Anticitrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) in the serum of heavy smokers without arthritis - a differential role of associated pulmonary disease?

2 páginas, 1 tabla.-- Póster presentado al 5º European Workshop on Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases celebrado en Sitges (Barcelona) del 1 al 3 de Diciembre de 2010.An increased risk of RA has been described in smokers, but only in ACPA-positive RA patients. The frequency of ACPA in serum of heavy smokers is not known.Peer reviewe

Interleukin-8 expression in bronchoalveolar lavage cells in the evaluation of alveolitis in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

AbstractInterleukin-8 (IL-8) is a neutrophilic chemotactic factor which may have a prominent role in the attraction of neutrophils to the lung in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The objective of this study was to investigate the usefulness of IL-8 expression in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells in the evaluation of alveolitis in IPF. We analysed the BAL cell expression of IL-8 by immunocytochemistry in 19 patients with IPF (six smokers, three ex-smokers and ten non-smokers) and in a control group composed of 14 individuals (six smokers, eight non-smokers). In IPF, BAL was performed on both the pulmonary lobe with the most extensive involvement and the one less extensively involved on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans. The percentages and absolute numbers of BAL IL-8+ macrophages from lobes with the most extensive HRCT scan involvement (36 ± 6% and (6 ± 2 × 104 ml−1) (SE) and from those less extensively involved [26% ± 4% and (6 ± 1) × 104 ml−1] were significantly higher with respect to both those from healthy smokers [17% ± 6% and (7 ± 4) × 104 ml−1] and those from non-smokers [2% ± 1% and (1 ± 0·3) × 104 ml−1] (P=0·005 and P=0·001, respectively), without differences between the two lobes. In contrast, both the proportions and the absolute numbers of BAL neutrophils in IPF were significantly higher in lobes with the most extensively involved HRCT scan in comparison with lobes with the least extensive involvement [13% ± 3%, (3 ± 1) × 104 ml−1 vs. 8% ± 2%, (1 ± 0·3) × 104 ml−1, P=0·05]. Moreover, the numbers of BAL neutrophils, but not those of IL-8+ macrophages, correlated with the extent of total pulmonary HRCT scan abnormalities in the most involved lobe (r=0·64, P=0·04). A correlation between neutrophils and IL-8+ cells was not observed. The results of this study suggest that, in IPF, BAL neutrophilia offers a better description of the disease inflammatory process than the expression of IL-8 in BAL cells

A meta-analysis of state-of-the-art electoral prediction from Twitter data

Electoral prediction from Twitter data is an appealing research topic. It seems relatively straightforward and the prevailing view is overly optimistic. This is problematic because while simple approaches are assumed to be good enough, core problems are not addressed. Thus, this paper aims to (1) provide a balanced and critical review of the state of the art; (2) cast light on the presume predictive power of Twitter data; and (3) depict a roadmap to push forward the field. Hence, a scheme to characterize Twitter prediction methods is proposed. It covers every aspect from data collection to performance evaluation, through data processing and vote inference. Using that scheme, prior research is analyzed and organized to explain the main approaches taken up to date but also their weaknesses. This is the first meta-analysis of the whole body of research regarding electoral prediction from Twitter data. It reveals that its presumed predictive power regarding electoral prediction has been rather exaggerated: although social media may provide a glimpse on electoral outcomes current research does not provide strong evidence to support it can replace traditional polls. Finally, future lines of research along with a set of requirements they must fulfill are provided.Comment: 19 pages, 3 table

Evolution of benthic communities in El Hornillo Bay (Águilas, Murcia) (southeast Spain) after cessation of floating-cage seabream Sparus auratus L., 1758 and seabass Dicentrarchus labrax (L., 1758) culture

Results are presented on the evolution of the seabed in El Hornillo Bay (águilas, Murcia) (southeast Spain) after ten years of intensive floating-cage culture of seabream Sparus auratus L., 1758 and seabass Dicentrarchus labrax (L., 1758), as the system was progressively dismantled, in three phases. Three stations were selected for each one of these phases, as well as one control station. At each stage, changes were observed by collecting data on the sediments' physical-chemical parameters and macrofauna. Although the sediment remained anoxic for more than 24 months after the cages were removed, a rapid increase in biodiversity occurred immediately. The MDS analyses indicated time- and space-based differences within the structure of the benthic community.En 1989 se instaló en la bahía de El Hornillo (águilas, Murcia) (sureste de España) una granja acuícola para el cultivo en régimen intensivo de dorada Sparus auratus L., 1758 y lubina Dicentrarchus labrax (L., 1758) en jaulas flotantes. Tras diez años de explotación, y después de su desmantelamiento progresivo en tres fases, se ha estudiado la evolución de los fondos de la bahía, impactados por esta actividad. Se seleccionaron, con este fin, tres estaciones de seguimiento para cada una de esas fases y se estableció una estación de control. En cada estación se observaron los cambios producidos en las variables fisicoquímicas y en la macrofauna del sedimento, que permanecería anóxico más de 24 meses. La biodiversidad experimentó un incremento rápido inmediatamente después de la retirada de las jaulas, y los análisis de ordenación multidimensional (MDS) señalan la existencia de diferencias en la estructura de la comunidad bentónica en función del tiempo y del espacio.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Terrorism and social media: global evidence

