From flax to wool: spinning at Cabezo Redondo (Villena, Alicante) and changes in textile production during the Bronze Age

En este trabajo se analiza el importante conjunto de fusayolas procedentes del asentamiento de Cabezo Redondo, recuperadas tanto en las excavaciones antiguas de José María Soler como en las desarrolladas en las últimas décadas. El número elevado de ejemplares, todas ellas correspondientes a contextos del Bronce Tardío (c. 1600-1250 cal BC), y sus características (diversidad en materiales utilizados, tipología y peso) permiten inferir una actividad de hilado intensa distribuida a lo largo del poblado, así como importantes transformaciones en la producción textil con respecto a los momentos previos. Entre los cambios principales se encontrarían la continuidad de la tradición de hilado de fibras vegetales como el lino y, sobre todo, la consolidación de nuevas técnicas de hilado y la generalización del hilado de fibras de origen animal como la lana. En definitiva, a partir del estudio de estos artefactos, sumado al análisis de otros indicadores, se propone el desarrollo de una producción textil amplia y diversa, en sintonía con lo que sucedido en otras áreas de Europa y el Mediterráneo durante la segunda mitad del II milenio cal BC.This paper analyses the important set of spindle whorls from the Cabezo Redondo settlement, recovered both in the ancient excavations of José María Soler and in the excavations carried out in recent decades. The large number of tools, all of them corresponding to Late Bronze Age contexts (c. 1600-1250 cal BC), and their characteristics -diversity in materials used, typology and weight- allow us to infer an intense spinning activity distributed throughout the settlement, as well as important transformations in textile production with respect to previous times. The main changes include the continuity of the tradition of spinning bast fibres such as flax and, above all, the consolidation of new spinning techniques and the generalisation of the spinning of animal fibres such as wool. In short, the study of these artefacts, together with the analysis of other indicators, suggests the development of a wide and diverse textile production, in line with what happened in other areas of Europe and the Mediterranean during the second half of the 2nd millennium BC

Aportaciones a la flora de Galicia, VIII

Se citan 37 plantas de variado interés para la flora gallega. Se incluyen 8 novedades de carácter regional (Pteris incompleta Cav., Potentilla recta L., Myriophyllum spicatum L., Solanum sisymbrifolium Lam., Knautia integrifolia (L.) Bertol., Senecio inaequidens DC. Melica arrecta G. Kunze y Stipa clausa Trab.), 17 novedades provinciales (Vandenboschia speciosa (Willd.) G. Kunkel, Ranunculus bupleuroides Brot., Silene niceensis All., Armeria transmontana (Samp.) Lawr., Alcea rosea L., Crambe hispanica L., Rorippa microphylla (Rchb.) Hyl., Saxifraga lepismigena Planellas, Cytisus commutatus subsp. merinoi Laínz & M. Laínz, Galega officinalis L., Melilotus spicatus (Sm.) Breistr., Calystegia silvatica (Kit.) Griseb., Orobanche hederae Baucher ex Duby, Aegilops triuncialis L., Eleusine tristachya (Lam.) Lam., Gagea nevadensis Boiss. y Paradisea lusitanica (Cout.) Samp.) y 12 de interés corológico pero que no suponen novedad gallega o provincial (Lycopodiella inundata (L.) Holub., Corydalis cava (L.) Schweigg. & Körte, Quercus cerris L., Genista sanabrensis Valdés Berm., Castrov. & Casaseca, Oenothera speciosa Nutt., Ligustrum vulgare L., Stachys sylvatica L., Antirrhinum meonanthum Hoffmanns. & Link, Cynara cardunculus L., Nardus stricta L., Gagea pratensis (Pers.) Dumort. y Narcissus rupicola Dufour). Como en anteriores aportaciones, cada taxon va acompañado de diversos comentarios que indican su relevancia corológica o ecológica

Aportaciones a la flora de Galicia, IX

En este trabajo se mencionan 53 plantas de diverso interés para la flora de Galicia o zonas próximas. Se incluyen 3 novedades para España (Sesamoides minor (Lange) O. Kuntze x S. purpurascens (L.) G. López, Hedychium gardnerianum Sheppard ex Ker-Gawler y Oxalis incarnata L.) y otra para Portugal (Bromus hordeaceus L. subsp. ferronii (Mabille) P.M. Smith), 3 novedades regionales (Oxalis incarnata L., Antirrhinum latifolium Mill., Sisyrinchium striatum Mill.), 16 novedades provinciales (Ranunculus bulbosus L. subsp. aleae (Willk.) Rouy & Fouc. var. adscendens (Brot.) Pinto da Silva, Ranunculus peltatus subsp. peltatus var. microcarpus Meikle, Dianthus laricifolius subsp. merinoi (M. Laínz) M. Laínz, Spartium junceum L., Sanicula europea L., Tordylium maximum L., Euphorbia flavicoma DC. subsp. occidentalis M. Laínz, Campanula medium L., Centaurea melitensis L., Festuca durandoi Clauson in Billot subsp. capillifolia (Pau ex Willk.) Rivas Ponce, Cebolla & M.B. Crespo var. livida (Hack.) Rivas-Ponce, Cebolla & M.B. Crespo, Phalaris minor Retz, Carex distans L., Carex umbrosa Hornem. subsp. umbrosa) y otras 40 de interés diverso, bien ecológico, corológico o taxonómico. También, y a la luz de más información, eliminamos del catálogo de la flora vascular de Galicia Iberis contracta subsp. welwitschii (Boiss.) Moreno y Arctium lappa L. Se lectotipifica Euphorbia polygalifolia subsp. hirta (Lange) M. Laínz y Senecio doria var. subintegrum Merino

Identification of regulatory variants associated with genetic susceptibility to meningococcal disease

Non-coding genetic variants play an important role in driving susceptibility to complex diseases but their characterization remains challenging. Here, we employed a novel approach to interrogate the genetic risk of such polymorphisms in a more systematic way by targeting specific regulatory regions relevant for the phenotype studied. We applied this method to meningococcal disease susceptibility, using the DNA binding pattern of RELA - a NF-kB subunit, master regulator of the response to infection - under bacterial stimuli in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. We designed a custom panel to cover these RELA binding sites and used it for targeted sequencing in cases and controls. Variant calling and association analysis were performed followed by validation of candidate polymorphisms by genotyping in three independent cohorts. We identified two new polymorphisms, rs4823231 and rs11913168, showing signs of association with meningococcal disease susceptibility. In addition, using our genomic data as well as publicly available resources, we found evidences for these SNPs to have potential regulatory effects on ATXN10 and LIF genes respectively. The variants and related candidate genes are relevant for infectious diseases and may have important contribution for meningococcal disease pathology. Finally, we described a novel genetic association approach that could be applied to other phenotypes

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. Methods: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015. Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years, 65 to 80 years, and = 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. Results: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 = 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients =80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%, 65 years; 20.5%, 65-79 years; 31.3%, =80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%, <65 years;30.1%, 65-79 years;34.7%, =80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%, =80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age = 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI = 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88), and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared, the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. Conclusion: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age = 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI), and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Higher COVID-19 pneumonia risk associated with anti-IFN-α than with anti-IFN-ω auto-Abs in children

