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A progressively increasing percentage of the elderly live during the last years of their lives in nursing homes. Although these institutions are intended to mimic life at home as much as possible, they have characteristics that make them quite similar to a “nosocomiun”, i.e. an establishment for the treatment of the sick. The very coexistence among the elderly, the fact of sharing caregivers and the very significant exposure to third parties, together with the frequent predisposing diseases to infection in this population, make infection frequent among residents and also easily transmissible. This leads us to ask what can be done to prevent infection in this environment and more specifically what is the state of the art of the matter in a Western European nation such as ours. The Board of Trustees of the Health Sciences Foundation has asked itself a series of questions on the subject of infection prevention in Nursing Homes, the structure of procedures, the legislation available, compliance with the measures indicated, the best indicators of the processes and therefore, the need to promote in Spain a document of recommendations to avoid infections in this poplation whose morbidity and mortality need not be highlighted. To this end, a multidisciplinary group of experts in different aspects of this problem has been convened and asked the proposed questions. The questions were discussed by the group as a whole and led to a series of conclusions agreed upon by the participants. The results of the meeting are reported below.

Ambient air quality, pollution and its implication on health is a topic of enormous importance that is normally dealt with by major specialists in their particular areas of interest. In general, it is not discussed from multidisciplinary approaches or with a language that can reach everyone. For this reason, the Health Sciences Foundation, from its prevention area, has formulated a series of questions to people with very varied competences in the area of ambient air quality in order to obtain a global panorama of the problem and its elements of measurement and control. The answers have been produced by specialists in each subject and have been subjected to a general discussion that has allowed conclusions to be reached on each point. The subject was divided into three main blocks: external ambient air, internal ambient air, mainly in the workplace, and hospital ambient air and the consequences of its poor control. Along with the definitions of each area and the indicators of good and bad quality, some necessary solutions have been pointed out. We have tried to know the current legislation on this problem and the competences of the different administrations on it. Despite its enormous importance, ambient air quality and health is not usually a topic of frequent presence in the general media and we have asked about the causes of this. Finally, the paper addresses a series of reflections from the perspective of ethics and very particularly in the light of the events that the present pandemic raises. This work aims to provide objective data and opinions that will enable non-specialists in the field to gain a better understanding of this worrying reality.

The role of certain viruses in the etiology of some tumors is today indisputable, but there is a lack, however, of annoverview of the relationship between viruses and cancer with amultidisciplinary approach. For this reason, the Health Sciences Foundation has convened a group of professionals from different areas of knowledge to discuss the relationship between viruses and cancer, and the present document is the result of these deliberations. Although viruses cause only 10-15% of cancers, advances in oncology research are largely due to the work done during the last century on tumor viruses. The clearest cancer-inducing viruses are: HPV, HBV, HCV, EBV and, depending on the geographical area, HHV-8, HTLV-1 and HIV. HPVs, for example, are considered to be the causative agents of cervical carcinomas and, more recently, of a proportion of other cancers. Among the Herpes viruses, the association with the development of neoplasms is well established for EBV and HHV-8. Viruses can also be therapeutic agents in certain neoplasms and, thus, some oncolytic viruses with selective tropism for tumor cells have been approved for clinical use in humans. It is estimated that the prophylaxis or treatment of viral infections could prevent at least 1.5 million cancer deaths per year.

[EN] HIV infection is now almost 40 years old. In this time, along with the catastrophe and tragedy that it has entailed, it has also represented the capacity of modern society to take on a challenge of this magnitude and to transform an almost uniformly lethal disease into a chronic illness, compatible with a practically normal personal and relationship life. This anniversary seemed an ideal moment to pause and reflect on the future of HIV infection, the challenges that remain to be addressed and the prospects for the immediate future. This reflection has to go beyond merely technical approaches, by specialized professionals, to also address social and ethical aspects. For this reason, the Health Sciences Foundation convened a group of experts in different aspects of this disease to discuss a series of questions that seemed pertinent to all those present. Each question was presented by one of the participants and discussed by the group. The document we offer is the result of this reflection., [ES] La infección por VIH cumple ahora casi 40 años de existencia. En este tiempo, junto a la catástrofe y la tragedia que ha supuesto, ha representado también la capacidad de la sociedad moderna de asumir un reto de esta magnitud y de transformar, gracias al tratamiento antirretroviral, una enfermedad mayoritariamente letal en una enfermedad crónica, compatible con una vida personal y de relación prácticamente normales. Este aniversario parecía un momento idóneo para pararse a reflexionar sobre el futuro de la infección VIH, los retos que todavía quedan por abordar y las perspectivas para el inmediato futuro. Esa reflexión tiene que ir más allá de planteamientos meramente técnicos, de profesionales especializados, para abordar aspectos sociales y éticos. Por este motivo, la Fundación de Ciencias de la Salud convocó a un grupo de expertos en distintos aspectos de esta infección para discutir una serie de preguntas que parecieron pertinentes a todos los convocados. Cada pregunta era expuesta por uno de los participantes y discutida por el grupo. El documento que ofrecemos es el resultado de esa reflexión., For transparency purposes, we would like to inform you that GSK has contributed to the funding of this publication

