Projecte de restauració del conjunt monumental de la cascada del Parc de la Ciutadella de Barcelona

L’any 1989, el Departament d’Expressió Gràfica Arquitectònica II, rep aquest encàrrec a través de l’Ajuntament de Barcelona, amb el qual se subscriu un conveni de col•laboració juntament amb l’empresa Texsa. En aquest conveni participen per part del Departament, un grup de professors i alumnes per realitzar l’aixecament gràfic de la font-cascada i el posterior projecte. La font-cascada del Parc de la Ciutadella de Barcelona va ser dissenyada per l’arquitecte Josep Fontseré i Mestres l’any 1874 i inaugurada l’any 1881 sense els elements escultòrics que es van instal•lar més tard, l’any 1888. El projecte està format per un llac de dos nivells, un nucli central de 4 nivells i dues grans escalinates laterals. En la seva construcció predominen materials com la pedra natural, bigues metàl•liques i ceràmica. En la restauració arquitectònica es va conservar l’equilibri entre la qualitat i l’aspecte dels materials, ja que aquest monument és una simbiosis entre l’arquitectura i l’escultura. La restauració escultòrica, degut al caràcter històric, però per les limitacions econòmiques, es va centrar en la neteja de les figures per evitar que els factors ambientals o químics seguissin desgastant i disgregant la pedra, es van segellar les fissures i es van folrar amb additius especialsPreprin

De la torxa a l'electricitat : l'enllumenat públic en la història de Barcelona

En 1599 s’incorpora a Barcelona l’enllumenat públic mitjançant torxes. Encara que era un sistema precari, va servir per tenir un servei públic de caràcter permanent del qual dependria el desenvolupament i la imatge de ciutat amb vocació progressista. En 1752 s’instal·len als carrers i places de la ciutat 1.500 llums alimentades per oli que tenien un manteniment més durador. Barcelona és la primera ciutat de l’estat espanyol en utilitzar el gas per al seu enllumenat públic. La premsa s’interessa i comença a escriure sobre el notable canvi ocorregut amb aquesta adaptació. Aquest furor fa que la canalització per a la xarxa del gas es propagui per tota la ciutat a exigència dels habitants i la festa de la Mercè és el millor pretext per incorporar nous elements, el que evidència un creixement accelerat de la població gràcies a la instal·lació de noves fàbriques, tallers i l’auge propiciat per la moderna economia catalana, situació que influeix en la configuració social, política, industrial, de transports, cultural, de les arts, arquitectura, urbanisme i mitjans de comunicació, fent que en tots aquests aspectes es notés una considerable transformació. La il·luminació elèctrica es va implantar per primera vegada l’any 1852 en la Plaça de la Constitució i després es va començar a instal·lar aquests tipus d’enllumenats en diferents punts de la ciutat. Durant l’exposició de 1929 la muntanya de Montjuich va mostrar el seu gran esplendor luminotècnic, el que va demostrar l’avanç de les noves tecnologies i la desaparició paulatina de les llums de gas.Preprin

Epidemiological trend of hepatitis C-related liver events in Spain (2000-2015): A nationwide population-based study.

Analysis the epidemiological trends of hospital admissions, intra-hospital deaths, and costs related to chronic hepatitis C (CHC) taking into account four major clinical stages [compensated cirrhosis (CC), end-stage liver disease (ESLD), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and liver transplantation (LT)] in Spain. Retrospective study in patients with chronic hepatitis C and a hospital admission in the Spanish Minimum Basic Data Set from 2000 to 2015. Outcome variables were admission, death, length of hospital stay and costs. A total of 868,523 hospital admissions with CHC (25.5% CC, 25.3% ESLD, 8.6% HCC, and 2.5% LT) were identified. Overall rates of admission and mortality increased from 2000-2003 to 2004-2007, but after 2008, these rates stabilized and/or decreased. An upward trend was found for hospitalization percentage in CC (from 22.3% to 30%; p < 0.001), ESLD (from 23.9% to 27.1%; p < 0.001), HCC (from 7.4% to 11%; p < 0.001), and LT (from 0.07% to 0.10%; p = 0.003). An upward trend was also found for case fatality rate, except in ESLD (p = 0.944). Gender and age influenced the evolution of hospitalization rates and mortality differently. The length of hospital stay showed a significant downward trend in all strata analyzed (p < 0.001). Cost per patient had a significant upward trend (p < 0.001), except in LT, and a decrease from 2008-2011 to 2012-2015 in CC (p = 0.025), HCC (p < 0.001), and LT (p = 0.050) was found. The initial upward trend of the disease burden in CHC has changed from 2000 to 2015 in Spain, improving in many parameters after 2004-2007, particularly in the 2012-2015 calendar period.This work has been supported by grantsfrom “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” (PI15CIII/00031, PI18CIII/00047). The study was also funded by the RD16CIII/0002/0002 project as part of the Plan Nacional R + D + I and cofoundedby ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación y el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional(FEDER).S

