Effect of zinc intake on growth in infants: A meta-analysis

A systematic review and meta-analysis of available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to evaluate the effect of zinc (Zn) intake on growth in infants. Out of 5500 studies identified through electronic searches and reference lists, 19 RCTs were selected after applying the exclusion/inclusion criteria. The influence of Zn intake on growth was considered in the overall meta-analysis. Other variables were also taken into account as possible effect modifiers: doses of Zn intake, intervention duration, nutritional status, and risk of bias. From each select growth study, final measures of weight, length, mid upper arm circumference (MUAC), head circumference, weight for age z-score (WAZ), length for age z-score (LAZ), and weight for length z-score (WLZ) were assessed. Pooled β and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Additionally, we carried out a sensitivity analysis. Zn intake was not associated with weight, length, MUAC, head circumference, and LAZ in the pooled analyses. However, Zn intake had a positive and statistically effect on WAZ (β = 0.06; 95%CI 0.02 to 0.10) and WLZ (β = 0.05; 95%CI 0.01 to 0.08). The dose–response relationship between Zn intake and these parameters indicated that a doubling of Zn intake increased WAZ and WLZ by approximately 4%. Substantial heterogeneity was present only in length analyses (I2 = 45%; p = 0.03). Zn intake was positively associated with length values at short time (four to 20 weeks) (β = 0.01; CI 95% 0 to 0.02) and at medium doses of Zn (4.1 to 8 mg/day) (β = 0.003; CI 95% 0 to 0.01). Nevertheless, the effect magnitude was small. Our results indicate that Zn intake increases growth parameters of infants. Nonetheless, interpretation of these results should be carefully considered

Colegio de Educadores de Párvulos de Chile AG

This paper describes the Colegio de Educadores de Párvulos de Chile AG, its organization, operation and activities concerning professional practice and nation wide’s Early Childhood Educational Development. It also presents some collegiate approaches referred to Chilean Educational Reform, at this level.Este artículo intenta describir al Colegio de Educadores de Párvulos de Chile AG, su organización, funcionamiento y actividades realizadas en cuanto al ejercicio profesional y al desarrollo de la Educación Parvularia del país. Presenta también planteamientos de algunas colegiadas referidos al deber ser de la Reforma Educacional chilena en este nivel

Los ingresos y gastos procedentes de las rentas provinciales, 1768-1784

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaLas rentas provinciales eran un grupo de impuestos, en su mayor parte indirectos, que proporcionaron una parte importante de las recaudaciones de la real hacienda y que han sido criticadas sobre todo por ser un obstáculo para el crecimiento económico. Frente a los estudios realizados sobre ellas hasta el momento, que generalmente utilizan ingresos netos sin distribuir por provincias, en este trabajo se analizan los valores (ingresos brutos), gastos de administración y líquidos obtenidos de las relaciones generales que formaban los administradores de las provincias y que se encuentran en el Archivo General de Simancas. A partir de ellos es posible obtener nuevas conclusiones sobre la evolución cuantitativa de estos impuestos y su influencia sobre el desarrollo económico de la corona de Castilla en el siglo XVII.The «rentas provinciales» were a group of indirect taxes that provided an important part of the Spanish fiscal revenues. These taxes were criticized especially for being a constraint upon economic development. Several studies about «rentas provinciales» have used net revenues, in most cases not distributed among the twenty-two Castile provinces. This article shows gross revenues, administrative costs and net revenues obtained from «relaciones generales de valores» made by «administradores generales de las provincias», available at Archivo General de Simancas. Using this data, it is possible to obtain new conclusions about the quantitative evolution of these taxes and about its influence in the economic growth of the Castile Crown in XVIIIth-century.Publicad

La restricción exterior al crecimiento económico español (1870-1913)

