Las alcollas de cuerda seca total halladas en Porcuna (Jaén): En torno al ritual de las abluciones en época Almohade

In the present work we will study two extraordinary clay pots in “cuerda seca total” that are datable between the 12th and the 13th centuries and that are currently held in the Museum of Jaén. Although this type of pottery is traditionally known as bacín (large chamber-pots), its function, decoration, and epigraphy lead to the context of the Islamic ritual of ablutions. The issue of nomenclature applied to this typology is debated through the text, reviewing terms as “bacín” and “piletas for ablutions”. Besides, new terms are considered: “cadahe for ablutions” (qadaḥ) used in the treaty of ḥisba of al-Saqaṭī, and anīya, referred in the poems of Alhambra to the containers placed in the ṭīqān al-māʾ, to conclude offering the Arabic term “alcolla (pot) for ablutions” as the most suitable term to this type of containers. In addition, the question of metrology is considered to contribute to their characterization. Moreover, we will present a proposal for reading the Arabic inscription of the second piece, or alcolla B, and other similar pieces with epigraphic decoration are also analyzed.Finally, the context of the finding in Porcuna, the Islamic Bulkūna, is also considered, giving the hypothesis that may be these pieces were the clay vessels for ablutions used in a mīḍāʾa, or in a bath near a mosque placed in the Arab cemetery, next to the Martos Gate.En este trabajo se estudian dos excepcionales piezas de cerámica vidriada, datadas entre los siglos XII y XIII, decoradas con la técnica de la cuerda seca total y pertenecientes a la colección del Museo de Jaén. Aunque a esta tipología se la ha denominado tradicionalmente “bacín”, su función y decoración altamente esmerada, así como sus leyendas epigráficas, remiten al contexto de las abluciones rituales islámicas. Se analiza la cuestión de la terminología aplicada a estas piezas, revisando los términos de “bacín” y “piletas de abluciones”; igualmente, se trata la pertinencia de términos como “cadahe de abluciones”, que figura en el tratado de ḥisba de al-Saqaṭī, y el de anīya, que aparece en los versos de la Alhambra como recipiente colocado en las tacas del agua, para concluir con la propuesta del arabismo “alcolla”, orza, como el término más idóneo para este tipo cerámico. Así mismo se plantea el estudio de la metrología andalusí para contribuir a la caracterización de estas piezas. Por otro lado, se sugiere la lectura del epígrafe árabe de la segunda pieza o alcolla B y se analizan paralelismos con decoración epigráfica. Finalmente, se trata el contexto de su hallazgo en la localidad de Porcuna, la Bulkūna islámica, proponiendo su identificación con las vasijas para abluciones pertenecientes, quizás, al servicio de una mīḍāʾa, o a unos baños, próximos a una mezquita, que estaría junto al cementerio de la Puerta de Martos

Comparative Study of Infliximab Versus Adalimumab in Refractory Uveitis due to Behçet's Disease: National Multicenter Study of 177 Cases.

To compare the efficacy of infliximab (IFX) versus adalimumab (ADA) as a first-line biologic drug over 1 year of treatment in a large series of patients with refractory uveitis due to Behçet's disease (BD). We conducted an open-label multicenter study of IFX versus ADA for BD-related uveitis refractory to conventional nonbiologic treatment. IFX or ADA was chosen as the first-line biologic agent based on physician and patient agreement. Patients received 3-5 mg/kg intravenous IFX at 0, 2, and 6 weeks and every 4-8 weeks thereafter, or 40 mg subcutaneous ADA every other week without a loading dose. Ocular parameters were compared between the 2 groups. The study included 177 patients (316 affected eyes), of whom 103 received IFX and 74 received ADA. There were no significant baseline differences between treatment groups in main demographic features, previous therapy, or ocular sign severity. After 1 year of therapy, we observed an improvement in all ocular parameters in both groups. However, patients receiving ADA had significantly better outcomes in some parameters, including improvement in anterior chamber inflammation (92.31% versus 78.18% for IFX; P = 0.06), improvement in vitritis (93.33% versus 78.95% for IFX; P = 0.04), and best-corrected visual acuity (mean ± SD 0.81 ± 0.26 versus 0.67 ± 0.34 for IFX; P = 0.001). A nonsignificant difference was seen for macular thickness (mean ± SD 250.62 ± 36.85 for ADA versus 264.89 ± 59.74 for IFX; P = 0.15), and improvement in retinal vasculitis was similar between the 2 groups (95% for ADA versus 97% for IFX; P = 0.28). The drug retention rate was higher in the ADA group (95.24% versus 84.95% for IFX; P = 0.042). Although both IFX and ADA are efficacious in refractory BD-related uveitis, ADA appears to be associated with better outcomes than IFX after 1 year of follow-up