Mass gathering events and the spread of infectious diseases: Evidence from the early growth phase of COVID-19

This paper studies the impact on reported coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths in Spain resulting from large mass gatherings that occurred from March 6 to March 8, 2020. To study these outcomes, the geographic differences in the planned pre-pandemic major events that took place on these dates were exploited, which is a quasi-random source of variation for identification purposes. We collected daily and detailed information about the number of attendees at football (soccer) and basketball matches in addition to individuals participating in the Women''s Day marches across Spain, which we merged with daily data on reported COVID-19 cases and deaths at the provincial level. Our results reveal evidence of non-negligible COVID-19 cases related to the differences in the percentage of attendees at these major events from March 6 to March 8. In a typical province, approximately 31% of the average daily reported COVID-19 cases per 100, 000 inhabitants between mid-March and early April 2020 can be explained by the participation rate in those major events. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that this implies almost five million euros (169, 000 euros/day) of additional economic cost in the health system of a typical province with one million inhabitants in the period under consideration. Several mechanisms behind the spread of COVID-19 are also examined

Fipronil/(S)-methoprene spot-on to control fleas on cats in a field trial in Spain

The study was conducted in order to evaluate the effect of a fipronil/(S)-methoprene formulation against fleas on naturally infested cats. The study involved a population of 89 cats distributed among 24 veterinary practices in 9 regions of Spain. The product was applied according to label instructions on days 0, 30 and 60. Animals underwent parasitological and clinical assessments on day 0 and thereafter in monthly intervals (every 30 days) until day 90. Ctenocephalides felis was the most abundant species (98.9% of all fleas collected), and flea abundance on Day 0 was associated with the hair type, the location of the household, and the time elapsed from the last anti-flea treatment. Fipronil/(S)-methoprene demonstrated high efficacy and induced the reduction of clinical signs related to the presence of fleas. Clinical signs and flea abundance decreased significantly throughout time (P=0.001) with an efficacy rate of 72.6% at Day 30, 88.4% at Day 60 and 93.9% at Day 90. A high level of flea control and a remission of the clinical signs related to presence of fleas were observed on cats following 3 monthly applications a fipronil/(S)-methoprene formulation

Unraveling Multiple Thermotectonic Events Accommodated by Crustal\u2010Scale Faults in Northern Iberia, Spain: Insights From K-Ar Dating of Clay Gouges

Large-scale faults in the continental crust are significant features that control the evolution of sedimentary basins and intraplate mountain chains. Deciphering their evolution is a significant task because faults slip and reactivate in a variety of geological settings. In this work, clay gouges of two major orogen-scale, long-lived faults in northern Iberia, the Río Grío and Vallès-Penedès Faults, were investigated by X-ray diffraction and K-Ar isotopic analysis. Illite polytype determinations of 44 subfractions (from <0.1 to 10 Œºm) allowed us to discriminate between authigenic/synkinematic illite crystals formed during faulting and detrital illite crystals inherited from the host rock. K-Ar dating provided a detailed set of ages corresponding to key stages of the thermotectonic evolution of the Iberian Plate: (a) the Permian to Late Triassic extensional/transtensional activity associated to the emplacement of Late Variscan magmatic bodies and hydrothermal mineralizations, (b) the opening of the Central Atlantic Rift during Late Triassic-Early Jurassic times, (c) the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting that led to the development of Mesozoic extensional/transtensional basins in northern Iberia, (d) the final stage of the anticlockwise rotation of the Iberian Plate with respect to Eurasia and the accommodation of the first Pyrenean compressional pulses in Campanian time, and (e) the positive inversion of Mesozoic extensional basins due to far-field stresses associated with the Alpine orogeny during the Paleogene. The results highlight that thermotectonic conditions characterized by high-geothermal gradients strongly favor fault movement and neoformation of clay minerals in fault gouges, regardless of the prevailing tectonic regime

Evaluación de la violencia y deportividad en el deporte: un análisis bibliométrico