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaEn este artículo se realiza una estimación de las funciones de largo plazo del comercio exterior español en los años que van de 1870 a 1913. De entre los resultados obtenidos se destaca que la mayor elasticidad renta de la demanda de importaciones frente a la de exportaciones es un indicador de que, en ausencia de otros mecanismos compensatorios, la economía española se enfrentaba a estrangulamientos en sus pagos exteriores siempre que creciera a un ritmo comparable al de sus socios comerciales. Esta restricción, asociada al grado de desarrollo de la economía española, suponía una presión constante sobre la cotización de la peseta. La contrastación de esta situación permite aportar nuevos elementos a los debates actuales sobre la política económica de la época: los asociados a la incorporación de España al patrón oro y a la polémica sobre el proteccionismo.In this paper we estimate long-term functions of Spanish foreign trade from 1870 to 1913. We find the income elasticity of the Spanish import demand to be higher than the income elasticity of the export demand. This implies that, in the absence of compensation mechanisms, the Spanish economy was condemned to balance-of-payments constraints when its growth was similar to its trade partners'. These constraints implied a constant pressure over the peseta's exchange rate. These findings allow us to contribute to some present debates about Spanish economic policy of that period, particularly those dealing with the adoption of the gold standard and foreign trade liberation.Publicad

Una tardía defensa de la reforma tributaria de 1785: las «Cartas económicas» de Ramón María Cañedo

Durante los primeros años del siglo XIX son muchos los teóricos de relieve que defienden el sistema de contribuciones directas como el que más armoniza con el sistema de libertad a implantar, defensa más patente si cabe en los debates de las Cortes gaditanas. No obstante, un importante núcleo de autores niega la posibilidad de implantar un impuesto directo en sustitución del sistema de rentas vigente. Esta corriente crítica con la abolición se inicia con Vicente Alcalá Galiano, sigue su recorrido en los debates de Cortes y en las impugnaciones de Duaso, Pinilla y Plana al Decreto de 13 de septiembre de 1813, sobre Nuevo Plan de contribuciones públicas, y culmina con los escritos de Cañedo, en la década de 1820. Ramón María Cañedo apostará por un sistema impositivo con predominio de impuestos indirectos. Apoyándose teóricamente en Smith, intentará adecuar sus principios tributarios al sistema de rentas reformado en 1785. En su opinión, el impuesto indirecto es el que mejor se adapta a las condiciones sociales y materiales de la España de la época.During the first years of XIX century, there were many outstandins authors who defended the direct tax system which fitted better with the new liberal Constitution. This position was even further reinforced in the "Cádiz Cortes". Nevertheless, some others important atthors denied the possibility of setting up the new system in order to replace the old one. The later position began with Vicente Alcalá Galiano, continued with the debates in the Cortes Cádiz and, later on, with the works of Duaso, Pinilla and Plana to critizise the Decreto (Baill) of September, 13, 1813 on the New Public Taxes and it finished with several works by Cañedo in the second decade of the century. Ramón M. Cañedo will defend a tax system based on indirect taxes. He will based his arguments on Adam Smith in order to fit his tax principles to the system wich was better adapted to the economic and social conditions in Spain.Publicad

El impuesto de consumos y la resistencia antifiscal en la España de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX: Un impuesto no exclusivamente urbano

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaEste artículo estudia el impuesto de Consumos español durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. Se fija en tres aspectos del mismo: a), su peso en la financiación de las haciendas locales; b), su importancia en la protesta antifiscal del siglo XIX; y c), su incidencia. Aquí se mantiene la hipótesis de que los motines anticonsumos constituyeron una de las fórmulas recurrentes de la resistencia antifiscal del siglo XIX, pero no la más importante. Ese protagonismo le corresponde al fraude. Se sostiene asimismo que el de Consumos no fue sólo un impuesto sobre el gasto y que en parte se trasladó a la agricultura. Se aportan datos que hacen al menos dudar del carácter exclusivamente urbano que normalmente se le ha atribuido.This article studies the Spanish Tax on Consumptions during the second half of the 19th century. It focuses on three issues: a), its significance within the funding of local governments; b), its importance to explain the protests against taxation in the 19th century; and c), its incidence. Our hypothesis is that the mutinies against this tax constituted one of the recurring practices of the resistances against taxation in the 19th century, but not the most important, represented by the tax defraudation. It is also indicated that die Tax on Consumptions was not only a tax on expenditure, and was in part transferred to agriculture. We provide some data that question the exclusively urban character that has been usually attributed to this tax.Publicad

