Takotsubo cardiomyopathy as a complication of an epileptic status

Introducción. Las complicaciones cardiológicas son la causa más frecuente de mortalidad en el estado epiléptico. La miocardiopatía de Takotsubo es una entidad descrita recientemente, que puede aparecer en numerosas emergencias médicas, entre ellas el estado epiléptico. Caso clínico. Se presenta un caso de miocardiopatía de Takotsubo en el contexto de un estado epiléptico y se revisan casos similares descritos en la literatura científica, especialmente la semiología y etiología de las crisis epilépticas, los datos epidemiológicos de los enfermos, las alteraciones en el electrocardiograma y las complicaciones ocurridas. La paciente, una mujer de 43 años, se recuperó por completo tanto cardiológica como neurológicamente, y no tuvo recurrencias en un año de seguimiento. Conclusión. La miocardiopatía de Takotsubo es una complicación grave y tratable que puede ocurrir en el estado epilépticoIntroduction. Cardiological complications are the most frequent cause of mortality in the epileptic status. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a recently reported condition that can appear in a number of medical emergencies, including epileptic status. Case report. We present a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy within the context of an epileptic status and we also review similar cases reported in the literature. Special attention is given to the semiology and aetiology of the epileptic seizures, patients’ epidemiological data, the alterations noted in the electrocardiogram and the complications that occurred. The patient, a 43-year-old female, recovered completely both cardiologically and neurologically, and did not suffer any relapses during the one-year follow-up. Conclusion. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a severe, treatable complication that can occur in the epileptic statu

Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction Among New Users of Allopurinol According to Serum Urate Level: A Nested Case-Control Study

Abstract: Objectives: To test the hypothesis that allopurinol reduces the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in hyperuricemic patients and to assess whether the effect is dependent on dose, duration and serum uric acid (SUA) level attained after treatment. Methods: Nested case-control study over the period 2002?2015. From a cohort of patients aged 40?99 years old, we identified incident AMI cases and randomly selected five controls per case, matched for exact age, sex and index date. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% CI were computed through unconditional logistic regression. Only new users of allopurinol were considered. Results: A total of 4697 AMI cases and 18,919 controls were included. Allopurinol use was associated with a reduced risk of AMI mainly driven by duration of treatment (AOR ?180 days = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.60?0.84). Among long-term users (>180 days), the reduced risk was only observed when the SUA level attained was below 7 mg/dL (AOR7mg/dL = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.75?1.46; p for trend = 0.001). A dose-effect was observed but faded out once adjusted for the SUA level attained. The reduced risk of AMI occurred in both patients with gout and patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia. Conclusions: The results confirm a cardioprotective effect of allopurinol which is strongly dependent on duration and SUA level attained after treatment

History of the Spanish demersal fishery in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas

Long fisheries time series allow the review of baselines and inform our knowledge of past events that have conditioned the recent history of the stocks. In this study, we investigated trends in fisheries landings data for the most representative Atlantic and Mediterranean demersal fisheries off the Spanish Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands (1933–1986). The aim was to analyse the evolution of demersal species exploitation and detect changes in landings and fishing tactics. Ten species were selected, which included teleosts, crustaceans, and cephalopods. Results indicated a decrease in Landings Per Unit of Capacity (LPUC) in six of the species examined. While in the Atlantic the process of substitution or incorporation of new species to the fisheries occurs progressively, in the Mediterranean this incorporation occurs simultaneously for many of the species. Four main fishing tactics (landing pattern obtained from the classification analysis of landings per species) were identified. Geographically nearby and connected regions developed similar fishing tactics to each other, and also changed over time. While the fleets from isolated regions were more specialized, and only carrying out one fishing tactic during the study period. Improvements in LPUC with the implementation of new technology and legislative and management measures were not observed.Postprint2,27

High-resolution optical imaging of the core of the globular cluster M15 with FastCam

We present high-resolution I-band imaging of the core of the globular cluster M15 obtained at the 2.5 m Nordic Optical Telescope with FastCam, a low readout noise L3CCD based instrument. Short exposure times (30 ms) were used to record 200000 images (512 x 512 pixels each) over a period of 2 hours 43 min. The lucky imaging technique was then applied to generate a final image of the cluster centre with FWHM ~ 0".1 and 13" x 13" FoV. We obtained a catalogue of objects in this region with a limiting magnitude of I=19.5. I-band photometry and astrometry are reported for 1181 stars. This is the deepest I-band observation of the M15 core at this spatial resolution. Simulations show that crowding is limiting the completeness of the catalogue. At shorter wavelengths, a similar number of objects has been reported using HST/WFPC observations of the same field. The cross-match with the available HST catalogues allowed us to produce colour-magnitude diagrams where we identify new Blue Straggler star candidates and previously known stars of this class.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, MEDA: a suite of environmental sensors for the Mars 2020 mission

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Space science reviews. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-021-00816-9NASA’s Mars 2020 (M2020) rover mission includes a suite of sensors to monitor current environmental conditions near the surface of Mars and to constrain bulk aerosol properties from changes in atmospheric radiation at the surface. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) consists of a set of meteorological sensors including wind sensor, a barometer, a relative humidity sensor, a set of 5 thermocouples to measure atmospheric temperature at ~1.5 m and ~0.5 m above the surface, a set of thermopiles to characterize the thermal IR brightness temperatures of the surface and the lower atmosphere. MEDA adds a radiation and dust sensor to monitor the optical atmospheric properties that can be used to infer bulk aerosol physical properties such as particle size distribution, non-sphericity, and concentration. The MEDA package and its scientific purpose are described in this document as well as how it responded to the calibration tests and how it helps prepare for the human exploration of Mars. A comparison is also presented to previous environmental monitoring payloads landed on Mars on the Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, MSL, and InSight spacecraft.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Envelope Protein Ion Channel Activity Promotes Virus Fitness and Pathogenesis