Este trabajo presenta un análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones sobre los instrumentos de evaluación de la deportividad, la agresividad y la violencia en contextos deportivos profesionales y en edad escolar, durante el período 1996 a 2013. Los documentos fueron identificados en las bases de datos SportDiscus, PsycINFO, Psicodoc y Dialnet, así como en publicaciones e informes de federaciones e instituciones deportivas. Han sido 530 los documentos analizados, de los cuales 35 presentan instrumentos de evaluación. Los documentos obtenidos fueron clasificados en 5 categorías: método de evaluación, constructos evaluados, agentes sociales evaluados, período temporal y contexto deportivo. Los resultados muestran que la herramienta más utilizada ha sido el cuestionario (76.19%). En segundo lugar, los instrumentos analizados permiten evaluar variables psicológicas relacionadas con la deportividad (14.28%), con la no deportividad (28.57%) o con ambas (57.14%). En tercer lugar, tienden a centrarse en la evaluación del deportista (71.43%). En cuarto lugar, la mayoría permiten ser utilizados en un único momento temporal (85.71%). Finalmente, los instrumentos permiten ser utilizados tanto en ámbitos deportivos profesionales como en edad escolar (66.66%) o exclusivamente en edad escolar (33.33%). This study presents a bibliometric analysis of printed publications on evaluation tools in sportsmanship, aggresivity and violence in a professional sports context and at school age during 2013. Records from databases SportDiscus, PsycINFO, Psicodoc and Dialnet, as well as printed publications and reports from federations and sports institutions have been used. 530 documents have been analized, out of which 35 show evaluation tools. The obtained records were classifed into 5 catagories: methods of assessment, constructs and social actors assessed, seasonal period and sports context. The results show that the most used tool was the survey (76.19%). Secondly, the tools analized allowed the evaluation of psychological variables related to sportsmanship (14.28%), anti-sportsmanship (28.57%) and both (57.14%). Thirdly, nearly all the tools are centred on the assessment of the sportsman (71.43%). Fourthly, most of them are able to be used at any one single moment (85.71%). Finally, many of the tools allow evaluation in both the professional and school setting (66.66%) or entirely in the school setting (33.33%)

Derivation and external validation of the SIMPLICITY score as a simple immune-based risk score to predict infection in kidney transplant recipients

Existing approaches for infection risk stratification in kidney transplant recipients are suboptimal. Here, we aimed to develop and validate a weighted score integrating non-pathogen-specific immune parameters and clinical variables to predict the occurrence of post-transplant infectious complications. To this end, we retrospectively analyzed a single-center derivation cohort of 410 patients undergoing kidney transplantation in 2008-2013 in Madrid. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations, serum immunoglobulin and complement levels were measured at one-month post-transplant. The primary and secondary outcomes were overall and bacterial infection through month six. A point score was derived from a logistic regression model and prospectively applied on a validation cohort of 522 patients undergoing kidney transplantation at 16 centers throughout Spain in 2014-2015. The SIMPLICITY score consisted of the following variables measured at month one after transplantation: C3 level, CD4+ T-cell count, CD8+ T-cell count, IgG level, glomerular filtration rate, recipient age, and infection within the first month. The discrimination capacity in the derivation and validation cohorts was good for overall (areas under the receiver operating curve of 0.774 and 0.730) and bacterial infection (0.767 and 0.734, respectively). The cumulative incidence of overall infection significantly increased across risk categories in the derivation (low-risk 13.7%; intermediate-risk, 35.9%; high-risk 77.6%) and validation datasets (10.2%, 28.9% and 50.4%, respectively). Thus, the SIMPLICITY score, based on easily available immune parameters, allows for stratification of kidney transplant recipients at month one according to their expected risk of subsequent infection

Structure des grands bassins glaciaires dans le nord de la péninsule ibérique: comparaison entre les vallées d'Andorre (Pyrénées orientales), du Gállego (Pyrénées centrales) et du Trueba (Chaîne Cantabrique).

Les grandes vallées glaciaires de la Péninsule Ibérique sont situées dans la chaîne pyrénéo-cantabrique, principalement dans le bassin de l'Èbre. Ainsi, les vallées d'Andorre, de la Noguera Pallaresa et de la haute vallée du Gállego, dans les Pyrénées, ont eu des appareils glaciaires longs de 42, 50 et 40 km respectivement. Dans les vallées du Sil (bassin du Miño) et du Trueba, dans la Chaîne Cantabrique, ils atteignaient 42 et 16,5 km (Serrano-Cañadas, 1996 ; Gómez-Ortiz et al., 2001 ; Turu & Peña, 2006a et b ; Redondo-Vega et al., 2006). L'une des caractéristiques géomorphologiques de la plupart de ces vallées est l'existence d'une dépression morphologique du substratum dans les parties moyennes et terminales, interprétée comme la conséquence de l'érosion glaciaire. Dans tous les cas, on observe une architecture litho-stratigraphique commune (Vilaplana & Casas, 1983 ; Bordonau et al., 1989 ; Bordonau, 1992 ; Turu et al., 2002) représentée par trois unités géoélectriques : une unité inférieure très épaisse, avec des résistivités électriques basses (70 - 200 Ohms par mètre), qui traduit la présence de matériaux fins considérés comme d'origine lacustre ; une unité intermédiaire, moins épaisse, avec des valeurs de résistivité plus élevées (400 - 800 Ohms par mètre), pouvant être interprétée comme un système fluvio-deltaïque pro-glaciaire et une unité géoélectrique supérieure, avec des valeurs de résistivité très variables (100 - 1500 Ohms par mètre), constituée de sédiments alluviaux subactuels. La comparaison des données de type géophysique et géomécanique (sismique à réfraction et essais pressiométriques) montre que l'unité intermédiaire, considérée comme d'origine fluvio-deltaïque, présente des valeurs de vitesse sismique anormalement élevées, ainsi que de hautes valeurs de consolidation. Cette observation effectuée pour la première fois dans la vallée d'Andorre (Turu, 2000) montre des remarquables corrélations entre les hautes vitesses sismiques et les valeurs élevées de consolidation, ainsi que la très nette corrélation entre les hautes valeurs de consolidation et les tills sous-glaciaires. Elle permet d'interpréter l'unité intermédiaire comme essentiellement glaciaire et de remettre en question le modèle simple d'une séquence de comblement lacustre et deltaïque proposé jusqu´à maintenant

