Cutaneous, genital and oral lichen planus : a descriptive study of 274 patients

Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the oral mucosa as well as the skin, genital mucosa and other sites. Objective: to evaluate the correlation between oral, genital and cutaneous lichen planus, in a sample of LP patients. This descriptive study reviewed 274 clinical histories of patients, who all presented histological confirmation of lichen planus verified by a pathologist, attending research centers in Barcelona. A total of 40 LP patients (14.59%) presented genital lesions. Of 131 patients with cutaneous LP (47.8%), the most commonly affected zones were the body?s flexor surfaces, representing 60.1% of cases. 24% of patients (n=55) related the start of the lesions with previous stress events. Of the 131 subjects with cutaneous lesions, 19% (n=25) also presented oral lichen planus (OLP). Of the total sample, 53.6% (n=147) of patients presented oral lesions. The systemic diseases most commonly associated with this patient sample were psychological problems such as stress, anxiety and depression (48%), hypertension (27%), gastric problems (12%), and diabetes (9.7%). A family history of lichen planus was found in only 2 cases (0,72%) out of the total of 274. Any patient with OLP should undergo a thorough history and examination to investigate potential extraoral manifestations. The fact that 37 patients with OLP in this patient series were identified with simultaneous involvement at more than one site highlights the need for thorough evaluation and multidisciplinary approaches to this disease

Muscle Physiology Changes Induced by Every Other Day Feeding and Endurance Exercise in Mice: Effects on Physical Performance

Every other day feeding (EOD) and exercise induce changes in cell metabolism. The aim of the present work was to know if both EOD and exercise produce similar effects on physical capacity, studying their physiological, biochemical and metabolic effects on muscle. Male OF-1 mice were fed either ad libitum (AL) or under EOD. After 18 weeks under EOD, animals were also trained by using a treadmill for another 6 weeks and then analyzed for physical activity. Both, EOD and endurance exercise increased the resistance of animals to extenuating activity and improved motor coordination. Among the groups that showed the highest performance, AL and EOD trained animals, ALT and EODT respectively, only the EODT group was able to increase glucose and triglycerides levels in plasma after extenuating exercise. No high effects on mitochondrial respiratory chain activities or protein levels neither on coenzyme Q levels were found in gastrocnemius muscle. However, exercise and EOD did increase β-oxidation activity in this muscle accompanied by increased CD36 levels in animals fed under EOD and by changes in shape and localization of mitochondria in muscle fibers. Furthermore, EOD and training decreased muscle damage after strenuous exercise. EOD also reduced the levels of lipid peroxidation in muscle. Our results indicate that EOD improves muscle performance and resistance by increasing lipid catabolism in muscle mitochondria at the same time that prevents lipid peroxidation and muscle damage

Targeting Iron Acquisition Blocks Infection with the Fungal Pathogens Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium oxysporum

Filamentous fungi are an important cause of pulmonary and systemic morbidity and mortality, and also cause corneal blindness and visual impairment worldwide. Utilizing in vitro neutrophil killing assays and a model of fungal infection of the cornea, we demonstrated that Dectin-1 dependent IL-6 production regulates expression of iron chelators, heme and siderophore binding proteins and hepcidin in infected mice. In addition, we show that human neutrophils synthesize lipocalin-1, which sequesters fungal siderophores, and that topical lipocalin-1 or lactoferrin restricts fungal growth in vivo. Conversely, we show that exogenous iron or the xenosiderophore deferroxamine enhances fungal growth in infected mice. By examining mutant Aspergillus and Fusarium strains, we found that fungal transcriptional responses to low iron levels and extracellular siderophores are essential for fungal growth during infection. Further, we showed that targeting fungal iron acquisition or siderophore biosynthesis by topical application of iron chelators or statins reduces fungal growth in the cornea by 60% and that dual therapy with the iron chelator deferiprone and statins further restricts fungal growth by 75%. Together, these studies identify specific host iron-chelating and fungal iron-acquisition mediators that regulate fungal growth, and demonstrate that therapeutic inhibition of fungal iron acquisition can be utilized to treat topical fungal infections

Revealing the last 13,500 years of environmental history from the multiproxy record of a mountain lake (Lago Enol, northern Iberian Peninsula)

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10933-009-9387-7.We present the Holocene sequence from Lago Enol (43°16′N, 4°59′W, 1,070 m a.s.l.), Cantabrian Mountains, northern Spain. A multiproxy analysis provided comprehensive information about regional humidity and temperature changes. The analysis included sedimentological descriptions, physical properties, organic carbon and carbonate content, mineralogy and geochemical composition together with biological proxies including diatom and ostracod assemblages. A detailed pollen study enabled reconstruction of variations in vegetation cover, which were interpreted in the context of climate changes and human impact. Four distinct stages were recognized for the last 13,500 years: (1) a cold and dry episode that includes the Younger Dryas event (13,500–11,600 cal. year BP); (2) a humid and warmer period characterizing the onset of the Holocene (11,600–8,700 cal. year BP); (3) a tendency toward a drier climate during the middle Holocene (8,700–4,650 cal. year BP); and (4) a return to humid conditions following landscape modification by human activity (pastoral activities, deforestation) in the late Holocene (4,650–2,200 cal. year BP). Superimposed on relatively stable landscape conditions (e.g. maintenance of well established forests), the typical environmental variability of the southern European region is observed at this site.The Spanish Inter-Ministry Commission of Science and Technology (CICYT), the Spanish National Parks agency, the European Commission, the Spanish Ministry of Science, and the European Social Fund

Revealing the last 13,500 years of environmental history from the multiproxy record of a mountain lake (Lago Enol, northern Iberian Peninsula)

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10933-009-9387-7.We present the Holocene sequence from Lago Enol (43°16′N, 4°59′W, 1,070 m a.s.l.), Cantabrian Mountains, northern Spain. A multiproxy analysis provided comprehensive information about regional humidity and temperature changes. The analysis included sedimentological descriptions, physical properties, organic carbon and carbonate content, mineralogy and geochemical composition together with biological proxies including diatom and ostracod assemblages. A detailed pollen study enabled reconstruction of variations in vegetation cover, which were interpreted in the context of climate changes and human impact. Four distinct stages were recognized for the last 13,500 years: (1) a cold and dry episode that includes the Younger Dryas event (13,500–11,600 cal. year BP); (2) a humid and warmer period characterizing the onset of the Holocene (11,600–8,700 cal. year BP); (3) a tendency toward a drier climate during the middle Holocene (8,700–4,650 cal. year BP); and (4) a return to humid conditions following landscape modification by human activity (pastoral activities, deforestation) in the late Holocene (4,650–2,200 cal. year BP). Superimposed on relatively stable landscape conditions (e.g. maintenance of well established forests), the typical environmental variability of the southern European region is observed at this site.The Spanish Inter-Ministry Commission of Science and Technology (CICYT), the Spanish National Parks agency, the European Commission, the Spanish Ministry of Science, and the European Social Fund

BOOTES-IR: Near IR follow-up GRB observations by a robotic system

“BOOTES-IR” is the extension of the BOOTES experiment, which operates in Southern Spain since 1998, to the near IR (NIR). The goal is to follow up the early stage of the gamma ray burst (GRB) afterglow emission in the NIR, alike BOOTES does already at optical wavelengths. The scientific case that drives the BOOTES-IR performance is the study of GRBs with the support of spacecraft like INTEGRAL, SWIFT and GLAST. Given that the afterglow emission in both, the NIR and the optical, in the instances immediately following a GRB, is extremely bright (reached V = 8.9 in one case), it should be possible to detect this prompt emission at NIR wavelengths too. The combined observations by BOOTES-IR and BOOTES-1 and BOOTES-2 will allow for real time identification of trustworthy candidates to have a high redshift (z > 5). It is expected that, few minutes after a GRB, the IR magnitudes be H ∼ 7–10, hence very high quality spectra can be obtained for objects as far as z = 10 by larger instruments

The question of land access and the Spanish Land Reform of 1932

Spanish land reform, involving the break-up of the large southern estates, was a central issue during the first decades of the twentieth century, and justified for economic and political reasons. We employ new provincial data on landless workers, land prices and agrarian wages to consider if government intervention was needed because of the failure of the free action of markets to redistribute land. Our evidence shows that the relative number of landless workers decreased significantly from 1860 to 1930 before the approval of the 1932 Land Reform during the Second Republic (1931-36). This was due to two interrelated market forces: the falling ratio between land prices and rural wages, which made land cheaper for landless workers to rent and buy land plots, and structural change that drained rural population from the countryside. Given that shifts in factor prices were helping workers gain access to land, the economic arguments for reform by the 1930s remain unclea

II Jornadas de la Sociedad Española para la Conservación y Estudio de Los Mamíferos (SECEM) Soria 7-9 diciembre 1995

Seguimiento de una reintroducción de corzo (Capreolus capreolus) en ambiente mediterráneo. Dispersión y área de campeoModelos de distribución de los insectívoros ern la Península IbéricaDieta anual del zorro, Vulpes vulpes, en dos hábitats del Parque Nacional de DoñanaDesarrollo juvenil del cráneo en las poblaciones ibéricas de gato montés, Felis silvestris Schreber, 1777Presencia y expansión del visón americano (Mustela vison) en las provincias de Teruel y Castellón (Este de España).Preferencias de hábitat invernal de la musaraña común (Crocidura russula) en un encinar fragmentado de la submeseta norteUso de cámaras automáticas para la recogida de información faunística.Dieta del lobo en dos zonas de Asturias (España) que difieren en carga ganadera.Consumo de frutos y dispersión de semillas de serbal (Sorbus aucuparia L.) por zorros y martas en la cordillera Cantábrica occidentalEvaluación de espermatozoides obtenidos postmorten en el ciervo.Frecuencia de aparición de diferentes restos de conejo en excrementos de lince y zorroAtlas preliminar de los mamíferos de Soria (España)Censo y distribución de la marmota alpina (Marmota marmota) en Navarra.Trampeo fotográfico del género Martes en el Parque Nacional de Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici (Lleida)Peer reviewe

High efficacy of Sofosbuvir plus Simeprevir in a large cohort of Spanish cirrhotic patients infected with genotypes 1 and 4

[Abstract] Background and Aims. Hepatitis C (HCV) therapy with Sofosbuvir (SOF)/Simeprevir (SMV) in clinical trials and real‐world clinical practice, showed high rates of sustained virological response (SVR) in non‐cirrhotic genotype (GT)‐1 and GT‐4 patients. These results were slightly lower in cirrhotic patients. We investigated real‐life effectiveness and safety of SOF/SMV with or without ribavirin (RBV) in a large cohort of cirrhotic patients. Methods. This collaborative multicentre study included data from 968 patients with cirrhosis infected with HCV‐GT1 or 4, treated with SOF/SMV±RBV in 30 centres across Spain between January‐2014 and December‐2015. Demographic, clinical, virological and safety data were analysed. Results. Overall SVR was 92.3%; the majority of patients were treated with RBV (62%) for 12 weeks (92.4%). No significant differences in SVR were observed between genotypes (GT1a:94.3%; GT1b:91.7%; GT4:91.1%). Those patients with more advanced liver disease (Child B/C, MELD≥10) or portal hypertension (platelet count≤100×109/L, transient elastography≥21 Kpa) showed significantly lower SVR rates (84.4%‐91.9%) than patients with less advanced liver disease (93.8%‐95.9%, P<.01 in all cases). In the multivariate analysis, the use of RBV, female gender, baseline albumin≥35 g/L, MELD<10 and lack of exposure to a triple therapy regimen were independent predictors of SVR (P<.05). Serious adverse events (SAEs) and SAE‐associated discontinuation events occurred in 5.9% and 2.6%. Conclusions. In this large cohort of cirrhotic patients managed in the real‐world setting in Spain, SOF/SMV±RBV yielded to excellent SVR rates, especially in patients with compensated liver cirrhosis. In addition, this combination showed to be safe, with low rates of SAEs and early discontinuations.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI15/0015

El asentamiento neolítico de Limoneros (Elche, Alicante).

En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de las intervenciones de urgencia llevadas a cabo en el yacimiento de Limoneros, asentamiento al aire libre ocupado durante la primera mitad del V milenio cal BC localizado al sur de la ciudad de Elche (Alicante), en la llanura aluvial del río Vinalopó. Durante los trabajos de excavación se reconocieron distintas estructuras negativas entre las que destacan dos tramos de foso, silos y cubetas, estructuras que quedaron amortizadas en última instancia como zonas de desecho. El análisis global de las evidencias recuperadas permite caracterizar las actividades desarrolladas por una comunidad campesina en un espacio geográfico articulado por el Vinalopó, ámbito en el cual se ha documentado un buen número de asentamientos asociados a este momento, convirtiéndose en un marco referente para explicar la expansión y consolidación de las sociedades neolíticas en el sur del Levante peninsular.