in early 1933. Drawing on previously unused contemporary sources about management and supervisory board composition and stock returns, we find that one out of seven firms, and a large proportion of the biggest companies, had substantive links with the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Firms supporting the Nazi movement experienced unusually high returns, outperforming unconnected ones by 5% to 8% between January and March 1933. These results are not driven by sectoral composition and are robust to alternative estimators and definitions of affiliation.