Acute Colchicine-induced Neuromyopathy in a Patient Treated With Atorvastatin and Clarithromycin

Neuromyopathy is a rare side effect of chronic colchicine therapy, especially without renal impairment. Drugs interacting with colchicine metabolism through CYP3A4 can accelerate accumulation and toxicity. We describe a case of an interaction between atorvastatin, clarithromycin and colchicine resulting in acute neuromyopathy. Learning points: Colchicine has a narrow therapeutic window, and therefore, often produces side effects.Special caution should be adopted if patients with renal disease and concomitant medications are given colchicine.Before prescribing colchicine, the clinical history, including previous medications and conditions, should be carefully considered

Radiation damping for rigid foundations. Approximate expressions

The dynamic response of machine foundations was one of the first problems studied in soil dynamics with results going back to the 1930s. A number of approximations and graphical results were proposed in the 60s. In this paper we present a series of approximate expressions for the natural frequencies and effective damping of rigid masses on the surface of an elastic half space subjected to both vertical and coupled horizontal-rocking harmonic excitations. The formulas are obtained using the approximate expressions for the dynamic stiffness of circular foundations suggested by Veletsos et al [1, 2] for two different values of Poisson’s ratio of the soil. For the vertical case the expressions are only a function of the mass ratio (ratio of the mass of the foundation to an effective mass of soil) and of Poisson’s ratio. For the horizontal-rocking case they depend also on the ratio of the height of the foundation to its equivalent radius (a slenderness ratio)

Osteochemonecrosis of the jaws due to bisphosphonate treatments : update

Bisphosphonates (BP),were initially used in industry and later as a drug due to their great affinity to osseous tissue, because of their powerful antiresorptive effect as a treatment in various osteopathies, such as osteoporosis, Paget disease or hypercalcemia associated with some malignant tumors, as myeloma or breast cancer. They are administered orally or intravenously, and although well tolerated, the most frequent side effects are gastrointestinal, in addition to osteonecrosis when they are administered via endovenous. The aim of this work has been to evaluate the existing publications in accredited scientific literature on biphosphonates and their action mechanism and the relationship with the appearance of osteonecrosis of the jaws. Although the mechanism by which osteonecrosis of the jaws develops is not known exactly, there seems to be influence by osteoclast inhibiton, antiangiogenic action, an inhibitory effect on the cellular cycle by the keratinocytes, as well as, reinforcement of the chemiotoxic action in oncological patients treated with other drugs. Clinically, it ranges from a non-specificity of symptoms to lesions such as osteomyelitis with necrosis and osseous sequesters that may be accompanied by fetor ex oris, with the appearance of many Actinomyces contaminated lesions. As for published antecedents on osteonecrosis due to bisphosphonate treatment found until 2006: 46.5% had a previous diagnosis of multiple myeloma; 38.8% were patients with metastatic breast cancer; 6.2% patients of metastatic prostate cancer; 4.1% suffered from osteoporosis; 3.5% from other metastatic diseases and 0.8% had Paget disease. The drugs that seem to have the highest incidence of osteochemionecrosis are: zoledronate, pamidronate, alendronate, risendronate and ibandronate, from the greatest to the least. Additionally, the risk of osteonecrosis being produced is accumulative and may reach 21% in the third year of intravenous bisphosphonate use

Las habilidades metacomprensivas dependen del tipo de texto: un análisis desde el Funcionamiento Diferencial de los Ítems.

Background: Metacomprehension skills determine an individual reader’s ability to judge their degree of learning and text comprehension and have considerable importance in their ability to learn from reading. Given that many comprehension processes are influenced by text characteristics, the aim of the present study was to analyze whether different types of text have significant impact on metacomprehension skills at two different points in primary education. Method: A total of 823 students (4th and 6th years of primary school, 9 to 11 years old) read three different texts (narrative, expository and discontinuous texts) taken from ECOM-PLEC.Pri, a standardized Spanish test for reading comprehension (León, Escudero, & Olmos, 2012). Students were classified by their metacomprehension skills. A Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis was conducted in order to analyze whether the underlying reading comprehension and metacomprehension processes differed across text types. Results: Results showed a considerable divergence of performance for reading narrative texts as opposed to expository and discontinuous texts. These differences were related to academic level. Conclusion: Text characteristics such as the type of text can have a great impact on metacomprehension skills and, consequently, on learning.Antecedentes: la metacomprensión supone la habilidad que uno mismo posee para juzgar su grado de aprendizaje y comprensión de un texto, adquiriendo una gran importancia en la comprensión lectora. Dado que los procesos de comprensión se encuentran infl uenciados por las características de los textos, el objetivo de este estudio fue analizar si diferentes tipos de texto afectan de manera signifi cativa a la habilidad metacomprensiva de estudiantes de distintos niveles de Educación Primaria. Método: un total de 823 estudiantes de 4º y 6º de Primaria (9 y 11 años) leyeron tres textos diferentes (narrativo, expositivo y discontinuo) tomados de la prueba estandarizada de comprensión lectora ECOMPLEC.Pri (León, Escudero, y Olmos, 2012). Los estudiantes fueron clasifi cados por su nivel de metacomprensión obtenido en la prueba. Un Análisis Diferencial del Ítem (DIF) se aplicó para analizar si los procesos de comprensión lectora y de metacomprensión difi eren entre tipos de texto y niveles académicos de los participantes. Resultados: los resultados mostraron una notable divergencia en el rendimiento metacognitivo del texto narrativo frente a los textos expositivo y discontinuo. Estas diferencias estaban relacionadas con el nivel académico. Conclusión: el tipo de texto puede tener un gran impacto en las habilidades de metacomprensión y, consecuentemente, en el aprendizaje de textosThis study was supported by Grant PSI2013-47219-P from the Ministry of Economic and Competitive (MINECO) of Spain, and European Union