Mortality of patients infected with HIV in the intensive care unit (2005 through 2010): significant role of chronic hepatitis C and severe sepsis

INTRODUCTION: The combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has led to decreased opportunistic infections and hospital admissions in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, but the intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate remains constant (or even increased in some instances) during the cART era. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with an increased risk for hospital admission and/or mortality (particularly those related to severe liver disease) compared with the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the mortality among HIV-infected patients in ICU, and to evaluate the impact of HIV/HCV coinfection and severe sepsis on ICU mortality. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective study based on patients admitted to ICU who were recorded in the Minimum Basic Data Set (2005 through 2010) in Spain. HIV-infected patients (All-HIV-group (n = 1,891)) were divided into two groups: HIV-monoinfected patients (HIV group (n = 1,191)) and HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (HIV/HCV group (n = 700)). A control group (HIV(-)/HCV(-)) was also included (n = 7,496). RESULTS: All-HIV group had higher frequencies of severe sepsis (57.7% versus 39.4%; P < 0.001) than did the control group. Overall, ICU mortality in patients with severe sepsis was much more frequent than that in patients without severe sepsis (other causes) at days 30 and 90 in HIV-infected patients and the control group (P < 0.001). Moreover, the all-HIV group in the presence or absence of severe sepsis had a higher percentage of death than did the control group at days 7 (P < 0.001), 30 (P < 0.001) and 90 (P < 0.001). Besides, the HIV/HCV group had a higher percentage of death, both in patients with severe sepsis and in patients without severe sepsis compared with the HIV group at days 7 (P < 0.001) and 30 (P < 0.001), whereas no differences were found at day 90. In a bayesian competing-risk model, the HIV/HCV group had a higher mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.44 (95% CI = 1.30 to 1.59) and aHR = 1.57 (95% CI = 1.38 to 1.78) for patients with and without severe sepsis, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: HIV infection was related to a higher frequency of severe sepsis and death among patients admitted to the ICU. Besides, HIV/HCV coinfection contributed to an increased risk of death in both the presence and the absence of severe sepsis.We thank the Subdirección General del Instituto de Información Sanitaria (Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad) for providing the information on which this study is based.S

Epidemiological trends of deep venous thrombosis in HIV-infected subjects (1997-2013): A nationwide population-based study in Spain

Background: Chronic infections may be a triggering factor as well as a risk factor of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The purpose of this study was to analyze the epidemiological trends of hospital admissions related to DVT in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients during the combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) era, in relation to hepatitis C virus (HCV) serological status. Methods: We performed a retrospective study using the Spanish Minimum Basic Data Set. We selected HIV-infected subjects over 15years old with a hospital admission and DVT diagnosis (ICD-9-CM codes: 453.4x and 453.8x) between 1997 and 2013. Patients were classified according to HCV serology. We estimated the incidence (events per 100,000 patient-years) in four calendar periods (1997-1999, 2000-2003, 2004-2007, and 2008-2013). Results: Overall, the incidence of DVT-related hospitalizations had a significant upward trend in all HIV-infected patients (P<0.001), with significant differences between 1997-1999 and 2008-2013 [49.5 vs. 88.1 (P<0.001)]. Moreover, the incidence was higher in HIV-monoinfected patients than in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients during the entire follow-up (P<0.001). However, the incidence had a significant downward trend in HIV-monoinfected patients (P=0.002) and a significant upward trend in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (P<0.001). Specifically, the incidence of DVT-related hospitalizations in HIV-monoinfected patients significantly decreased from 1997-1999 to 2008-2013 [142.7 vs. 103.1 (P=0.006)], whereas in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients, the incidence increased from 8.4 (1997-1999) to 70.7 (2008-2013) (P<0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that DVT is an emerging health problem among HIV-infected patients, with increasing incidence during the first 17years after the introduction of cART, particularly in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients.This work has been supported by a grant from “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” (grant numbers PI14/01094, PI14CIII/00011). The study was also funded by the RD16CIII/0002/0002 and RD16/0025/0017 projects as part of the Plan Nacional R + D + I and cofunded by ISCIII Subdirección General de Evaluación y el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). JB is an investigator from the Programa de Intensificación de la Ac tividad Investigadora en el Sistema Nacional de Salud (I3SNS), Refs INT15/00079 and INT16/00100.S

Neighborhood environmental factors linked to hospitalizations of older people for viral lower respiratory tract infections in Spain: a case-crossover study