We found that 19 (10.4%) of 183 unvaccinated children hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia had autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs (IFN-alpha 2 in 10 patients: IFN-alpha 2 only in three, IFN-alpha 2 plus IFN-omega in five, and IFN-alpha 2, IFN-omega plus IFN-beta in two; IFN-omega only in nine patients). Seven children (3.8%) had Abs neutralizing at least 10 ng/ml of one IFN, whereas the other 12 (6.6%) had Abs neutralizing only 100 pg/ml. The auto-Abs neutralized both unglycosylated and glycosylated IFNs. We also detected auto-Abs neutralizing 100 pg/ml IFN-alpha 2 in 4 of 2,267 uninfected children (0.2%) and auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-omega in 45 children (2%). The odds ratios (ORs) for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia were, therefore, higher for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-alpha 2 only (OR [95% CI] = 67.6 [5.7-9,196.6]) than for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-. only (OR [95% CI] = 2.6 [1.2-5.3]). ORs were also higher for auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 12.9 [4.6-35.9]) than for those neutralizing low concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 5.5 [3.1-9.6]) of IFN-omega and/or IFN-alpha 2

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

Life-threatening infections in children in Europe (the EUCLIDS Project): a prospective cohort study

Background: Sepsis and severe focal infections represent a substantial disease burden in children admitted to hospital. We aimed to understand the burden of disease and outcomes in children with life-threatening bacterial infections in Europe. Methods: The European Union Childhood Life-threatening Infectious Disease Study (EUCLIDS) was a prospective, multicentre, cohort study done in six countries in Europe. Patients aged 1 month to 18 years with sepsis (or suspected sepsis) or severe focal infections, admitted to 98 participating hospitals in the UK, Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, and the Netherlands were prospectively recruited between July 1, 2012, and Dec 31, 2015. To assess disease burden and outcomes, we collected demographic and clinical data using a secured web-based platform and obtained microbiological data using locally available clinical diagnostic procedures. Findings: 2844 patients were recruited and included in the analysis. 1512 (53·2%) of 2841 patients were male and median age was 39·1 months (IQR 12·4–93·9). 1229 (43·2%) patients had sepsis and 1615 (56·8%) had severe focal infections. Patients diagnosed with sepsis had a median age of 27·6 months (IQR 9·0–80·2), whereas those diagnosed with severe focal infections had a median age of 46·5 months (15·8–100·4; p<0·0001). Of 2844 patients in the entire cohort, the main clinical syndromes were pneumonia (511 [18·0%] patients), CNS infection (469 [16·5%]), and skin and soft tissue infection (247 [8·7%]). The causal microorganism was identified in 1359 (47·8%) children, with the most prevalent ones being Neisseria meningitidis (in 259 [9·1%] patients), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (in 222 [7·8%]), Streptococcus pneumoniae (in 219 [7·7%]), and group A streptococcus (in 162 [5·7%]). 1070 (37·6%) patients required admission to a paediatric intensive care unit. Of 2469 patients with outcome data, 57 (2·2%) deaths occurred: seven were in patients with severe focal infections and 50 in those with sepsis. Interpretation: Mortality in children admitted to hospital for sepsis or severe focal infections is low in Europe. The disease burden is mainly in children younger than 5 years and is largely due to vaccine-preventable meningococcal and pneumococcal infections. Despite the availability and application of clinical procedures for microbiological diagnosis, the causative organism remained unidentified in approximately 50% of patients

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection ar

Impact of infection on proteome-wide glycosylation revealed by distinct signatures for bacterial and viral pathogens

Mechanisms of infection and pathogenesis have predominantly been studied based on differential gene or protein expression. Less is known about posttranslational modifications, which are essential for protein functional diversity. We applied an innovative glycoproteomics method to study the systemic proteome-wide glycosylation in response to infection. The protein site-specific glycosylation was characterized in plasma derived from well-defined controls and patients. We found 3862 unique features, of which we identified 463 distinct intact glycopeptides, that could be mapped to more than 30 different proteins. Statistical analyses were used to derive a glycopeptide signature that enabled significant differentiation between patients with a bacterial or viral infection. Furthermore, supported by a machine learning algorithm, we demonstrated the ability to identify the causative pathogens based on the distinctive host blood plasma glycopeptide signatures. These results illustrate that glycoproteomics holds enormous potential as an innovative approach to improve the interpretation of relevant biological changes in response to infection