Deletion of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) envelope (E) gene attenuates the virus. E gene encodes a small multifunctional protein that possesses ion channel (IC) activity, an important function in virus-host interaction. To test the contribution of E protein IC activity in virus pathogenesis, two recombinant mouse-adapted SARSCoVs, each containing one single amino acid mutation that suppressed ion conductivity, were engineered. After serial infections, mutant viruses, in general, incorporated compensatory mutations within E gene that rendered active ion channels. Furthermore, IC activity conferred better fitness in competition assays, suggesting that ion conductivity represents an advantage for the virus. Interestingly, mice infected with viruses displaying E protein IC activity, either with the wild-type E protein sequence or with the revertants that restored ion transport, rapidly lost weight and died. In contrast, mice infected with mutants lacking IC activity, which did not incorporate mutations within E gene during the experiment, recovered from disease and most survived. Knocking down E protein IC activity did not significantly affect virus growth in infected mice but decreased edema accumulation, the major determinant of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) leading to death. Reduced edema correlated with lung epithelia integrity and proper localization of Na+ /K+ ATPase, which participates in edema resolution. Levels of inflammasome-activated IL-1b were reduced in the lung airways of the animals infected with viruses lacking E protein IC activity, indicating that E protein IC function is required for inflammasome activation. Reduction of IL-1b was accompanied by diminished amounts of TNF and IL-6 in the absence of E protein ion conductivity. All these key cytokines promote the progression of lung damage and ARDS pathology. In conclusion, E protein IC activity represents a new determinant for SARS-CoV virulence

Molecular Pathways Leading to Induction of Cell Death and Anti-Proliferative Properties by Tacrolimus and mTOR Inhibitors in Liver Cancer Cells

[Background/Aims] Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the recommended treatment for patients at early stages of hepatocarcinoma (HCC) with portal hypertension and/or increased bilirubinemia, but without vascular-associated diseases. Tumor recurrence, which is the main drawback for the survival of patients submitted to OLT for HCC, has been related to tumor-related variables and the immunosuppressive therapies. We have previously shown that Tacrolimus (FK506) exerts a more potent pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects than the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors (Sirolimus and Everolimus) in liver cancer cells. This study identified the role of the immunosuppressant partners such as FK506-binding proteins (FKBPs) in the induction of cell death and arrest of cell proliferation by immunosuppressants in two representative liver cancer cells.[Methods] The regulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, apoptosis/autophagy, cell proliferation, and FKBPs expression was determined in Tacrolimus-, Sirolimus- and Everolimus-treated primary human hepatocytes, and hepatoma HepG2 and Huh7 cell lines. The functional repercussion of FKBPs on cell death and proliferation was also addressed using the siRNA technology. The assessed antitumoral properties of the immunosuppressants were associated to microRNAs (miRNAs) pattern.[Results] The enhanced pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative properties of Tacrolimus versus mTOR inhibitors were associated with increased protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK)-related ER stress, Ser15P-p53/p53 ratio and p21 protein expression that may counterbalance the risk of proliferative upregulation caused by enhanced Thr172P-Cdk4/Cdk4 activation in liver cancer cells. The inhibition of the mTOR pathway by Sirolimus and Everolimus was related to an induction of autophagy; and at a high dose, these drugs impaired translation likely at a very early step of the elongation phase. Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors increased the protein expression of FKBP12 and FKBP51 that appeared to play pro-survival role. Interestingly, the administration of immunosuppressants yields a specific pattern of miRNAs. Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors decreased miR-92a-1-5p, miR-197-3p, miR-483-3p and miR-720, and increased miR-22-3p, miR-376a-3p, miR-663b, miR-886-5p, miR-1300 and miR-1303 expressions in HepG2 cells.[Conclusion] The more potent pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative properties of Tacrolimus versus mTOR inhibitors were associated with an increased activation of PERK and p53 signaling, and p21 protein expression. FKBP12 and FKBP51 appeared to be the most relevant partners of Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors exerting a pro-survival effect in HepG2 cells. The observed effects of immunosuppressants were related to a specific miRNA signature in liver cancer cells.We thank the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCiii) cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund “A way to achieve Europe” (ERDF) (PI13/00021, P16/00090 and PI19/01266), as well as the Andalusian Ministry of the Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment (CTS-6264) and Andalusian Ministry of Health (PI13/00025, PI16/0198, PIP-0215-2020 and PI-0216-2020) for their financial support to J.M. We also thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) cofinanced by the ERDF (BFU2016-75352-P AEI/FEDER, EU) for their financial support to J.d.l.C. We thank Biomedical Research Network Center for Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBERehd) founded by the ISCiii and cofinanced by the ERDF for their financial support. E.N-V. acknowledges IFI18/00014 fellowship from the ISCiii. P.d.l.C-O. acknowledges FPU17/00026 fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education (MEC). L.C. acknowledges FPU16/05127 fellowship from the MEC