Survival in Southern European patients waitlisted for kidney transplant after graft failure: A competing risk analysis

Background Whether patients waitlisted for a second transplant after failure of a previous kidney graft have higher mortality than transplant-näive waitlisted patients is uncertain. Methods We assessed the relationship between a failed transplant and mortality in 3851 adult KT candidates, listed between 1984–2012, using a competing risk analysis in the total population and in a propensity score-matched cohort. Mortality was also modeled by inverse probability weighting (IPTW) competing risk regression. Results At waitlist entry 225 (5.8%) patients had experienced transplant failure. All-cause mortality was higher in the post-graft failure group (16% vs. 11%; P = 0.033). Most deaths occurred within three years after listing. Cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death (25.3%), followed by infections (19.3%). Multivariate competing risk regression showed that prior transplant failure was associated with a 1.5-fold increased risk of mortality (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–2.2). After propensity score matching (1:5), the competing risk regression model revealed a subhazard ratio (SHR) of 1.6 (95% CI, 1.01–2.5). A similar mortality risk was observed after the IPTW analysis (SHR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1–2.6). Conclusions Previous transplant failure is associated with increased mortality among KT candidates after relisting. This information is important in daily clinical practice when assessing relisted patients for a retransplant.This study was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) (grant ICI14/00016) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III co-funded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional±FEDER, RETICS (REDINREN RD16/0009/0006, RD16/0009/0031

Incidence of cardiovascular events after kidney transplantation and cardiovascular risk scores: study protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of death after renal transplantation. Not only conventional CVD risk factors, but also transplant-specific risk factors can influence the development of CVD in kidney transplant recipients.</p> <p>The main objective of this study will be to determine the incidence of post-transplant CVD after renal transplantation and related factors. A secondary objective will be to examine the ability of standard cardiovascular risk scores (Framingham, Regicor, SCORE, and DORICA) to predict post-transplantation cardiovascular events in renal transplant recipients, and to develop a new score for predicting the risk of CVD after kidney transplantation.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Observational prospective cohort study of all kidney transplant recipients in the A Coruña Hospital (Spain) in the period 1981-2008 (2059 transplants corresponding to 1794 patients).</p> <p>The variables included will be: donor and recipient characteristics, chronic kidney disease-related risk factors, pre-transplant and post-transplant cardiovascular risk factors, routine biochemistry, and immunosuppressive, antihypertensive and lipid-lowering treatment. The events studied in the follow-up will be: patient and graft survival, acute rejection episodes and cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, invasive coronary artery therapy, cerebral vascular events, new-onset angina, congestive heart failure, rhythm disturbances and peripheral vascular disease).</p> <p>Four cardiovascular risk scores were calculated at the time of transplantation: the Framingham score, the European Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) equation, and the REGICOR (Registre Gironí del COR (Gerona Heart Registry)), and DORICA (Dyslipidemia, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Risk) functions.</p> <p>The cumulative incidence of cardiovascular events will be analyzed by competing risk survival methods. The clinical relevance of different variables will be calculated using the ARR (Absolute Risk Reduction), RRR (Relative Risk Reduction) and NNT (Number Needed to Treat).</p> <p>The ability of different cardiovascular risk scores to predict cardiovascular events will be analyzed by using the c index and the area under ROC curves. Based on the competing risks analysis, a nomogram to predict the probability of cardiovascular events after kidney transplantation will be developed.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study will make it possible to determine the post-transplant incidence of cardiovascular events in a large cohort of renal transplant recipients in Spain, to confirm the relationship between traditional and transplant-specific cardiovascular risk factors and CVD, and to develop a score to predict the risk of CVD in these patients.</p

Back to the Grindstone? The Archaeological Potential of Grinding-Stone Studies in Africa with Reference to Contemporary Grinding Practices in Marakwet, Northwest Kenya

This article presents observations on grinding-stone implements and their uses in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, northwest Kenya. Tool use in Marakwet is contextualized with a select overview of literature on grinding-stones in Africa. Grinding-stones in Marakwet are incorporated not only into quotidian but also into more performative and ritual aspects of life. These tools have distinct local traditions laden with social as well as functional importance. It is argued that regionally and temporally specific studies of grinding-stone tool assemblages can be informative on the processing of various substances. Despite being common occurrences, grinding-stone tools are an under-discussed component of many African archaeological assemblages. Yet the significance of grinding-stones must be reevaluated, as they hold the potential to inform on landscapes of past food and material processing