Background: Lower respiratory tract viral infection (LRTI) is a significant cause of morbidity-mortality in older people worldwide. We analyzed the association between short-term exposure to environmental factors (climatic factors and outdoor air pollution) and hospital admissions with a viral LRTI diagnosis in older adults. Methods: We conducted a bidirectional case-crossover study in 6367 patients over 65 years of age with viral LRTI and residential zip code in the Spanish Minimum Basic Data Set. Spain's State Meteorological Agency was the source of environmental data. Associations were assessed using conditional logistic regression. P-values were corrected for false discovery rate (q-values). Results: Almost all were hospital emergency admissions (98.13%), 18.64% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 7.44% died. The most frequent clinical discharge diagnosis was influenza (90.25%). LRTI hospital admissions were more frequent when there were lower values of temperature and O3 and higher values of relative humidity and NO2. The regression analysis adjusted by temperatures and relative humidity showed higher concentrations at the hospital admission for NO2 [compared to the lag time of 1-week (q-value< 0.001) and 2-weeks (q-value< 0.001)] and O3 [compared to the lag time of 3-days (q-value< 0.001), 1-week (q-value< 0.001), and 2-weeks (q-value< 0.001)] were related to a higher odds of hospital admissions due to viral LRTI. Moreover, higher concentrations of PM10 at the lag time of 1-week (q-value = 0.023) and 2-weeks (q-value = 0.002), and CO at the lag time of 3-days (q-value = 0.023), 1-week (q-value< 0.001) and 2-weeks (q-value< 0.001)], compared to the day of hospitalization, were related to a higher chances of hospital admissions with viral LRTI. Conclusion: Unfavorable environmental factors (low temperatures, high relative humidity, and high concentrations of NO2, O3, PM10, and CO) increased the odds of hospital admissions with viral LRTI among older people, indicating they are potentially vulnerable to these environmental factors.This research was supported by CIBER -Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red- (CB 2021), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, and Unión Europea – NextGenerationEU (CB21/13/00044). DS-C is a Sara Borrell researcher from ISCIII (grant n° CD20CIII/00001).S

Trends in pulmonary embolism in patients infected with HIV during the combination antiretroviral therapy era in Spain: A nationwide population-based study

Chronic infections are a major factor in the development of pulmonary embolism (PE). We aimed to evaluate the trends of PE-related hospitalizations and PE-related deaths in people living with HIV (PLWH) during the era of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) through a retrospective study in Spain. Data were collected from the Minimum Basic Data Set (MBDS) between 1997 and 2013. The study period was fragmented into four calendar periods (1997-1999, 2000-2003, 2004-2007, and 2008-2013). The rate of PE-related hospitalizations remained stable in PLWH (P = 0.361). HIV-monoinfected patients had a higher incidence than HIV/HCV-coinfected patients during all follow-up [(98.7 (95%CI = 92.2; 105.1); P < 0.001], but PE incidence decreased in HIV-monoinfected patients (P < 0.001) and increased in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (P < 0.001). Concretely, the rate of PE-related hospitalizations decreased significantly in patients monoinfected with HIV [from 203.6 (95%CI = 175.7; 231.6) events per 100,000 patient-years in 1997-1999 to 74.3 (95%CI = 66.1; 82.3) in 2008-2013; P < 0.001], while patients coinfected with HIV/HCV had a significant increase [from 16.3 (95%CI = 11; 21.6) in 1997-1999 to 53.3 (95%CI = 45.9; 60.6) in 2008-2013; P < 0.001]. The mortality rate of PE-related hospitalizations showed a similar trend as PE incidence. In conclusion, the epidemiological trends of PE in PLWH changed during the cART era, with decreases in incidence and mortality in HIV-monoinfected and increases in both variables in patients coinfected with HIV/HCV.We thank the National Centre for Epidemiology (Institute of Health Carlos III, ISCIII, Spain) for supplying the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Spain. We also thank the Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare for providing the records of the Minimum Basic Data Set (MBDS). This work has been supported by a grant from “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” (grant numbers PI14/01094 and PI17/00657 to JB, and PI14CIII/00011 and PI17CIII/00003 to SR). The RD16CIII/0002/0002 and RD16/0025/0017 projects also funded the study as part of the Plan Nacional R + D + I and co-funded by ISCIII- Subdirección General de Evaluación y el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). JB is supported by the “Programa de Intensificación de la Actividad Investigadora en el Sistema Nacional de Salud (I3SNS)”, Refs INT15/00079 and INT16/00100.S

Patients Infected with HIV in the Intensive Care Unit (2005 Through 2010): Significant Role of Chronic Hepatitis C and Severe Sepsis