The study assesses the relationship between terrorism and social media from a cross section of 148 countries with data for the year 2012. The empirical evidence is based on Ordinary Least Squares, Negative Binomial and Quantile regressions. The main finding is that there is a positive relationship between social media in terms of Facebook penetration and terrorism. The positive relationship is driven by below-median quantiles of terrorism. In other words, countries in which existing levels of terrorism are low are more significantly associated with a positive Facebook-terrorism nexus. The established positive relationship is confirmed from other externalities of terrorism: terrorism fatalities, terrorism incidents, terrorism injuries and terrorism-related property damages. The terrorism externalities are constituents of the composite dependent variable

Trump vs. Hillary: What went Viral during the 2016 US Presidential Election

In this paper, we present quantitative and qualitative analysis of the top retweeted tweets (viral tweets) pertaining to the US presidential elections from September 1, 2016 to Election Day on November 8, 2016. For everyday, we tagged the top 50 most retweeted tweets as supporting or attacking either candidate or as neutral/irrelevant. Then we analyzed the tweets in each class for: general trends and statistics; the most frequently used hashtags, terms, and locations; the most retweeted accounts and tweets; and the most shared news and links. In all we analyzed the 3,450 most viral tweets that grabbed the most attention during the US election and were retweeted in total 26.3 million times accounting over 40% of the total tweet volume pertaining to the US election in the aforementioned period. Our analysis of the tweets highlights some of the differences between the social media strategies of both candidates, the penetration of their messages, and the potential effect of attacks on bothComment: Paper to appear in Springer SocInfo 201

A worldwide phylogenetic classification of the Poaceae (Gramineae) III: An update

We present an updated worldwide phylogenetic classification of Poaceae with 11 783 species in 12 subfamilies, 7 supertribes, 54 tribes, 5 super subtribes, 109 subtribes, and 789 accepted genera. The subfamilies (in descending order based on the number of species) are Pooideae with 4126 species in 219 genera, 15 tribes, and 34 subtribes; Panicoideae with 3325 species in 242 genera, 14 tribes, and 24 subtribes; Bambusoideae with 1698 species in 136 genera, 3 tribes, and 19 subtribes; Chloridoideae with 1603 species in 121 genera, 5 tribes, and 30 subtribes; Aristidoideae with 367 species in three genera and one tribe; Danthonioideae with 292 species in 19 genera and 1 tribe; Micrairoideae with 192 species in nine genera and three tribes; Oryzoideae with 117 species in 19 genera, 4 tribes, and 2 subtribes; Arundinoideae with 36 species in 14 genera and 3 tribes; Pharoideae with 12 species in three genera and one tribe; Puelioideae with 11 species in two genera and two tribes; and the Anomochlooideae with four species in two genera and two tribes. Two new tribes and 22 new or resurrected subtribes are recognized. Forty-five new (28) and resurrected (17) genera are accepted, and 24 previously accepted genera are placed in synonymy. We also provide an updated list of all accepted genera including common synonyms, genus authors, number of species in each accepted genus, and subfamily affiliation. We propose Locajonoa, a new name and rank with a new combination, L. coerulescens. The following seven new combinations are made in Lorenzochloa: L. bomanii, L. henrardiana, L. mucronata, L. obtusa, L. orurensis, L. rigidiseta, and L. venusta.Fil: Soreng, Robert J.. National Museum of Natural History; Estados UnidosFil: Peterson, Paul M.. National Museum of Natural History; Estados UnidosFil: Zuloaga, Fernando Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; ArgentinaFil: Romaschenko, Konstantin. National Museum of Natural History; Estados UnidosFil: Clark, Lynn G.. IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY (ISU);Fil: Teisher, Jordan K.. No especifíca;Fil: Gillespie, Lynn J.. No especifíca;Fil: Barberá, Patricia. No especifíca;Fil: Welker, Cassiano A. D.. No especifíca;Fil: Kellogg, Elizabeth A.. Donald Danforth Plant Science Center; Estados UnidosFil: Li, De Zhu. No especifíca;Fil: Davidse, Gerrit. No especifíca

Carbon redistribution by erosion processes in an intensively disturbed catchment

29 Pags.- 6 Tabls.- 6 Figs. This article belongs to a special issue of Catena titled "Geoecology in Mediterranean mountain areas. Tribute to Professor José María García Ruiz". The definitive version is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03418162Understanding how organic carbon (OC) moves with sediments along the fluvial system is crucial to determining catchment scale carbon budgets and helps the proper management of fragile ecosystems. Especially challenging is the analysis of OC dynamics during fluvial transport in heterogeneous, fragile, and disturbed environments with ephemeral and intense hydrological pulses, typical of Mediterranean conditions. This paper explores the catchment scale OC redistribution by lateral flows in extreme Mediterranean environmental conditions, from a geomorphological perspective. The study area is a catchment (Cárcavo) in SE Spain with a semiarid climate, erodible lithologies, and shallow soils, which is highly disturbed by agricultural terraces, land levelling, reforestation, and construction of check-dams. To increase our understanding of catchment scale OC redistribution induced by erosion, we studied in detail the subcatchments of eight check-dams distributed along the catchments main channel. We determined 137Cs, physicochemical characteristics, and the OC pools of the catchment soils and sediments deposited behind each check-dam, performed spatial analysis of catchment properties and buffer areas around the check-dams, and carried out geomorphological analysis of the slope-channel connections. The soils showed very low total organic carbon (TOC) values, oscillating between 15.2 and 4.4 g kg− 1 for forest and agricultural soils, respectively. Sediments mobilized by erosion were poor in TOC (6.6 ± 0.7 g kg– 1) compared to the eroded (forest) soils, and the redistribution of OC through the catchment, especially of the mineral associated organic carbon (MAC) pool, showed the same pattern as clay particles and 137Cs. The TOC erosion rates estimated for the Cárcavo watershed are relatively low (0.031 ± 0.03 Mg ha− 1 y− 1) but similar to those reported for subhumid Mediterranean catchments that are less fragile and more conducive to plant growth. The TOC erosion/total erosion ratio was lower (0.06%) than other estimates, although the average OC concentration of the sediments was higher than that of the agricultural soils of the catchment, underlining the problem of maintaining sustainable soil OC contents. The OC in deposited sediments came not only from surface erosion processes, but also from deeper soil or sediment layers mobilized by concentrated erosion processes. Sediment richer in OC came from the surface soil of vegetated (reforested) areas close and well connected to the channels. Subcatchments dominated by laminar erosion processes showed a TOC erosion/total erosion ratio that was two times higher than that of subcatchments dominated by concentrated flow erosion processes. The lithology, soils, and geomorphology exert a more important control on OC redistribution than land use and vegetation cover in this geomorphologically very active catchment.This work was financially supported by the projects ADAPT (CGL2013-42009-R) and DISECO (CGL2014-55-405-R) from the Spanish Government, National Plan of Science; the project CAMBIO (18933/JLI/13) of the Seneca Foundation, Regional Government of Murcia (Spain); and the project SOGLO (P7/24 IAP BELSPO) from the Belgian Government. Joris de Vente was supported by a ‘Ramón y Cajal’ grant (RYC-2012-10375).Peer reviewe

Elasmobranch spatial segregation in the western Mediterranean

Basic information on the distribution and habitat preferences of ecologically important species is essential for their management and protection. This study focuses on the depth related trends and the geographic patterns that shape the community of the elasmobranch species in the Balearic Islands (Mediterranean Sea) using data collected from 2001 to 2009. Non-metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) ordination was used to detect zonation patterns in the community. Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were applied to analyse spatial and temporal variation in elasmobranch community descriptors (abundance, biomass, mean fish weight, number of species and diversity), as well as the abundance and mean length of the four individual species (S. canicula, G. melastomus, R. clavata, R. miraletus). Depth was the main factor determining the assemblage composition, and the MDS analysis identified four main groups with 60% of the similarity found to correspond to the continental shelf, shelf break, upper slope and middle slope of the surveyed area. GAM analysis identified spatial patterns that were independent of the bathymetric distribution preference. Although depth was a strong predictor for all the analyses performed, the geographic variation in the elasmobranch abundance was also important. The results also show a reduction in the mean length of the elasmobranch species in the areas with high fishing intensity. Our study evidences a clear spatial segregation of the main species throughout the ontogeny because the geographic and bathymetric effects were highly size dependent, with clear differences between the bathymetric distributions of juveniles and adults but no clear spatial overlapping. This study sheds new light on the spatial distribution of the elasmobranch species off the Balearic Islands, which is essential information for protecting marine organisms along with their habitats and promoting ecosystem based managementPublicado

An Alternative Procedure to Quantify Soot in Engine Oil by Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy

"This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Tribology Transactions on 02-11-2019, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10402004.2019.1645255."[EN] Due to new pollutant emissions standards, internal combustion engines need several emission control strategies (and related procedures) such as exhaust gas recirculation, diesel/gasoline particulate filters, and selective catalyst reduction that allow them to comply with complete requirements defined on those standards. These strategies result in faster degradation of engine oil, one of the most relevant consequences of which is an increase in soot contamination level. All of these strategies facilitate soot generation. Consequently, soot is one of the most important contaminants present in engine oil. The main technique to measure the content of soot in oil is thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), but this technique has certain limitations. TGA requires a long and specific procedure and has limitations in measuring small concentrations of soot in oil. Therefore, the design of an alternative technique to quantify soot in oil is relevant. One alternative is Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, but it also has limitations related to low concentrations of soot in oil. This work presents an alternative technique based on ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy that allows quantification of small soot contents in used engine oil samples and avoids potential interference from other typical contaminants or those related to measurement processes, such as sample cuvette material.Antonio Garcia-Barbera was supported through the Programa Nacional de Formacion de Recursos Humanos de Investigacion of Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (Grant Number BES-2016-078073).Macian Martinez, V.; Tormos, B.; Ruiz-Rosales, S.; García-Barberá, A. (2019). An Alternative Procedure to Quantify Soot in Engine Oil by Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy. Tribology Transactions. 62(6):1063-1071. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402004.2019.1645255S10631071626Squaiella, L. L. F., Martins, C. A., & Lacava, P. T. (2013). Strategies for emission control in diesel engine to meet Euro VI. Fuel, 104, 183-193. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2012.07.027Piock, W., Hoffmann, G., Berndorfer, A., Salemi, P., & Fusshoeller, B. (2011). Strategies Towards Meeting Future Particulate Matter Emission Requirements in Homogeneous Gasoline Direct Injection Engines. SAE International Journal of Engines, 4(1), 1455-1468. doi:10.4271/2011-01-1212Johnson, B. T. (2008). Diesel Engine Emissions and Their Control. Platinum Metals Review, 52(1), 23-37. doi:10.1595/147106708x248750Johnson, T. V. (2008). Diesel Emission Control in Review. SAE International Journal of Fuels and Lubricants, 1(1), 68-81. doi:10.4271/2008-01-0069Mohan, B., Yang, W., & Chou, S. kiang. (2013). 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Comparative nanostructure analysis of gasoline turbocharged direct injection and diesel soot-in-oil with carbon black. Carbon, 139, 342-352. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2018.06.050George, S., Balla, S., Gautam, V., & Gautam, M. (2007). Effect of diesel soot on lubricant oil viscosity. Tribology International, 40(5), 809-818. doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2006.08.002Antusch, S., Dienwiebel, M., Nold, E., Albers, P., Spicher, U., & Scherge, M. (2010). On the tribochemical action of engine soot. Wear, 269(1-2), 1-12. doi:10.1016/j.wear.2010.02.028Green, D. A., & Lewis, R. (2008). The effects of soot-contaminated engine oil on wear and friction: A review. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering, 222(9), 1669-1689. doi:10.1243/09544070jauto468Bredin, A., Larcher, A. V., & Mullins, B. J. (2011). Thermogravimetric analysis of carbon black and engine soot—Towards a more robust oil analysis method. Tribology International, 44(12), 1642-1650. doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2011.06.002VAN DE VOORT, F. R., SEDMAN, J., COCCIARDI, R. A., & PINCHUK, D. (2006). FTIR Condition Monitoring of In-Service Lubricants: Ongoing Developments and Future Perspectives. Tribology Transactions, 49(3), 410-418. doi:10.1080/10402000600781432Van de Voort, F. R., Ghetler, A., García-González, D. L., & Li, Y. D. (2008). Perspectives on Quantitative Mid-FTIR Spectroscopy in Relation to Edible Oil and Lubricant Analysis: Evolution and Integration of Analytical Methodologies. Food Analytical Methods, 1(3), 153-163. doi:10.1007/s12161-008-9031-6Ess, M. N., Ferry, D., Kireeva, E. D., Niessner, R., Ouf, F.-X., & Ivleva, N. P. (2016). In situ Raman microspectroscopic analysis of soot samples with different organic carbon content: Structural changes during heating. Carbon, 105, 572-585. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2016.04.056Russo, C., Apicella, B., Lighty, J. S., Ciajolo, A., & Tregrossi, A. (2017). Optical properties of organic carbon and soot produced in an inverse diffusion flame. Carbon, 124, 372-379. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2017.08.07