El fracaso del proyecto de ley de beneficios extraordinarios de Santiago Alba, en 1916: Una lectura política

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaEste artículo aborda dos aspectos importantes en la elaboración de las políticas fiscales durante la Restauración: la posición central del Parlamento en la toma de decisiones político-fiscales y las relaciones entre los partidos con representación parlamentaria y los grupos de presión. En 1916 el ministro de Hacienda Santiago Alba intentó incorporar al sistema tributario español un impuesto sobre los beneficios extraordinarios derivados, adoptado ya por la mayoría de los países beligerantes en la Primera Guerra Mundial y por algunos neutrales. El Proyecto de ley sucumbió en el Congreso de los Diputados debido a la obstrucción de un nutrido conjunto de diputados liderado por la Lliga Regionalista. Algunos historiadores han explicado la derrota del proyecto de Alba por la fuerza y la eficacia de los grupos de presión económicos y por la subordinación de los partidos políticos representados en el Parlamento a sus intereses. Este artículo discrepa de dicha tesis. Intenta demostrar que la actitud de la Lliga Regionalista vino determinada por razones estrictamente políticas. Su objetivo era debilitar el sistema político de la Restauración, considerado como una traba para el desarrollo de la autonomía catalana. En su lucha contra Alba, la Lliga recibió el apoyo de varios diputados que, sin el respaldo de sus partidos, actuaron en defensa de los intereses económicos afectados por el proyecto en sus distritos.This article deals with two important matters of the making of fiscal policy during the Spanish Restoration: the central position of the Parliament in the making of fiscal policy, and the relations between the parliamentary parties and the pressure groups. In the year 1916, the Spanish Chancellor of the Exchequer, the liberal Santiago Alba, tried to incorporate the War Profits Tax to the Spanish tax system, adopted by the majority of the countries at the First World War and by some neutral countries. The bill failed in the Parliament because of the obstruction of a large group of MPs leaded by the Lliga Regionalista, a Catalonian nationalist party. It is said by some historians that the failure of Alba's bill was due to the strength and the efficiency of the pressure groups and by the subordination of the parliamentary parties of their interests. This article disagrees with this thesis. It tries to prove that the attitude of the Lliga Regionalista was instigated by strictly political reasons. Its objective was to weaken the political system of Spanish Restoration. The Lliga considered that this political system was an obstacle for the development of the Catalonian home rule. In its struggle against Santiago Alba, the Lliga was supported by several MPs. They fought the bill in defence of the predominant economic interests in their electoral districts, without the support of their parties.Publicad

El ingenierismo cambiario. La peseta en los años del cambio múltiple, 1948-1959

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaEl sistema de cambios múltiples para la peseta, vigente desde 1948 a 1959, ha planteado numerosos problemas a la historiografia española, pues implica desco nocer el precio al que se hacían las operaciones exterior, enmascarado en la fronda de cambios especiales. En el presente trabajo se estima la serie de los diversos tipos de cambio promedio de toda la Balanza de pagos en el periodo, cubriendo el vacio que la posguerra representaba en la historia de la peseta. Ademas se calcula el tipo de cambio efectivo real, para concluir que las importantes devaluaciones de 1949-51 y 1957-59 fueron insuficientes para alcanzar el equilibrio entre los precios relativos de España y sus principales socios comerciales por lo que la peseta se mantuvo sobrevalorada de forma continua a lo largo de los cuarenta y cincuenta.The system of multiple exchange rates for the peseta, in force between 1948 and 1959, has posed many problems for Spanish historiography, in that it implies that the price at wich foreing transactions were carried out is unknown, being hidden in the dense foliage os special exchange rates. In this paper we estimate the various average exchange rates series for all the Balance of Payments of these years, thus filling the vacuum that the post-Civil War period represents in the history of the peseta. We also calculate the real effective exchange rate, concluding that the important devaluations of 1949-1951 and 1957-1959 were insufficient in order to achieve equilibrium between Spanish relative prices and those of its main traiding partners, so that the peseta remained continuously over-valued throughout the 1940´s and 1950´sPublicad

