On the value of early marine weather observations: The Malaspina expedition (1789–94)

Great advances in meteorological science were made in the late eighteenth century. In particular, meteorological instruments were carried on ships and the first systematic meteorological readings over the oceans were made. One of these collections of instrumental meteorological readings was carried out by the Malaspina expedition (1789–94), organized by the Spanish Crown to study its vast possessions around the world. We have recovered meteorological variables such as air temperature (maximum and minimum), atmospheric pressure (maximum and minimum), wind (intensity and direction), and appearance (state of the sky) from the documentation generated by the explorers during the journey. In total, nearly 13, 000 instrumental data have been digitized and rescued from this maritime expedition. The comparison of daily temperature and pressure observations with reanalysis and weather stations data shows a good overall agreement. Moreover, apparent discrepancies during several anchored periods have allowed for testing the consistency and quality of these early instrumental marine weather readings

Los depósitos aluviales del paleógeno basal en el sector suroriental de la Cuenca del Duero (provincia de Segovia): evolución y minerales de la arcilla característicos

This paper deals with the detritic facies which represents the prearcosic cycle and the lowermost part of the arcosic cycle (Paleogene in age) outcropping in the southeastern margin of the Duero Basin. On the basis of geological mapping and lithological correlation, four lithostratigraphic units, which also presents different clay minerals associations, have been distinguished: Unit T.1.1., composed by clays and quartzose sands, in which the c1ay mineral association is illite + kaolinite; unit T.1.2., of quartzose sands with ferruginous paleosoils, with smectite as the main clay mineral; unit T.2.1., of polimictic conglomerates, arcosic sands and clays, with frequent calcrete profiles and palygorskite is the most abundant mineral; unit T.2.2., composed by arcosic sands with duricrust levels resembling those of the previous unit, and with smectite and illite as the main clay minerals. The first and second units are transitional and they keep a genetic relationship corresponding lo a «First Depositional Sequence», which is large scale coarsening upwards and represents a prograding evolution from a distal braided system (T.1.1.) to a proximal one (T.1.2.) of humid alluvial fans. Units T.2.1. and T.2.2. belong to a «Second Depositional Sequence», which is large scale fining and reflects the transition from proximal (T.2.1.) to medial (T.2.2.) parts of arid to semiarid alluvial fans. From the mineralogical and sedimentological study it may be concluded that, during the deposits of these materials, an important climatic change took place. During the sedimentation of T.1.1., climate was warm and wet producing a clay mineral association (illite + kaolinite) tipical of well drained areas. Unit T.1.2. represents a more arid climate with seasonal fluctuations and long dry periods, yielding smectite as the main clay mineral. Nevertheless, the more drastic change towards arid conditions took place during the sedimentation of the «Second Depositional Sequence», dominated by arid or semiarid alluvial fans. For this reason, this episode presents an important development of duricrusts and palygorskite is the characteristic clay mineral, probably related with the edafic processes found in the frequent calcrete profiles appearing in these units.En este trabajo se estudian las facies detríticas que constituyen el ciclo prearcósico y la base del ciclo arcósico (de edad paleógena) del borde suroriental de la cuenca del Duero. La cartografía geológica y la correlación litológica realizadas han permitido diferenciar cuatro unidades litoestratigráficas que, asimismo, presentan distintas asociaciones de minerales de la arcilla: unidad T.1.1., compuesta por arcillas y arenas cuarzosas, en la que la asociación de minerales de la arcilla es illita + caolinita; unidad T.1.2., de arenas cuarzosas con paleosuelos ferruginosos y esmectita corno mineral de la arcilla característico; unidad T.2.1., de conglomerados polimícticos, arenas arcósicas y arcillas, con frecuentes niveles de calcreta y palygorskita como mineral de la arcilla característico; unidad T.2.2., compuesta por arenas arcósicas, con niveles de encostramiento similares a los de la unidad anterior y esmectita e illita como minerales de la arcilla principales. Las dos primeras unidades son transicionales y presentan una relación genética, correspondiendo a una «Primera Secuencia Deposicional», que es granocreciente y representa una evolución progradante desde un sistema braided distal (T.1.1.) a un sistema braided proximal (T.1.2.), correspondientes a abanicos aluviales húmedos. Las unidades T.2.1. y T.2.2. forman una «Segunda Secuencia Deposicional», granodecreciente a gran escala, y refleja la transición desde partes proximales (T.2.l.) a medias (T.2.2.) de abanicos aluviales áridos a semiáridos. A partir del estudio mineralógico y sedimentológico puede concluirse que durante la sedimentación de estos materiales tuvo lugar un importante cambio climático. Durante el depósito de TU. el clima fue húmedo y cálido, produciendo una asociación de minerales de la arcilla (illita + caolinita) típica de áreas con buen drenaje. La unidad T.1.2. representa un clima más árido, con fluctuaciones estacionales y largos períodos secos, lo que hace que la esmectita sea el principal mineral de la arcilla. Sin embargo, el cambio climático más importante hacia condiciones áridas ocurrió durante la sedimentación de la «Segunda Secuencia Deposicional», dominada por abanicos aluviales áridos o semiáridos. Por esta razón, este episodio presenta un importante desarrollo de niveles de encostramiento y la palygorskita es el mineral de la arcilla característico, estando su génesis probablemente relacionada con los procesos edáficos que se aprecian en los frecuentes niveles de calcreta de estas unidades

