Josep de Togores, una personalitat cinematográfica

José de Togores Muntadas, nació en 1868. Era un hombre culto, inquieto y con una gran capacidad creativa. Era aficionado al deporte, siendo socio colaborador del semanario El Mundo Deportivo. Después de algunos negocios sin éxito,Togores encontró en el mundo cinematográfico un camino que encajaba con su personalidad. El primer gran estreno fue La festa del blat (1914) producida por la Condor Films. Después de este éxito,Togores continuó dirigiendo películas hasta 1917, y su estilo fue clasificado como drama ((a la italianas,. Esta concepción se incrementó con la incorporación de Giovanni Doria a su equipo de trabajo. Las obras con un coste de producción más elevado, las realizó con la Segre Films. Bajo esta casa productora,Togores dirigió ocho películas. No todas obtuvieron el éxito esperado, pero sí ayudaron a relacionar al director catalán con las grandes producciones. En la película El cuervo del campamento (1915) compartió la dirección artística con Fructuós Gelabert. En Amor de pescadora (1915) contó con la actuación de reconocidos artistas. Pero fue Un sólo corazón (1 91 5), la película que causó más impresión en el mundo cinematográfico. Fue protagonizada por el matrimonio Guerrero-Mendoza, y se consagró como el negocio más brillante que consiguieron los anales cinematográficos de España hasta aquel momento. En algunos artículos,Togores manifestó la gran oportunidad que tenía el cine español durante los años bélicos desencadenados por la Primera Guerra Mundial. Creía que los directores españoles debían dar pruebas de vitalidad, produciendo una colección de cintas que pudieran sustituir la carencia absoluta de películas extranjeras. La última gran producción de Togores en la Segre, fue El sello de oro (1916), protagonizada por la eminente bailarina Stasia Napierkowska. La carrera profesional de Togores con la productora Emporium Films empezó con Flor del arroyo (1916), y terminó con Elsecreto delmar(l916). Con esta película, la Emporium dejó de existir. La úItima,y elúnico film conservado del director, fue El Golfo (1917), producida por la manufactura Dessy Martos. Su estreno no se produjo hasta 1919, y significó la ruptura definitiva del tándem Togores-Doria,y también la desaparición de Togores como director de cine, tras dirigir dieciseis películas. El mundo cinematográfico aportó más dificultades que beneficios a la familia. La situación económica de Togores era precaria y decidió reunirse con su hijo pintor en París. Tras soportar una grave enfermedad se trasladó a Saint-Tropez donde falleció en 1926.Josep de Togores, born in 1868, combined a certain cultural refinement with an inquisitive, restless nature. His passion for sport led to his founding, together with a number of associates, the sports paper, El Mundo Deportivo. Following several unsuccessful business ventures, Togores was to find an outlet for his creative talents in the world of cinema. His triumphant debut was La festa del blat (1914) produced by Condor Films. Working in thestyle of ltalian drama, it was to mark the beginning of a close association with Giovanni Doria. Togores' big budget films were made for Segre films. In all, the partnership was to result in eight films and while not al1 were successful, his name was to become associated with ambitious productions. In the 191 5 production of El cuervo del Campamento his codirector was Fructuós Gelabert; while he had the opportunity to work with several distinguished actors of the day in Amor de pescadora (1915). But, perhaps it was Un sólo corazón (1915) which was to have the greatest impact on the film world; starring the marriedcouple Guerrero and Mendoza, it was the most successful Spanish film to have then been released. In a number of articles Togores wrote about the opportunities for Spanish film during the First World War, emphasising the need for Spanish directors to take the initiative and fill the space left by the dearth of films being made abroad. Togores' last film for Segre was El sello de oro (1916), featuring the prima ballerina, Stasia Napierkowska. He moved studios and started to work for Emporium Films, where his first film was Flor del arroyo (1916) while his last, Elsecreto delmar (l916), was, however, to spell the end for Emporium films. His last film, and the only one to survive until today, was Elgolfo (1917) produced by Dessy Martos. The film was not shown until 1919 but it meant the definitive split with Doria, and also the end of Togores' career as a director, having directed sixteen films. The filmbusiness was, however, to bring more problems than benefits to his family and in dire financia1 straits he moved to live with his son, a painter, in Paris. Following a serious illness he moved to Saint Tropez where he was to die in 1926

Quality of Life Considerations on Fecal Incontinence

Traditionally, it has been assumed that tests like anorectal manometry and endoanal ultrasound are essential in the evaluation of fecal incontinence (FI). However, in daily practice, this testing rarely helps in the decision-making, as are mainly based on the patient’s symptoms. Moreover, indications and outcome evaluation should not be decided by only considering the symptom severity but the impact on QoL and patient satisfaction. Nowadays, patients tend to be active consumers of health care, so they may participate on the medical decision-making. On the other hand, monitoring treatment results are mandatory in current practice. Finally, considering the cost of some of the current treatments for FI, changes in QoL should be demonstrated before implementing some procedures. For all these reasons, the QoL scales should be used, and readers encouraged to become familiar with QoL instruments and their limitations. The following chapter will cover almost all areas on existing knowledge about QoL in patients with FI: from how many types of QOL scales have been described, to the different ways to measure our patients’ satisfaction, passing through the difference between severity and QOL, going deep on if the improvement of patients treated for FI is reflected enough in the current used QOL scales

Quality of Life Differences in Female and Male Patients with Fecal Incontinence

To explore and compare quality of life (QoL) differences in female and male patients with fecal incontinence. Ninety-one patients with fecal incontinence (60 women, mean (SD) age 64.13 (9.72) years; 31 men, mean (SD) age 63.61 (13.33) years) were assessed for pathophysiology (anorectal manometry and ultrasound), clinical severity (Wexner and Vaizey scales), QoL (Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Score [FIQL]) and health status (EQ-5D). External and internal anal sphincter impairment rates were 96.5% and 70.2%, respectively, in women, compared to 30% and 43.3% respectively in men (P < 0.05). Clinical severity was similar in both sexes, with mean (SD) Wexner scores of 10.95 (4.35) for women and 9.81 (4.30) for men, and mean (SD) Vaizey scores of 13.27 (4.66) for women and 11.90 (5.22) for men. Scores for women were significantly lower for all FIQL depression and coping subscales (P < 0.001) and the EQ-5D depression subscale (P < 0.01). EQ-5D index was 0.687 (0.20) for women and 0.835 (0.15) for men (P < 0.001). QoL was negatively affected by female gender (−1.336), anxiety/depression (−1.324) and clinical severity (−0.302), whereas age had a positive impact (0.055 per year) (P < 0.01). The pathophysiology of fecal incontinence differed between the sexes. For similar severity scores, impact on QoL was higher in women. Gender had the highest impact on QoL compared to other factors. QoL measurements should be part of assessment and treatment protocols

Critical appraisal of international guidelines for the management of fecal incontinence in adults: is it possible to define what to do in different clinical scenarios?

Faecal incontinence; Treatment algorithm; Guidelines; ReviewIncontinencia fecal; Algoritmo de tratamiento; Guias; RevisiónIncontinència fecal; Algorisme de tractament; Guies; RevisióFecal incontinence (FI) is a complex often multifactorial functional disorder which is associated with a significant impact on patients’ quality of life. There is a broad spectrum of symptoms, and degrees of severity and diverse patient backgrounds. Several treatment algorithms from different professional societies and experts are available in the literature. However, no consensus has been reached on several aspects of FI management. We performed a critical review of the most recently pub- lished guidelines on FI, emphasising the lack of consensus, highlighting specific topics mentioned in each of the guidelines that are not covered in the others and defining the treatment proposed in different clinical scenarios