Das Projekt analysiert die institutionellen, wirtschaftlichen und politischen Rahmenbedingungen zukunftsorientierter Standort- und Beschäftigungssicherungsstrategien im Zuge der Umstrukturierung des Opel/GM-Konzerns am Beispiel des Standortes Bochum aus einzelbetrieblicher wie auch aus europäischer Perspektive. Vor dem Hintergrund der tiefen Struktur- und Absatzkrise auf dem europäischen Automobilmarkt planen Endhersteller wie Opel/GM ihre grenzüberschreitenden Produktionsnetzwerke zu restrukturieren, um Überkapazitäten abzubauen, Kosten zu reduzieren und im harten Wettbewerb um Marktanteile konkurrenzfähig zu bleiben. Für die Opel-Standorte in Deutschland sind die aktuellen Sanierungspläne die Fortsetzung einer 15-jährigen Geschichte von Restrukturierungen, die mit massivem Beschäftigungsabbau, Arbeitskämpfen und zuletzt mit der Schließung des Delta-Plattform-Montagewerkes in Antwerpen in Dezember 2010 einherging. Nach Antwerpen steht nun vor allem der Opel-Standort Bochum unter Druck, den harten Sanierungsvorgaben des GM-Konzerns zu genügen, um betriebsbedingte Kündigungen oder sogar eine drohende Schließung im Jahr 2014 zu verhindern. Im Zuge der bisherigen Entwicklung ist es den Betriebsräten und der IG Metall in Bochum immer wieder gelungen, Auslagerungen von Teilen der Fertigung und massivem Beschäftigungsabbau durch 'concession bargaining', standortübergreifende europäische Rahmenabkommen und Solidarität, Arbeitskämpfe sowie durch kontinuierliche Öffentlichkeitsarbeit entgegen zu wirken. Die Spielräume regionaler Standort- und Beschäftigungssicherungsstrategien am Beispiel des Opel-Standortes Bochum sind daher Gegenstand einer Untersuchung der Gemeinsamen Arbeitsstelle RUB/IGM in Zusammenarbeit mit der Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaft an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Wir bedanken uns bei allen InterviewparterInnen und den TeilnehmerInnen an den Projekt-Workshops sowie bei Dr. Stefan Lücking von der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung für die sehr gute Betreuung.Unser besonderer Dank gilt schließlich Dr. Marc Schlette von IGM Bezirksleitung NRW. Ohne sein Engagement wäre das Projekt zu Opel Bochum nie zustande gekommen.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most prevalent diseases in the World, and one of the most important causes of mortality and morbidity. In adults 40 years and older, it affects more than 10% of the population and has enormous personal, family and social burden. Tobacco smoking is its main cause, but not the only one, and there is probably a genetic predisposition that increases the risk in some patients. The paradigm of this disease is changing in Spain, with an increase of women that has occurred in recent years. Many of the physio pathological mechanisms of this condition are well known, but the psychological alterations to which it leads, the impact of COPD on relatives and caregivers, the limitation of daily life observed in these patients, and the economic and societal burden that they represent for the health system, are not so well-known. A major problem is the high under-diagnosis, mainly due to difficulties for obtaining, in a systematic way, spirometries in hospitals and health-care centers. For this reason, the Fundación de Ciencias de la Salud and the Spanish National Network Center for Research in Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES) have brought together experts in COPD, patients and their organizations, clinical psychologists, experts in health economics, nurses and journalists to obtain their opinion about COPD in Spain. They also discussed the scientific bibliometrics on COPD that is being carried out from the CIBERES and speculated on the future of this condition. The format of the meeting consisted in the discussion of a series of questions that were addressed by different speakers and discussed until a consensus conclusion was reached. Keywords: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; Health Economics; Health-Care burden; Patients organizations; Psychological impact; Research bibliometrics; Spirometry. This publication was financed by GSK