Introduction: The combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has led to decreased opportunistic infections and hospital admissions in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, but the intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate remains constant (or even increased in some instances) during the cART era. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with an increased risk for hospital admission and/or mortality (particularly those related to severe liver disease) compared with the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the mortality among HIV-infected patients in ICU, and to evaluate the impact of HIV/HCV coinfection and severe sepsis on ICU mortality. Methods: We carried out a retrospective study based on patients admitted to ICU who were recorded in the Minimum Basic Data Set (2005 through 2010) in Spain. HIV-infected patients (All-HIV-group (n = 1,891)) were divided into two groups: HIV-monoinfected patients (HIV group (n = 1,191)) and HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (HIV/HCV group (n = 700)). A control group (HIV(-)/HCV(-)) was also included (n = 7,496). Results: All-HIV group had higher frequencies of severe sepsis (57.7% versus 39.4%; P < 0.001) than did the control group. Overall, ICU mortality in patients with severe sepsis was much more frequent than that in patients without severe sepsis (other causes) at days 30 and 90 in HIV-infected patients and the control group (P < 0.001). Moreover, the all-HIV group in the presence or absence of severe sepsis had a higher percentage of death than did the control group at days 7 (P < 0.001), 30 (P < 0.001) and 90 (P < 0.001). Besides, the HIV/HCV group had a higher percentage of death, both in patients with severe sepsis and in patients without severe sepsis compared with the HIV group at days 7 (P < 0.001) and 30 (P < 0.001), whereas no differences were found at day 90. In a bayesian competing-risk model, the HIV/HCV group had a higher mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.44 (95% Cl = 1.30 to 1.59) and aHR = 1.57 (95% CI = 1.38 to 1.78) for patients with and without severe sepsis, respectively). Conclusions: HIV infection was related to a higher frequency of severe sepsis and death among patients admitted to the ICU. Besides, HIV/HCV coinfection contributed to an increased risk of death in both the presence and the absence of severe sepsis.This research has been supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant numbers PI11/00245 to SR and PI12/00019 to AAM). MAJS is supported by a contract of Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant number CD13/00013)

A Meta-analysis of Gut Microbiota in Children with Autism

Previous studies have reported dysbiosis in the gut microbiota (GM) of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which may be a determining factor on child development through the microbiota-gut-brain axis. However, it is not clear if there is a specific group of dysbiotic bacteria in ASD. The aim of this study was to carry out a meta-analysis on the studies that analyze GM in children with ASD. 18 studies fulfilled our selection criteria. Our results showed a lower relative abundance of Streptococcus (SMD+ = − 0.999; 95% CI − 1.549, − 0.449) and Bifidobacterium genera (SMD+ = − 0.513; 95% CI − 0.953, − 0.073) in children with ASD. Overall, the Bifidobacterium genera is involved. However, differences found between studies are attributed to factors such as reporting bias

National Temporal Trend Analysis of Infective Endocarditis among Patients Infected with HIV in Spain (1997-2014): A Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND: People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH) form a vulnerable population for the onset of infective endocarditis (IE). We aimed to analyze the epidemiological trend of IE, as well as its microbiological characteristics, in PLWH during the combined antiretroviral therapy era in Spain. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study (1997-2014) in PLWH with data obtained from the Spanish Minimum Basic Data Set. We selected 1800 hospital admissions with an IE diagnosis, which corresponded to 1439 patients. RESULTS: We found significant downward trends in the periods 1997-1999 and 2008-2014 in the rate of hospital admissions with an IE diagnosis (from 21.8 to 3.8 events per 10,000 patients/year; p < 0.001), IE incidence (from 18.2 to 2.9 events per 10,000 patients/year; p < 0.001), and IE mortality (from 23.9 to 5.5 deaths per 100,000 patient-years; p < 0.001). The most frequent microorganisms involved were staphylococci (50%; 42.7% Staphylococcus aureus and 7.3% coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS)), followed by streptococci (9.3%), Gram-negative bacilli (8.3%), enterococci (3%), and fungus (1.4%). During the study period, we found a downward trend in the rates of CoNS (p < 0.001) and an upward trends in streptococci (p = 0.001), Gram-negative bacilli (p < 0.001), enterococci (p = 0.003), and fungus (p < 0.001) related to IE, mainly in 2008-2014. The rate of community-acquired IE showed a significant upward trend (p = 0.001), while the rate of health care-associated IE showed a significant downward trend (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The rates of hospital admissions, incidence, and mortality related to IE diagnosis in PLWH in Spain decreased from 1997 to 2014, while other changes in clinical characteristics, mode of acquisition, and pathogens occurred over this time.This research has been supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant numbers PI15/01451 to ET), and “Gerencia de Salud, Consejería de Sanidad, Junta de Castilla y Leon” [grant number 773/A/13 to ET].S