La ruta del mosaico romano: el sur de hispania (Anadalucía y Algarve)

A Hispânia meridional corresponde ao sul de duas províncias romanas – a Bética (actual Andaluzia) e a Lusitania (Portugal) – que tiveram grande prosperidade económica, desde a época de Augusto até ao final da Antiguidade (finais do século IV). Os mosaicos que decoravam o chão das casas mais ricas aparecidas nos últimos vinte anos nas escavações em cidades – como em Faro/Ossonoba, na Lusitania e em Écija/ Astigi, na Bética – e nas villae rurais que se encontram maioritariamente nos arredores das cidades – como em Cerro da Vila (Vilamoura)e em Milreu (Estoi), no Algarve – demonstram o elevado nível de desenvolvimento económico,social e cultural das duas províncias durante o período compreendido entre os séculos I e IV d.C

Brucellosis Vaccines: Assessment of Brucella melitensis Lipopolysaccharide Rough Mutants Defective in Core and O-Polysaccharide Synthesis and Export

Background: The brucellae are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause brucellosis, one of the major neglected zoonoses. In endemic areas, vaccination is the only effective way to control this disease. Brucella melitensis Rev 1 is a vaccine effective against the brucellosis of sheep and goat caused by B. melitensis, the commonest source of human infection. However, Rev 1 carries a smooth lipopolysaccharide with an O-polysaccharide that elicits antibodies interfering in serodiagnosis, a major problem in eradication campaigns. Because of this, rough Brucella mutants lacking the O-polysaccharide have been proposed as vaccines. Methodology/Principal Findings: To examine the possibilities of rough vaccines, we screened B. melitensis for lipopolysaccharide genes and obtained mutants representing all main rough phenotypes with regard to core oligosaccharide and O-polysaccharide synthesis and export. Using the mouse model, mutants were classified into four attenuation patterns according to their multiplication and persistence in spleens at different doses. In macrophages, mutants belonging to three of these attenuation patterns reached the Brucella characteristic intracellular niche and multiplied intracellularly, suggesting that they could be suitable vaccine candidates. Virulence patterns, intracellular behavior and lipopolysaccharide defects roughly correlated with the degree of protection afforded by the mutants upon intraperitoneal vaccination of mice. However, when vaccination was applied by the subcutaneous route, only two mutants matched the protection obtained with Rev 1 albeit at doses one thousand fold higher than this reference vaccine. These mutants, which were blocked in O-polysaccharide export and accumulated internal O-polysaccharides, stimulated weak anti-smooth lipopolysaccharide antibodies. Conclusions/Significance: The results demonstrate that no rough mutant is equal to Rev 1 in laboratory models and question the notion that rough vaccines are suitable for the control of brucellosis in endemic areas.This work was funded by the European Commission (Research Contract QLK2-CT-2002-00918) and the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain (Proyecto AGL2004-01162/GAN)

Religious transformations in the Middle Ages: towards a new archaeological agenda

The study of religious change in Europe between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Reformation forms one of the cornerstones of medieval archaeology but has been riven by period, denominational and geographical divisions. This paper lays the groundwork for a fundamental rethink of archaeological approaches to medieval religions, by adopting a holistic framework that places Christian, pagan, Islamic and Jewish case studies of religious transformation in a long-term, comparative perspective. Focused around the analytical themes of ‘hybridity and resilience’ and ‘tempo and trajectories’, our approach shifts attention away from the singularities of national narratives of religious conversion towards a deeper understanding of how religious beliefs, practices and identity were renegotiated by medieval people in their daily lives

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Dietary α‐Linolenic Acid, Marine ω‐3 Fatty Acids, and Mortality in a Population With High Fish Consumption: Findings From the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) Study

Background: Epidemiological evidence suggests a cardioprotective role of α‐linolenic acid (ALA), a plant‐derived ω‐3 fatty acid. It is unclear whether ALA is beneficial in a background of high marine ω‐3 fatty acids (long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) intake. In persons at high cardiovascular risk from Spain, a country in which fish consumption is customarily high, we investigated whether meeting the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids recommendation for dietary ALA (0.7% of total energy) at baseline was related to all‐cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. We also examined the effect of meeting the society's recommendation for long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (≥500 mg/day). Methods and Results: We longitudinally evaluated 7202 participants in the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) trial. Multivariable‐adjusted Cox regression models were fitted to estimate hazard ratios. ALA intake correlated to walnut consumption (r=0.94). During a 5.9‐y follow‐up, 431 deaths occurred (104 cardiovascular disease, 55 coronary heart disease, 32 sudden cardiac death, 25 stroke). The hazard ratios for meeting ALA recommendation (n=1615, 22.4%) were 0.72 (95% CI 0.56–0.92) for all‐cause mortality and 0.95 (95% CI 0.58–1.57) for fatal cardiovascular disease. The hazard ratios for meeting the recommendation for long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n=5452, 75.7%) were 0.84 (95% CI 0.67–1.05) for all‐cause mortality, 0.61 (95% CI 0.39–0.96) for fatal cardiovascular disease, 0.54 (95% CI 0.29–0.99) for fatal coronary heart disease, and 0.49 (95% CI 0.22–1.01) for sudden cardiac death. The highest reduction in all‐cause mortality occurred in participants meeting both recommendations (hazard ratio 0.63 [95% CI 0.45–0.87]). Conclusions: In participants without prior cardiovascular disease and high fish consumption, dietary ALA, supplied mainly by walnuts and olive oil, relates inversely to all‐cause mortality, whereas protection from cardiac mortality is limited to fish‐derived long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.Controlled-trials.com/. Unique identifier: ISRCTN35739639

