Massive Consumption of Gelatinous Plankton by Mediterranean Apex Predators

Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen were used to test the hypothesis that stomach content analysis has systematically overlooked the consumption of gelatinous zooplankton by pelagic mesopredators and apex predators. The results strongly supported a major role of gelatinous plankton in the diet of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus), spearfish (Tetrapturus belone) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius). Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the oceanic stage and ocean sunfish (Mola mola) also primarily relied on gelatinous zooplankton. In contrast, stable isotope ratios ruled out any relevant consumption of gelatinous plankton by bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), blue shark (Prionace glauca), leerfish (Lichia amia), bonito (Sarda sarda), striped dolphin (Stenella caerueloalba) and loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the neritic stage, all of which primarily relied on fish and squid. Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) were confirmed as crustacean consumers. The ratios of stable isotopes in albacore (Thunnus alalunga), amberjack (Seriola dumerili), blue butterfish (Stromaeus fiatola), bullet tuna (Auxis rochei), dolphinfish (Coryphaena hyppurus), horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) were consistent with mixed diets revealed by stomach content analysis, including nekton and crustaceans, but the consumption of gelatinous plankton could not be ruled out completely. In conclusion, the jellyvorous guild in the Mediterranean integrates two specialists (ocean sunfish and loggerhead sea turtles in the oceanic stage) and several opportunists (bluefin tuna, little tunny, spearfish, swordfish and, perhaps, blue butterfish), most of them with shrinking populations due to overfishing

Comprehensive description of clinical characteristics of a large systemic Lupus Erythematosus Cohort from the Spanish Rheumatology Society Lupus Registry (RELESSER) with emphasis on complete versus incomplete lupus differences

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by multiple organ involvement and pronounced racial and ethnic heterogeneity. The aims of the present work were (1) to describe the cumulative clinical characteristics of those patients included in the Spanish Rheumatology Society SLE Registry (RELESSER), focusing on the differences between patients who fulfilled the 1997 ACR-SLE criteria versus those with less than 4 criteria (hereafter designated as incomplete SLE (iSLE)) and (2) to compare SLE patient characteristics with those documented in other multicentric SLE registries. RELESSER is a multicenter hospital-based registry, with a collection of data from a large, representative sample of adult patients with SLE (1997 ACR criteria) seen at Spanish rheumatology departments. The registry includes demographic data, comprehensive descriptions of clinical manifestations, as well as information about disease activity and severity, cumulative damage, comorbidities, treatments and mortality, using variables with highly standardized definitions. A total of 4.024 SLE patients (91% with ≥4 ACR criteria) were included. Ninety percent were women with a mean age at diagnosis of 35.4 years and a median duration of disease of 11.0 years. As expected, most SLE manifestations were more frequent in SLE patients than in iSLE ones and every one of the ACR criteria was also associated with SLE condition; this was particularly true of malar rash, oral ulcers and renal disorder. The analysis-adjusted by gender, age at diagnosis, and disease duration-revealed that higher disease activity, damage and SLE severity index are associated with SLE [OR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.08-1.20 (P < 0.001); 1.29; 95% CI: 1.15-1.44 (P < 0.001); and 2.10; 95% CI: 1.83-2.42 (P < 0.001), respectively]. These results support the hypothesis that iSLE behaves as a relative stable and mild disease. SLE patients from the RELESSER register do not appear to differ substantially from other Caucasian populations and although activity [median SELENA-SLEDA: 2 (IQ: 0-4)], damage [median SLICC/ACR/DI: 1 (IQ: 0-2)], and severity [median KATZ index: 2 (IQ: 1-3)] scores were low, 1 of every 4 deaths was due to SLE activity. RELESSER represents the largest European SLE registry established to date, providing comprehensive, reliable and updated information on SLE in the southern European population

Post-Franco Theatre

In the multiple realms and layers that comprise the contemporary Spanish theatrical landscape, “crisis” would seem to be the word that most often lingers in the air, as though it were a common mantra, ready to roll off the tongue of so many theatre professionals with such enormous ease, and even enthusiasm, that one is prompted to wonder whether it might indeed be a miracle that the contemporary technological revolution – coupled with perpetual quandaries concerning public and private funding for the arts – had not by now brought an end to the evolution of the oldest of live arts, or, at the very least, an end to drama as we know it

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality