War and Economics: Spanish Civil War Finances Revisited

This paper reviews how the Spanish civil war was financed. We present new evidence to show that the two combatant parties, the Republican government and the Franco administration followed similar financial strategies. In both cases money creation, rather than new taxes or the issue of debt, was the main mechanism used to cover the expenses of the war. We argue, contrary to the established knowledge, that both sides consumed a similar amount of domestic and foreign resources. We also argue that the Spanish Republic did not lose the war because of a lack of means. International factors, such as the Non-Intervention agreement promoted by France and Great Britain, and the military setbacks of the Republican army during the first year of the war, were decisive for Franco’s victory in 1939.Spain, civil war, financial resources

Echinoderms diversity in the Southwestern Atlantic

Studies of biodiversity of echinoderms from South America have increased in recent years. Here we summarize sampling done on three expeditions along the Argentinean coast (35º - 55º S) and near the Antarctic Peninsula. The first campaign, Mejillón II (M-II; 2009), was carried out between 35º - 39º S and covered a depth range between 10 to 140 m. The second was part of the Summer Antarctic Campaign 2011 (CAV-III; 2011) that took place around the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland and South Orkney Islands (depth range between 67 to 754 m). The last cruise was the final stretch of the Summer Antarctic Campaign 2011 (CAV-IV; 2011), from 39º - 55º S and between 30 - 140 m depth. As result, 74 stations have been studied, of which 68 had at least one echinoderm specimen. From the total number of stations, the occurrence percentages for each class were Asteroidea (68 %), Echinoidea (64 %), Ophiuroidea (55 %), Holothuroidea (51 %) and Crinoidea (20 %). In the M-II campaign, echinoderms were presented in 94 % of the sampled stations, with Echinoidea most frequent (74 %). In the CAV-III campaign echinoderms were presented in all the stations; Ophiuroidea were found in all stations. The lowest occurrence of echinoderms was found in the CAV-IV campaign (82 %), where Asteroidea was present in the 73 % of the samples, and crinoids were absent.Fil: Martinez, Mariano Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Arribas, Lorena Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Berecoechea, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Brogger, Martin Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Penchaszadeh, Pablo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin

Síntomas no motores y Enfermedad de Parkinson: El quindenio 2004 -2019

EP: enfermedad compleja con manifestaciones motoras y no motoras La EP se entiende mejor teniendo en cuenta los aspectos no motores Los SNM están presentes años antes de la típica "fase motora“ Los SNM aumentan su carga con la progresión de la enfermedad Los SNM son centrales en las fases avanzadas de la enfermedad. El manejo apropiado de NMS es importante para disminuir la morbilidad y mortalidad la institucionalización el deterioro de la CdeVde los pacientes la carga de los cuidadores los costes socialesN

The Parkinson's Disease Composite Scale Is Adequately Responsive to Acute Levodopa Challenge

Background: The Parkinson's Disease Composite Scale (PDCS) is a recently developed easy-to-use tool enabling a timely but comprehensive assessment of Parkinson's disease (PD)-related symptoms. Although the PDCS has been extensively validated, its responsiveness to acute levodopa challenge has not been demonstrated yet. Objective: To investigate the correlation between changes in the motor examination part of the Movement Disorder Society-sponsored Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and the PDCS motor scores during acute levodopa challenge and calculate a cutoff range on the PDCS indicating clinically relevant improvement. Methods: A consecutive series of 100 patients with parkinsonism were assessed using the motor examination sections of the MDS-UPDRS and the PDCS at least 12 hours after the last levodopa dose and after the administration of a single dose of a suprathreshold immediate formulation of levodopa/benserazide reaching the "best ON." Results. There was a high correlation between changes in the MDS-UPDRS and the PDCS motor scores (Spearman's rho = 0.73, p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that a 14.6%-18.5% improvement in the PDCS motor scores corresponds to a 20-30% improvement in the MDS-UPDRS motor examination. Conclusions: The PDCS can reliably and adequately respond to an acute levodopa challenge. Any improvements in PDCS motor scores exceeding the 14.6-18.5% threshold could represent a clinically relevant response to levodopa.This study was supported by the Hungarian Brain Research Program (2017-1.2.1-NKP-2017-00002) and NKFIH (EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00008, SNN125143, and ÚNKP-17-4-I.-PTE-311) (government-based funds). Our research was partly financed by the Higher Education Institutional Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities in Hungary, within the framework of the 5th thematic program of the University of Pécs, Hungary (20765/3/2018/FEKUSTRAT). The authors would like to thank Éva Balázs and Katalin Takács, our Parkinson’s nurses, for their assistance in study-related examinations.S

Sleep Duration and “on” Time during Different Periods of the Day and Night in Patients with Advanced Parkinson's Disease Receiving Adjunctive Ropinirole Prolonged Release

Patients undergoing long-term therapy for PD often experience motor fluctuations and nocturnal disturbances. In a post-hoc analysis, we explored effects of ropinirole prolonged release on sleep, night-time awakenings, and “on” time over 24 hours. Patients with advanced PD suboptimally controlled with L-dopa were randomized to adjunctive ropinirole prolonged release (2–24 mg/day) or placebo for 24 weeks. Awake/asleep and, if awake, “on”/“off” status was recorded via diary cards. At week 24 last observation carried forward, changes in nighttime or daytime sleep duration were not significantly different between treatments. Of patients with baseline awakenings, a significantly higher proportion in the ropinirole prolonged release group had a reduction in awakenings versus placebo. Patients receiving ropinirole prolonged release had a significantly greater increase in amount/percentage of awake time “on”/“on” without troublesome dyskinesia during all periods assessed (including night-time and early morning), versus placebo, and higher odds for being “on” on waking. Adjunctive once-daily ropinirole prolonged release may help provide 24-hour symptom control in patients with advanced PD not optimally controlled with L-dopa

Circadian modulation on T-wave alternans activity in chronic heart failure patients

Average TWA activity has been shown to be an independent predictor of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients. However, the influence of circadian rhythms on TWA remains understudied. In this work, we assessed circadian TWA changes in a CHF population and evaluated whether the prognostic value of TWA indices is sensitive to the circadian pattern. Holter ECG recordings from 626 consecutive CHF patients (52 SCD) were analyzed. The index of average alternans (IAA), quantifying the average TWA level, was measured in 4 consecutive 6-hour intervals using a multilead fully-automated method. Survival analysis was performed considering SCD as an independent endpoint. IAA changed along the day, with statistically significant lower values during the night than during daytime. This pattern is similar to the one observed in the mean heart rate (HR). However, a low correlation (r=.18) was found between IAA and HR in windows of 128 beats. After dichotomization of patients based on the third quartile of IAA indices, IAA indices computed between hours 06-12 (IAA06-12) and 18-24 (IAA18-24) successfully predicted SCD (Hazard Ratio, HaR:2.34(1.33-4.13)per µV, andHaR:1.87(1.04-3.36) per µV, respectively). In conclusion, circadian variation should be considered for SCD risk prediction