A theropod trackway providing evidence of a pathological foot from the exceptional locality of Las Hoyas (upper Barremian, Serrania de Cuenca, Spain)

We describe a trackway (LH-Mg-10-16) occurring in laminated carbonated limestones of the Las Hoyas locality, Serranı´a de Cuenca, Spain. It is unmistakably a large theropod dinosaur trackway encompassing two unusual aspects, namely, wide-steps, and a set of equally deformed left footprints (with a dislocated digit). The layer also preserves other vertebrate trails (fish Undichna) and different impressions in the sediment. To address these complex settings, we devised a multidisciplinary approach, including the ichnological and taphonomical descriptions, characterisation of the rock lithofacies using thin-sections, 3D structuredlight digitalisation with a high precision of 200–400 μm, and a geometric morphometric comparison with a large sample of bipedal dinosaur trackways. Sedimentary analyses showed that the trackway was produced in a humid, benthonic microbial mat, the consistency and plasticity of which enabled the preservation of the details of the movement of the animal. The results of the geometric analysis indicate that the “wide-steps” of the trackway is not unusual compared to other trackways, providing evidence that it was made by a single individual with an estimated hip height approximately 2 m. Analogous pathologies in extant archosaurs that yield the combination of wide steps and deformed digits in the same trackway were considered. All results mutually support the hypothesis that a large theropod dinosaur, with a pathological foot, generated the trackway as it crossed an area of shallow water while slowly walking towards the main water source, thus stepping steadily over the benthonic mat over which multiple fish were swimmin

The Exceptional Fossil Site of Las Hoyas (SPAIN) from an Educational Perspective

The paleontological heritage of the fossil site of Las Hoyas (Early Cretaceous of Cuenca, Spain) is becoming a relevant part of the sociocultural identity of Castilla-La Mancha autonomous community in general, and of Cuenca province in particular. The most recent scientific advances, including several fossil findings that have had high scientific impact, have made Las Hoyas to regularly be the center of attention in the local, national, and international media, especially since the reinterpretation of the paleoecosystem represented by the locality published in 2010. These results have led to a renaissance of the interest of the society for this unique site. As a consequence, Las Hoyas has been declared Site of Cultural Interest by the regional government, in the form of paleontological zone. This recognition, which grants the locality with the highest level of protection, sets a legal framework for the educative initiatives developed at this locality, which can be categorized as non-formal education, formal education, and Social Paleontology.Unidad de Paleontología, Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, EspañaJURASSICA Museum, SuizaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, SuizaMuseo Geominero, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, EspañaDepartamento de Estratigrafía, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, EspañaGéosciences Rennes Unité Mixte de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, FranciaDepartamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, EspañaLaboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Unité Mixte de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Franci

Manus track preservation bias as a key factor for assessing trackmaker identity and quadrupedalism in basal ornithopods.

BACKGROUND: The Las Cerradicas site (Tithonian-Berriasian), Teruel, Spain, preserves at least seventeen dinosaur trackways, some of them formerly attributed to quadrupedal ornithopods, sauropods and theropods. The exposure of new track evidence allows a more detailed interpretation of the controversial tridactyl trackways as well as the modes of locomotion and taxonomic affinities of the trackmakers. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Detailed stratigraphic analysis reveals four different levels where footprints have been preserved in different modes. Within the tridactyl trackways, manus tracks are mainly present in a specific horizon relative to surface tracks. The presence of manus tracks is interpreted as evidence of an ornithopod trackmaker. Cross-sections produced from photogrammetric digital models show different depths of the pes and manus, suggesting covariance in loading between the forelimbs and the hindlimbs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Several features (digital pads, length/width ratio, claw marks) of some ornithopod pes tracks from Las Cerradicas are reminiscent of theropod pedal morphology. This morphological convergence, combined with the shallow nature of the manus tracks, which reduces preservation potential, opens a new window into the interpretation of these tridactyl tracks. Thus, trackmaker assignations during the Jurassic-Cretaceous interval of purported theropod trackways may potentially represent ornithopods. Moreover, the Las Cerradicas trackways are further evidence for quadrupedalism among some basal small- to medium-sized ornithopods from this time interval

Polymorphisms within the TNFSF4 and MAPKAPK2 Loci influence the risk of developing invasive aspergillosis: A two-stage case control study in the context of the aspBIOmics consortium

Here, we assessed whether 36 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the TNFSF4 and MAPKAPK2 loci influence the risk of developing invasive aspergillosis (IA). We conducted a two-stage case control study including 911 high-risk patients diagnosed with hematological malignancies that were ascertained through the aspBIOmics consortium. The meta-analysis of the discovery and replication populations revealed that carriers of the TNFSF4rs7526628T/T genotype had a significantly increased risk of developing IA (p = 0.00022). We also found that carriers of the TNFSF4rs7526628T allele showed decreased serum levels of TNFSF14 protein (p = 0.0027), and that their macrophages had a decreased fungicidal activity (p = 0.048). In addition, we observed that each copy of the MAPKAPK2rs12137965G allele increased the risk of IA by 60% (p = 0.0017), whereas each copy of the MAPKAPK2rs17013271T allele was estimated to decrease the risk of developing the disease (p = 0.0029). Mechanistically, we found that carriers of the risk MAPKAPK2rs12137965G allele showed increased numbers of CD38+IgM-IgD- plasmablasts in blood (p = 0.00086), whereas those harboring two copies of the allele had decreased serum concentrations of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (p = 0.00097). Finally, we also found that carriers of the protective MAPKAPK2rs17013271T allele had decreased numbers of CD27-IgM-IgD- B cells (p = 0.00087) and significantly lower numbers of CD14+ and CD14+CD16- cells (p = 0.00018 and 0.00023). Altogether, these results suggest a role of the TNFSF4 and MAPKAPK2 genes in determining IA risk.This study was supported by grants PI20/01845, PI12/02688, and ISCIII-FEDER PI17/02276 from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (Madrid, Spain), PIM2010EPA-00756 from the ERA-NET PathoGenoMics (0315900A), the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio 124 FungiNet, the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) (PTDC/SAU-SER/29635/2017, PTDC/MED-GEN/28778/2017, CEECIND/03628/2017, and CEECIND/04058/2018), the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 847507, and the "la Caixa" Foundation (ID 100010434) and FCT under the agreement LCF/PR/HP17/52190003)

Precariedad, exclusión social y diversidad funcional (discapacidad): lógicas y efectos subjetivos del sufrimiento social contemporáneo (III). Innovación docente en Filosofía

El PIMCD Precariedad, exclusión social y diversidad funcional (discapacidad): lógicas y efectos subjetivos del sufrimiento social contemporáneo (III). Innovación docente en Filosofía se ocupa de conceptos que generalmente han tendido a ser eludidos en la enseñanza académica de filosofía. Se trata de la tercera edición de un PIMCD que ha venido recibiendo financiación en las últimas convocatorias PIMCD UCM, de los que se han derivado publicaciones colectivas publicadas por Ediciones Complutense y Siglo XXI

Precariedad, exclusión social y diversidad funcional (discapacidad): lógicas y efectos subjetivos del sufrimiento social contemporáneo (II). Innovación docente en Filosofía

El PIMCD "Precariedad, exclusión social y diversidad funcional (discapacidad): lógicas y efectos subjetivos del sufrimiento social contemporáneo (II). Innovación docente en Filosofía" se ocupa de conceptos generalmente eludidos por la tradición teórica (contando como núcleos aglutinantes los de la precariedad laboral, la exclusión social y diversidad funcional o discapacidad), cuyo análisis propicia nuevas prácticas en la enseñanza universitaria de filosofía, adoptando como meta principal el aprendizaje centrado en el estudiantado, el diseño de nuevas herramientas de enseñanza y el fomento de una universidad inclusiva. El proyecto cuenta con 26 docentes de la UCM y otros 28 docentes de otras 17 universidades españolas (UV, UNED, UGR, UNIZAR, UAH, UC3M, UCA, UNIOVI, ULL, EHU/UPV, UA, UAM, Deusto, IFS/CSIC, UCJC, URJC y Univ. Pontificia de Comillas), que permitirán dotar a las actividades programadas de un alcance idóneo para consolidar la adquisición de competencias argumentativas y dialécticas por parte de lxs estudiantes implicados en el marco de los seminarios previstos. Se integrarán en el PIMCD, aparte de PDI, al menos 26 estudiantes de máster y doctorado de la Facultad de Filosofía, a lxs que acompañarán durante el desarrollo del PIMCD 4 Alumni de la Facultad de Filosofía de la UCM, actualmente investigadores post-doc y profesorxs de IES, cuya experiencia será beneficiosa para su introducción en la investigación. Asimismo, el equipo cuenta con el apoyo de varixs profesorxs asociadxs, que en algunos casos son también profesores de IES. Varixs docentes externos a la UCM participantes en el PIMCD poseen una dilatada experiencia en la coordinación de proyectos de innovación de otras universidades, lo que redundará en beneficio de las actividades a desarrollar. La coordinadora y otrxs miembros del PIMCD pertenecen a la Red de Innovación Docente en Filosofia (RIEF), puesta en marcha desde la Universitat de València (http://rief.blogs.uv.es/encuentros-de-la-rief/), a la que mantendremos informada de las actividades realizadas en el proyecto. Asimismo, lxs 6 miembros del PAS permitirán difundir debidamente las actividades realizadas en el PIMCD entre lxs estudiantes Erasmus IN del curso 2019/20 en la Facultad de Filosofía, de la misma manera que orientar en las tareas de maquetación y edición que puedan ser necesarias de cara a la publicación de lxs resultados del PIMCD y en las tareas de pesquisa bibliográfica necesarias para el desarrollo de los objetivos propuestos. Han manifestado su interés en los resultados derivados del PIMCD editoriales especializadas en la difusión de investigaciones predoctorales como Ápeiron y CTK E-Books

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified