Condition and recruitment of Aristeus antennatus beyond fishing ground (to depths of 2200 m) in the Mediterranean: relationship with environmental factors

Depth relationships and seasonal trends in the biological condition and recruitment of the red shrimp Aristeus antennatus have been analyzed along down to 2300 m, over all the slope in the Balearic Basin (western Mediterranean). The analysis is based on a composite year (2008-2012 period) and identifies environmental causes of the trends. We found good reproductive and general biological condition of A. antennatus (Gonado-somatic index, GSI) at 800-1300 m in summer (June-July), depths below the fishing grounds. Mating and spawning were at depths below the more saline waters of the Levantine Intermediate water mass. Recruits Smallest juveniles (recruits, ca. 1 yr age) were exclusively distributed below 1000 m, associated with high near-bottom O2 concentration, low turbidity and high C/N in sediments implying favourable trophic conditions. A seasonal migratory pattern is suggested for females, which move shallower to the upper slope during periods of water-mass homogeneity (autumn-winter) to feed in canyons, increasing their energy reserves (hepatic gland weight, HSI). Females move downslope (800-1100 m) to spawn (high GSI) during periods of water mass stratification (late spring-summer). HSI of A. antennatus females decreased linearly with depth down the slope in February and in October-November, i.e., before and after the reproductive period. This nutritional condition of females in these periods is consistent with more consumption of benthic prey (ophiuroids, polychaetes, Calocaris macandreae) at the canyon heads (Cartes, 1994) in late autumn and winter. Our results confirm/suggest: i) how important it is to study the biology of deep-sea species over the whole depth range they inhabit and not only over fishing grounds, and ii) that changes in environmental conditions linked to the progressive warming of Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW) with a parallel increase of salinity could provoke a decrease of O2 in water masses at below 1000 m, affecting A. antennatus recruitment and its life cycle, which is extensible to other deep-sea specie

Respuesta agronómica de diferentes cultivares tintos de vid en zona templada

Se presenta la respuesta varietal de 6 cultivares tintos de vid, con riego deficitario controlado, en zona cálida: Barbera, Graciano, Mencía, Pinot noir, Petit verdot y Tempranillo. Teniendo en cuenta que en zona cálida hay que escoger cultivares de ciclo largo, recolección tardía, capaces de madurar manteniendo alta la acidez real y total, se concluye que los más idóneos para su cultivo en zona cálida son Barbera, por su alta acidez y Petit verdot y Graciano por su larga maduración y acidez equilibrada. Tempranillo, si bien en este trabajo presenta una respuesta adecuada, para equivalente maduración sacarimétrica a las anteriores posee menor acidez e IPT. Mencía madura mejor en situaciones frescas que en zona cálid

Safety of switching from intravenous to subcutaneous rituximab during first-line treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma: the Spanish population of the MabRella study

Rituximab is a standard treatment for non-Hodgkin diffuse large B-cell (DLBCL) and follicular (FL) lymphomas. A subcutaneous formulation was developed to improve the resource use of intravenous rituximab, with comparable efficacy and safety profiles except for increased administration-related reactions (ARRs). MabRella was a phase IIIb trial to assess the safety of switching from intravenous to subcutaneous administration of rituximab during first-line induction/maintenance for DLBCL or FL, focusing on ARRs. Efficacy, satisfaction and quality of life were also assessed. Patients received subcutaneous rituximab plus standard induction chemotherapy for DLBCL or FL for 4–7 cycles, and/or every 2 months maintenance monotherapy for FL for 6–12 cycles. The study included 140 patients: DLBCL, n = 29; FL, n = 111. Ninety-five percent of patients experienced adverse events, reaching grade ≥3 in 38 6% and were serious in 30 0%. AARs occurred in 48 6%, mostly (84 9%) at the injection site, with only 2 1% of patients reaching grade 3. The end-of-induction complete/unconfirmed complete response rate was 69 6%. After a median follow-up of 33 5 months, median disease-/event-/progression-free and overall survivals were not attained. The Rituximab Administration Satisfaction Questionnaire showed improvements in overall satisfaction and the EuroQoL-5D a good quality-of-life perception at induction/maintenance end. Therefore, switching to subcutaneous rituximab showed no new safety issues and maintained efficacy with improved satisfaction and quality of life

Flavanol–anthocyanin condensed pigments in plant extracts

[EN] Pigments resulting from the direct condensation of anthocyanins and flavanols are usually associated with reactions taking place during processing and storage of plant-derived foods and beverages and have been particularly studied in aged red wines. In this paper, small amounts of flavanol–anthocyanin condensed pigments are found in different plant extracts. Structures are suggested for 10 such condensed pigments detected in extracts of strawberry, runner beans, purple corn and grape skins, based on their MSn fragmentation patterns, following analyses by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. All of them correspond to dimers containing a flavan-3-ol [either (epi)afzelechin, (epi)catechin or (epi)gallocatechin] as the upper unit carbon–carbon linked to a lower anthocyanin unit consisting of different delphinidin, cyanidin, pelargonidin, peonidin or malvidin derivatives. The detection of these pigments in plant extracts may suggest that they are natural pigments and not products exclusively formed during storage and ageing of processed foods and beverages, as was previously assumed

Modulación de factores de transcripción Nrf2 y NF-κB por esculetina en células leucémicas humanas

La esculetina (6,7-dihidroxicumarina) es un antioxidante que modula el balance redox en diferentes células. Además posee propiedades antiinflamatorias y antitumorales. Se ha estudiado el efecto antitumoral de esculetina en células de leucemia humana promielocítica aguda NB4. Se ha analizado la respuesta antioxidante celular (actividad de la enzima superóxido dismutasa –SOD–) con la modulación de los niveles de factores de transcripción (Nrf2 y NF-κB)

Modulación de factores de transcripción Nrf2 y NF-κB por esculetina en células leucémicas humanas

La esculetina (6,7-dihidroxicumarina) es un antioxidante que modula el balance redox en diferentes células. Además posee propiedades antiinflamatorias y antitumorales. Se ha estudiado el efecto antitumoral de esculetina en células de leucemia humana promielocítica aguda NB4. Se ha analizado la respuesta antioxidante celular (actividad de la enzima superóxido dismutasa –SOD–) con la modulación de los niveles de factores de transcripción (Nrf2 y NF-κB)

Impact of subtrochanteric fractures in the geriatric population : better pre-fracture condition but poorer outcome than pertrochanteric fractures: evidence from the Spanish Hip Fracture Registry

Clinical management in orthogeriatric units and outcome indicators are similar for extracapsular fragility hip fractures, without discriminating between subtrochanteric and pertrochanteric fractures. Geriatric patients, 75 years or older, with subtrochanteric fractures have worse clinical and functional outcomes than those with pertrochanteric fractures. Retrospective observational study of data prospectively collected by the Spanish Hip Fracture Registry including patients 75 years or older, admitted for extracapsular hip fractures from January 2017 to June 2019. Demographic and baseline status, pre-operative, post-operative and 30-day follow-up data were included. A total of 13,939 patients with extracapsular hip fractures were registered: 12,199 (87.5%) pertrochanteric and 1740 (12.5%) subtrochanteric. At admission, patients with subtrochanteric fractures were younger (86.5 ± 5.8 versus 87.1 ± 5.6 years old), had better pre-fracture mobility (3.7 ± 2.7 versus 3.9 ± 2.8) (1-to-10 scale, 1 being independent) and were more likely to be living at home; those with pertrochanteric fractures had worse cognitive function (Pfeiffer 3.3 ± 3.3 versus 3.8 ± 3.5). The subtrochanteric fracture group showed worse post-fracture mobility (7.3 ± 2.7 versus 6.7 ± 2.7) and greater deterioration of mobility (3.7 ± 3.0 versus 2.9 ± 2.7). Among individuals living at home at baseline, those with subtrochanteric fractures were more likely to remain in an assisted facility at 30-day follow-up. In-hospital mortality during acute admission was higher for the subtrochanteric group (5.6% versus 4.5%) (p = 0.028). To our knowledge, this is the first paper highlighting the differences between these two fracture groups in the geriatric population. Subtrochanteric fractures in the older population are a different and worse entity, with greater morbimortality and functional decline than pertrochanteric fractures. Despite being younger and fitter at admission, older patients with subtrochanteric fractures have a higher risk of remaining non-weight bearing and undergoing re-operation and institutionalization. Orthogeriatric units should be aware of this and manage subtrochanteric fractures accordingly. Level of evidence: IV. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10195-022-00637-8

Effect of immunocastration on behaviour and blood parameters (cortisol and testosterone) of Holstein bulls

To evaluate the effect that immunocastration has on behaviour, testosterone and cortisol levels of feedlot Holstein bulls, 720 intact animals aged between 7 and 8 months, weighing 232±1.19 kg were randomly assigned to two treatments: immunocastration using the Bopriva vaccine and a placebo (360 animals per treatment). The bulls were slaughtered at day 239 of treatment. Animals were vaccinated on days 1, 21, 101, and 181, and on those same days testosterone levels were measured; while cortisol, glucose and creatin kinase measurements were done on day 181 and during exanguination at slaughter. Sexual, aggressive and social behaviours were evaluated and it was found that intact bulls showed a higher average of head butts, mounting, threats, flehmen sign and sniffing (P<0.05), no differences were found for vocalisations, lowering of the head and grooming (P>0.05). Testosterone levels in intact bulls remained at 0.47ng/mL throughout the study, however, by day 181 differences (P<0.05) were observed in immunised bulls, with values of 0.22ng/mL. At slaughter, testosterone levels were 0.21 ± 0.06 ng/mL in immunocastrated bulls and 0.54 ± 0.06 ng/mL in the placebo group. The use of immunocastration with Bopriva has shown to be effective to reduce testosterone, sexual and aggressive behaviours on Holstein bulls

Use of tocilizumab in kidney transplant recipients with COVID-1

Acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with coronavirus infection is related to a cytokine storm with large interleukin-6 (IL-6) release. The IL-6-receptor blocker tocilizumab may control the aberrant host immune response in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) . In this pandemic, kidney transplant (KT) recipients are a high-risk population for severe infection and showed poor outcomes. We present a multicenter cohort study of 80 KT patients with severe COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab during hospital admission. High mortality rate was identified (32.5%), related with older age (hazard ratio [HR] 3.12 for those older than 60 years, P = .039). IL-6 and other inflammatory markers, including lactic acid dehydrogenase, ferritin, and D-dimer increased early after tocilizumab administration and their values were higher in nonsurvivors. Instead, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels decreased after tocilizumab, and this decrease positively correlated with survival (mean 12.3 mg/L in survivors vs. 33 mg/L in nonsurvivors). Each mg/L of CRP soon after tocilizumab increased the risk of death by 1% (HR 1.01 [confidence interval 1.004-1.024], P = .003). Although patients who died presented with worse respiratory situation at admission, this was not significantly different at tocilizumab administration and did not have an impact on outcome in the multivariate analysis. Tocilizumab may be effective in controlling cytokine storm in COVID-19 but randomized trials are needed