Bgs4 is essential for cytokinesis and cell growth

[EN]Schizosaccharomyces pombe contains four putative (1,3)β-D-glucan synthase (GS) catalytic subunits, Bgs1p to Bgs4p. In this work, we cloned bgs4+ and show that Bgs4p is the only subunit 1) essential for maintaining cell integrity during both cytokinesis and polarized growth, and 2) found to be part of the GS enzyme. Here we show that bgs4+, cwg1+ (cwg1-1 shows reduced cell-wall β-glucan and GS catalytic activity) and orb11+ (orb11-59 is defective in cell morphogenesis) are the same gene. bgs4+ is essential during spore germination. bgs4+ shut-off produces cell lysis at growing poles and mainly at the septum prior to cytokinesis, suggesting that Bgs4p is essential for cell wall growth and for compensating an excess of cell wall degradation during cytokinesis. Shut-off and overexpression analysis suggest that 1) Bgs4p forms part of a GS catalytic multiprotein complex, and 2) Bgs4p-promoted cell-wall β-glucan alterations induce compensatory mechanisms from other Bgs subunits and (1,3)α-D-glucan synthase. Physiological localization studies showed that Bgs4p localizes to the growing ends, the medial ring and septum, and in each process of wall synthesis or remodeling that occurs during sexual differentiation: mating, zygote and spore formation, and spore germination. Bgs4p timing and requirements for proper positioning during cytokinesis and its localization pattern during spore maturation differ from those of Bgs1p. Bgs4p localizes overlapping the contractile ring once Bgs1p is present and a Calcofluor white-stained septum material is detected, suggesting that Bgs4p is involved in a late process of secondary or general septum synthesis. Unlike Bgs1p, Bgs4p needs the medial ring but not the Septation Initiation Network proteins to localize with the other septation components. Furthermore, Bgs4p localization depends on the polarity establishment proteins. Finally, F-actin is necessary for Bgs4p delocalization from and relocalization to the growing regions, but it is not needed for its stable maintenance at the growing sites, poles and septum. All these data show for the first time an essential role for a Bgs subunit in the synthesis of a (1,3)β-D-glucan necessary to preserve cell integrity when cell wall synthesis or repair are needed

An optimized immunohistochemistry technique improves NMO-IgG detection: study comparison with cell-based assays

Cell-based assays (CBA) have increased the sensitivity of the neuromyelitis optica (NMO)-IgG/aquaporin-4-antibody detection compared to classical tissue-based indirect assays. We describe the sensitivity of an optimized immunohistochemistry (IHC-o) to detect NMO-IgG/aquaporin-4-antibody in comparison with that of two CBA: an in-house (CBA-ih) and a commercial (CBA-c) assay (Euroimmun, Germany). Coded serum from 103 patients with definite NMO and 122 inflammatory controls were studied by IHC-o, CBA-ih, and CBA-c. IHC-o used the same protocol described to detect antibodies against cell surface antigens. CBA-ih used live cells transfected with the aquaporin-4-M23-isoform. The sensitivity of the IHC-o was 74.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 65-83) and was similar to that of the CBA-ih 75.7% (95% CI 66-84) and the CBA-c 73.8% (95% CI 64-82). The specificity of the three assays was 100% (95% CI 97-100). Interassay concordance was high, 100 of 103 samples were coincident in all techniques. The optimized immunohistochemistry proves to be as sensitive and specific as the cell-based assays. This assay extends the available tools for NMO-IgG/aquaporin-4-antibody detection

Influence of corpus callosum damage on cognition and physical disability in multiple sclerosis: a multimodal study.

Background Corpus callosum (CC) is a common target for multiple sclerosis (MS) pathology. We investigated the influence of CC damage on physical disability and cognitive dysfunction using a multimodal approach. Methods Twenty-one relapsing-remitting MS patients and 13 healthy controls underwent structural MRI and diffusion tensor of the CC (fractional anisotropy; mean diffusivity, MD; radial diffusivity, RD; axial diffusivity). Interhemisferic transfer of motor inhibition was assessed by recording the ipsilateral silent period (iSP) to transcranial magnetic stimulation. We evaluated cognitive function using the Brief Repeatable Battery and physical disability using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the MS Functional Composite (MSFC) z-score. Results The iSP latency correlated with physical disability scores (r ranged from 0.596 to 0.657, P values from 0.004 to 0.001), and with results of visual memory (r = −0.645, P = 0.002), processing speed (r = −0.51, P = 0.018) and executive cognitive domain tests (r = −0.452, P = 0.039). The area of the rostrum correlated with the EDSS (r = −0.442, P = 0.045). MD and RD correlated with cognitive performance, mainly with results of visual and verbal memory tests (r ranged from −0.446 to −0.546, P values from 0.048 to 0.011). The iSP latency correlated with CC area (r = −0.345, P = 0.049), volume (r = −0.401, P = 0.002), MD (r = 0.404, P = 0.002) and RD (r = 0.415, P = 0.016). Conclusions We found evidence for structural and microstructural CC abnormalities associated with impairment of motor callosal inhibitory conduction in MS. CC damage may contribute to cognitive dysfunction and in less extent to physical disability likely through a disconnection mechanism

Blood test dynamics in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: Potential utility of D-dimer for pulmonary embolism diagnosis

Background: A higher incidence of thrombotic events, mainly pulmonary embolism (PE), has been reported in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The main objective was to assess clinical and laboratory differences in hospitalized COVID-19 patients according to occurrence of PE. Methods: This retrospective study included all consecutive patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who underwent a computed tomography (CT) angiography for PE clinical suspicion. Clinical data and median blood test results distributed into weekly periods from COVID-19 symptoms onset, were compared between PE and non-PE patients. Results: Ninety-two patients were included, 29 (32%) had PE. PE patients were younger (63.9 (SD 13.7) vs 69.9 (SD 12.5) years). Clinical symptoms and COVID-19 CT features were similar in both groups. PE was diagnosed after a mean of 20.0 (SD 8.6) days from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. Corticosteroid boluses were more frequently used in PE patients (62% vs. 43%). No patients met ISTH DIC criteria. Any parameter was statistically significant or clinically relevant except for D-Dimer when comparing both groups. Median values [IQR] of D-dimer in PE vs non-PE patients were: week 2 (2010.7 [770.1-11208.9] vs 626.0 [374.0-2382.2]; p = 0.004); week 3 (3893.1 [1388.2-6694.0] vs 1184.4 [461.8-2447.8]; p = 0.003); and week 4 (2736.3 [1202.1-8514.1] vs 1129.1 [542.5-2834.6]; p = 0.01). Median fold-increase of D-dimer between week 1 and 2 differed between groups (6.64 [3.02-23.05] vs 1.57 [0.64-2.71], p = 0.003); ROC curve AUC was 0.879 (p = 0.003) with a sensitivity and specificity for PE of 86% and 80%, respectively. Conclusions: Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, D-dimer levels are higher at weeks 2, 3 and 4 after COVID-19 symptom onset in patients who develop PE. This difference is more pronounced when the fold increase between weeks 1 and 2 is compared

Vitamin C deficiency in critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care unit

COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia; Vitamin CCOVID-19; Neumonía por SARS-CoV-2; Vitamina CCOVID-19; Pneumònia per SARS-CoV-2; Vitamina CObjectives: To determine vitamin C plasma kinetics, through the measurement of vitamin C plasma concentrations, in critically ill Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, identifying eventually the onset of vitamin C deficiency. Design: Prospective, observational, single-center study. Setting: Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona. Study period from November 12th, 2020, to February 24th, 2021. Patients: Patients who had a severe hypoxemic acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19 were included. Interventions: Plasma vitamin C concentrations were measured on days 1, 5, and 10 of ICU admission. There were no vitamin C enteral nor parenteral supplementation. The supportive treatment was performed following the standard of care or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients. Measurement: Plasma vitamin C concentrations were analyzed using an ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) system with a photodiode array detector (wavelength set to 245 nm). We categorized plasmatic levels of vitamin C as follows: undetectable: 5 mg/L). Main results: Forty-three patients were included (65% men; mean age 62 ± 10 years). The median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 3 (1–4), and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health disease Classification System (APACHE II) score was 13 (10–22). Five patients had shock. Bacterial coinfection was documented in 7 patients (16%). Initially all patients required high-flow oxygen therapy, and 23 (53%) further needed invasive mechanical ventilation during 21 (± 10) days. The worst PaO2/FIO2 registered was 93 (± 29). ICU and hospital survival were 77 and 74%, respectively. Low or undetectable levels remained constant throughout the study period in the vast majority of patients. Conclusion: This observational study showed vitamin C plasma levels were undetectable on ICU admission in 86% of patients with acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19 pneumonia requiring respiratory support. This finding remained consistent throughout the study period