Novel insights into host-fungal pathogen interactions derived from live-cell imaging

Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge funding from the Wellcome Trust (080088, 086827, 075470 and 099215) including a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology 097377 and FP7-2007–2013 grant agreement HEALTH-F2-2010-260338–ALLFUN to NARG.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Resultados del estudio geológico a escala 1/25.000 del término municipal de Madrid.

Se exponen de forma abreviada los rasgos en cuanto a metodología y conclusiones del estudio geológico a escala 1/25000 realizado en el Municipio de Madrid en los años 1982/83. Las diferentes unidades expresadas en la cartografiase describen en función de las pautas mayores observables en los materiales que forman cada una de ellas, analizándose sus relaciones estratigráficas. El Proyecto «Estudio Geológico a escala 1/25000 del Término Municipal de Madrid ha sido llevado a cabo a lo largo de los años 1982-83 como resultado de la colaboración científica entre diversos organismos de la Administración (Facultad de CC. Geológicas-Universidad Complutense, Instituto Geológico y Minero. Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Instituto de Geología de Madrid-CSIC, y otros). Constituye una de las áreas de actuación definidas dentro del Convenio de Colaboración Técnica y Cultural para el conocimiento de las Características del Suelo y Subsuelo de Madrid», propiciado y patrocinado por el Excmo. Ayuntamiento. La financiación del proyecto especifico de Geología ha sido realizada íntegramente por el IGME, organismo encargado además de su supervisión. El desarrollo del Proyecto tiene un marcado carácter interdisciplinar, fruto del trasvase de información entre los distintos grupos que abarca el Convenio general (aparte de los ya referidos, el SGOP, COPLACO, Laboratorio «José Luis Escario» siendo precisamente uno de los objetivos del trabajo el servir de apoyo a las restantes áreas de investigación. Los estudios geológicos realizados se plasman en un total de siete mapas a escala 1/25000 elaborados según la normativa Magna de cartografía geológica mapas que toman como referencia, aunque en algunos casos no las completan y en otros adosan porciones de hojas adyacentes, las hojas 1/25000 de Madrid, Alcorcón, El Pardo, San Femando de Henares, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Alcobendas y Castillo de Viñuelas

Solitary waves for linearly coupled nonlinear Schrodinger equations with inhomogeneous coefficients

Motivated by the study of matter waves in Bose-Einstein condensates and coupled nonlinear optical systems, we study a system of two coupled nonlinear Schrodinger equations with inhomogeneous parameters, including a linear coupling. For that system we prove the existence of two different kinds of homoclinic solutions to the origin describing solitary waves of physical relevance. We use a Krasnoselskii fixed point theorem together with a suitable compactness criterion.Comment: 16 page

Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Carboplatin plus Docetaxel in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Combined Analysis of Two Cohorts

Recent studies demonstrate that addition of neoadjuvant (NA) carboplatin (Cb) to anthracycline/taxane chemotherapy improves pathological complete response (pCR) in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Effectiveness of anthracycline-free, platinum combinations in TNBC is not well known. Here we report efficacy of NA carboplatin + docetaxel (CbD) in TNBC

Pathological response in a triple-negative breast cancer cohort treated with neoadjuvant carboplatin and docetaxel according to Lehmann's refined classification

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) requires the identification of reliable predictors of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). For this purpose, we aimed to evaluate the performance of the TNBCtype-4 classifier in a cohort of patients with TNBC treated with neoadjuvant carboplatin and docetaxel (TCb). Methods: Patients with TNBC were accrued in a nonrandomized trial of neoadjuvant carboplatin AUC 6 and docetaxel 75 mg/m2 for six cycles. Response was evaluated in terms of pathologic complete response (pCR, ypT0/is ypN0) and residual cancer burden by Symmans and colleagues. Lehmann's subtyping was performed using the TNBCtype online tool from RNAseq data, and germline sequencing of a panel of seven DNA damage repair genes was conducted. Results: Ninety-four out of the 121 patients enrolled in the trial had RNAseq available. The overall pCR rate was 44.7%. Lehmann subtype distribution was 34.0% BL1, 20.2% BL2, 23.4% M, 14.9% LAR, and 7.4% were classified as ERþ. Response to NACT with TCb was significantly associated with Lehmann subtype (P ¼ 0.027), even in multivariate analysis including tumor size and nodal involvement, with BL1 patients achieving the highest pCR rate (65.6%), followed by BL2 (47.4%), M (36.4%), and LAR (21.4%). BL1 was associated with a significant younger age at diagnosis and higher ki67 values. Among our 10 germline mutation carriers, 30% were BL1, 40% were BL2, and 30% were M. Conclusions: TNBCtype-4 is associated with significantly different pCR rates for the different subtypes, with BL1 and LAR displaying the best and worse responses to NACT, respectively

Risk factors for non-diabetic renal disease in diabetic patients

Background. Diabetic patients with kidney disease have a high prevalence of non-diabetic renal disease (NDRD). Renal and patient survival regarding the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) or NDRD have not been widely studied. The aim of our study is to evaluate the prevalence of NDRD in patients with diabetes and to determine the capacity of clinical and analytical data in the prediction of NDRD. In addition, we will study renal and patient prognosis according to the renal biopsy findings in patients with diabetes. Methods. Retrospective multicentre observational study of renal biopsies performed in patients with diabetes from 2002 to 2014. Results. In total, 832 patients were included: 621 men (74.6%), mean age of 61.7 6 12.8 years, creatinine was 2.8 6 2.2 mg/dL and proteinuria 2.7 (interquartile range: 1.2–5.4) g/24 h. About 39.5% (n ¼ 329) of patients had DN, 49.6% (n ¼ 413) NDRD and 10.8% (n ¼ 90) mixed forms. The most frequent NDRD was nephroangiosclerosis (NAS) (n ¼ 87, 9.3%). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, older age [odds ratio (OR) ¼ 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02–1.05, P < 0.001], microhaematuria (OR ¼ 1.51, 95% CI: 1.03–2.21, P ¼ 0.033) and absence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) (OR ¼ 0.28, 95% CI: 0.19–0.42, P < 0.001) were independently associated with NDRD. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients with DN or mixed forms presented worse renal prognosis than NDRD (P < 0.001) and higher mortality (P ¼ 0.029). In multivariate Cox analyses, older age (P < 0.001), higher serum creatinine (P < 0.001), higher proteinuria (P < 0.001), DR (P ¼ 0.007) and DN (P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for renal replacement therapy. In addition, older age (P < 0.001), peripheral vascular disease (P ¼ 0.002), higher creatinine (P ¼ 0.01) and DN (P ¼ 0.015) were independent risk factors for mortality. Conclusions. The most frequent cause of NDRD is NAS. Elderly patients with microhaematuria and the absence of DR are the ones at risk for NDRD. Patients with DN presented worse renal prognosis and higher mortality than those with NDRD. These results suggest that in some patients with diabetes, kidney biopsy may be useful for an accurate renal diagnosis and subsequently treatment and prognosis

Cryptococcus neoformans Capsular Enlargement and Cellular Gigantism during Galleria mellonella Infection

We have studied infection of Cryptococcus neoformans in the non-vertebrate host Galleria mellonella with particular interest in the morphological response of the yeast. Inoculation of C. neoformans in caterpillars induced a capsule-independent increase in haemocyte density 2 h after infection. C. neoformans manifested a significant increase in capsule size after inoculation into the caterpillar. The magnitude of capsule increase depended on the temperature, being more pronounced at 37°C than at 30°C, which correlated with an increased virulence of the fungus and reduced phagocytosis at 37°C. Capsule enlargement impaired phagocytosis by haemocytes. Incubation of the yeast in G. mellonella extracts also resulted in capsule enlargement, with the polar lipidic fraction having a prominent role in this effect. During infection, the capsule decreased in permeability. A low proportion of the cells (<5%) recovered from caterpillars measured more than 30 µm and were considered giant cells. Giant cells recovered from mice were able to kill the caterpillars in a manner similar to regular cells obtained from in vivo or grown in vitro, establishing their capacity to cause disease. Our results indicate that the morphological transitions exhibited by C. neoformans in mammals also occur in a non-vertebrate host system. The similarities in morphological transitions observed in different animal hosts and in their triggers are consistent with the hypothesis that the cell body and capsular responses represent an adaptation of environmental survival strategies to pathogenesis