International nosocomial infection control consortium (INICC) report, data summary of 36 countries, for 2004-2009

The results of a surveillance study conducted by the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) from January 2004 through December 2009 in 422 intensive care units (ICUs) of 36 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe are reported. During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN; formerly the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system [NNIS]) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infections, we gathered prospective data from 313,008 patients hospitalized in the consortium's ICUs for an aggregate of 2,194,897 ICU bed-days. Despite the fact that the use of devices in the developing countries' ICUs was remarkably similar to that reported in US ICUs in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were significantly higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals; the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection in the INICC ICUs of 6.8 per 1,000 central line-days was more than 3-fold higher than the 2.0 per 1,000 central line-days reported in comparable US ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia also was far higher (15.8 vs 3.3 per 1,000 ventilator-days), as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (6.3 vs. 3.3 per 1,000 catheter-days). Notably, the frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates to imipenem (47.2% vs 23.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (76.3% vs 27.1%), Escherichia coli isolates to ceftazidime (66.7% vs 8.1%), Staphylococcus aureus isolates to methicillin (84.4% vs 56.8%), were also higher in the consortium's ICUs, and the crude unadjusted excess mortalities of device-related infections ranged from 7.3% (for catheter-associated urinary tract infection) to 15.2% (for ventilator-associated pneumonia). Copyright © 2012 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Evaluación de la calidad del suelo tras la implantación de cubiertas permanentes en viñedos de zonas semiáridas. Materia orgánica y propiedades físicas y biológicas del suelo

Changing from conventional vineyard soil management, which includes keeping bare soil through intense tilling and herbicides, to permanent grass cover (PGC) is controversial in semi-arid land because it has agronomic and environmental advantages but it can also induce negative changes in the soil physical status. The objectives of this work were (i) gaining knowledge on the effect of PGC on the soil physical and biological quality, and (ii) identifying the most suitable soil quality indicators for vineyard calcareous soils in semi-arid land. Key soil physical, organic and biological characteristics were determined in a Cambic Calcisol with different time under PGC (1 and 5 years), and in a conventionally managed control. Correlation analysis showed a direct positive relationship between greater aggregate stability (WSA), soil-available water capacity (AWC), microbial biomass and enzymatic activity in the topsoil under PGC. Total and labile organic C concentrations (SOC and POM-C) were also correlated to microbial parameters. Factor analysis of the studied soil attributes using principal component analysis (PCA) was done to identify the most sensitive soil quality indicators. Earthworm activity, AWC, WSA, SOC and POM-C were the soil attributes with greater loadings in the two factors determined by PCA, which means that these properties can be considered adequate soil quality indicators in this agrosystem. These results indicate that both soil physical and biological attributes are different under PGC than in conventionally-managed soils, and need therefore to be evaluated when assessing the consequences of PGC on vineyard soil quality.El establecimiento de cubiertas vegetales permanentes (PGC) en viñedos de zonas semiáridas, con manejo tradicional de suelo desnudo mediante laboreo y aplicación de herbicidas, es controvertido, porque tiene ventajas agronómicas y ambientales, pero puede inducir cambios negativos en la calidad física del suelo. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron: (i) avanzar en el conocimiento del efecto de la implantación de PGC en la calidad física y biológica del suelo, e (ii) identificar los indicadores de calidad del suelo más apropiados para suelos calizos de viñedo en una zona semiárida. Se determinaron propiedades físicas y biológicas clave en un Calcisol Cámbico con PGC de diferente edad (1 y 5 años), con un control manejado convencionalmente. El análisis de correlaciones mostró una relación directa entre la estabilidad estructural (WSA), la capacidad de retención de agua útil (AWC), la biomasa microbiana y las actividades enzimáticas del suelo bajo PGC. El contenido de C orgánico total (SOC) y lábil (POM-C) estuvo también correlacionado con los parámetros microbianos. Los indicadores de calidad del suelo más sensibles se identificaron mediante análisis factorial por componentes principales (PCA). La actividad de lombrices, AWC, WSA, SOC y POM-C mostraron el mayor peso en los dos factores obtenidos con PCA, por lo que estas propiedades pueden considerarse indicadores adecuados de la calidad del suelo en este agrosistema. Estos resultados indican que tanto los atributos físicos como biológicos del suelo son diferentes bajo PGC, y necesitan ser evaluados al estudiar las consecuencias de su introducción en suelos de viñedo