IFNγ-Dependent Tissue-Immune Homeostasis Is Co-opted in the Tumor Microenvironment

Homeostatic programs balance immune protection and self-tolerance. Such mechanisms likely impact autoimmunity and tumor formation, respectively. How homeostasis is maintained and impacts tumor surveillance is unknown. Here, we find that different immune mononuclear phagocytes share a conserved steady-state program during differentiation and entry into healthy tissue. IFNγ is necessary and sufficient to induce this program, revealing a key instructive role. Remarkably, homeostatic and IFNγ-dependent programs enrich across primary human tumors, including melanoma, and stratify survival. Single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) reveals enrichment of homeostatic modules in monocytes and DCs from human metastatic melanoma. Suppressor-of-cytokine-2 (SOCS2) protein, a conserved program transcript, is expressed by mononuclear phagocytes infiltrating primary melanoma and is induced by IFNγ. SOCS2 limits adaptive anti-tumoral immunity and DC-based priming of T cells in vivo, indicating a critical regulatory role. These findings link immune homeostasis to key determinants of anti-tumoral immunity and escape, revealing co-opting of tissue-specific immune development in the tumor microenvironment. Keywords: dendritic cells; homeostasis; differentiation; IFNγ; tumor microenvironment; melanoma tolerance; immunotherapy; suppressor-of-cytokine-signaling 2 (SOCS2); tissue mononuclear phagocyte

Eculizumab in secondary atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome

Background. Complement dysregulation occurs in thrombotic microangiopathies (TMAs) other than primary atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS). A few of these patients have been reported previously to be successfully treated with eculizumab. Methods. We identified 29 patients with so-called secondary aHUS who had received eculizumab at 11 Spanish nephrology centres. Primary outcome was TMA resolution, defined by a normalization of platelet count (>150 × 109/L) and haemoglobin, disappearance of all the markers of microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia (MAHA), and improvement of renal function, with a ≥25% reduction of serum creatinine from the onset of eculizumab administration. Results. Twenty-nine patients with secondary aHUS (15 drug-induced, 8 associated with systemic diseases, 2 with postpartum, 2 with cancer-related, 1 associated with acute humoral rejection and 1 with intestinal lymphangiectasia) were included in this study. The reason to initiate eculizumab treatment was worsening of renal function and persistence of TMA despite treatment of the TMA cause and plasmapheresis. All patients showed severe MAHA and renal function impairment (14 requiring dialysis) prior to eculizumab treatment and 11 presented severe extrarenal manifestations. A rapid resolution of the TMA was observed in 20 patients (68%), 15 of them showing a ≥50% serum creatinine reduction at the last follow-up. Comprehensive genetic and molecular studies in 22 patients identified complement pathogenic variants in only 2 patients. With these two exceptions, eculizumab was discontinued, after a median of 8 weeks of treatment, without the occurrence of aHUS relapses. Conclusion. Short treatment with eculizumab can result in a rapid improvement of patients with secondary aHUS in whom TMA has persisted and renal function worsened despite treatment of the TMA-inducing conditionWork in this report was funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III: REDinREN (RD 016/009 Feder Funds), the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (13/02502 and ICI14/00350), the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (SAF2015-66287R) and the Autonomous Region of Madrid (S2010/BMD-2316; Grupo de Investigación Complemento-CM). SRdeC is funded by the Seventh Framework Programme European Union Project EURenOmics (305608