Can personality traits be measured analyzing written language? a meta-analytic study on computational methods

In the last two decades, empirical evidence has shown that personality traits could be related to the characteristics of written language. This study describes a meta-analysis that synthesizes 23 independent estimates of the correlations between the Big Five major personality traits, and some computationally obtained indicators from written language. The results show significant combined estimates of the correlations, albeit small to moderate according to Cohen's conventions to interpret effect sizes, for the five traits (between r = 0.26 for agreeableness and neuroticism, and 0.30 for openness). These estimates are moderated by the type of information in the texts, the use of prediction mechanisms, and the source of publication of the primary studies. Generally, the same effective moderators operate for the five traits. It is concluded that written language analyzed through computational methods could be used to extract relevant information of personality. But further research is still needed to consider it as predictive or explanatory tool for individual difference

Sarcopenic osteoporosis, sarcopenic obesity, and sarcopenic osteoporotic obesity in the Camargo cohort (Cantabria, Spain)

Summary The associations of sarcopenia with osteoporosis or obesity have a very low prevalence. No trend towards an association between osteoporosis and sarcopenia is observed. Sarcopenia and obesity tend not to coincide, as if they were antagonistic disorders. Purpose To know (a) the prevalence in our region of sarcopenic osteoporosis (association of sarcopenia and osteoporosis (T-score<2.5)), sarcopenic obesity, and the association of osteoporosis, sarcopenia, and obesity; (b) the tendency of osteoporosis, sarcopenia, and obesity to associate with each other; and (c) the bone mineral density (BMD), the components of sarcopenia, and the prevalence of fragility fractures in these associations. Methods The study was performed in the Camargo cohort. Osteoporosis was diagnosed by DXA, sarcopenia by the EWGSOP-1 criteria, and obesity by body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage. Fractures were verified radiographically or by consulting the medical records. Results The prevalence of sarcopenic osteoporosis was 2.8% and the OR for this association 1.03 (p=0.89). The prevalence of sarcopenic obesity by BMI was 1.4% and by fat percentage 5.9% (corresponding ORs: 0.18 (p<0.0001) and 0.58 (p<0.003) respectively). The prevalence of the association of osteoporosis, sarcopenia, and obesity was 0.0% when assessed by BMI and 0.8% when assessed by fat percentage. Patients with sarcopenic osteoporosis have less muscle mass and more fragility fractures than sarcopenic patients overall. In patients with sarcopenic obesity by fat percentage, muscle mass and strength, as well as physical performance, were similar to those of sarcopenic patients overall. Neither BMD nor fracture prevalence showed differences between patients with sarcopenic obesity and patients with sarcopenia or obesity in general. Conclusion Our study supports the idea that the prevalence of the mixed disorders studied is low. No significant association between osteoporosis and sarcopenia was found. Sarcopenia and obesity seem to tend to occur in different people, as if suffering from one of them hinders suffering from the other.Funding: Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This study was funded by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI18/00762), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain, which included FEDER funds from the EU

La problemática génesis y tradición epigráfica del epitaphium sepulcrale del corazón de Alfonso X en la Catedral de Murcia (1526-1527)

This paper aims to show the first study of the epitaphium sepulcrale of Alfonso X’s heart made up of an epigraphic methodology that answers the questions yet unresolved about its authenticity and the process of elaboration of this inscription. In addition, we historically contextualize the work to know the reasons that determined its creation and the political and symbolic use of it to transform a sacred space, the main altar of the Cathedral of Murcia, into a space of power reserved for the monarchy.En este trabajo presentamos el primer estudio del epitaphium sepulcrale de las entrañas de Alfonso X desde una metodología epigráfica que responda a las cuestiones que quedaban sin resolver sobre su autenticidad y sobre el proceso de elaboración de esta inscripción. Además, contextualizamos históricamente la obra para conocer los factores que determinaron su creación y el uso político y simbólico de la misma para transformar un espacio sagrado, el altar mayor de la Catedral de Murcia, en un espacio de poder reservado a la monarquía

Desastres Tecnológicos: Estilo Atribucional y Estrés Postraumático

En este trabajo se ha pretendido estudiar la respuesta atribucional, relacionándola con la presencia del síndrome de estrés post-traudtico en sujetos danmificados por las explosiones de gasolina de la ciudad de Guadalajara (México) acaecidas el 22 de abril de 1992. Para ello se dispuso de una muestra de sujetos damnificados y otra que se utilizó como grupo control, evaluándose los anteriores rasgos en ambos grupos. Los resultados indican una escasa presencia de estrés post-traudtico en la muestra de damnificados, usí como una relación estadísticamente no significativa entre esa variable y el componente intemalista del locus de control. En general, se obtuvo una clara tendencia en todos los sujetos hacia el internalismo, siendo más intensa en el grupo de sujetos control; lo cual parece congruente con resultados anteriores obtenidos en muestras sometidas a este tipo de desastres

Bone turnover markers in Spanish adult men The Camargo Cohort Study

BACKGROUND. This cross-sectional study was performed to determine the reference ranges for two bone turnover markers -aminoterminal propeptide of type I collagen (P1NP) and C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (-CTX)- in normal adult Spanish men as measured in serum by automated methods. METHODS. A community-based population of 660 healthy men ≥ 50 years was evaluated. Fasting serum levels of P1NP, -CTX, 25-hydroxivitamin D, and intact parathyroid hormone were measured on the Elecsys 2010 automated analyzer (Roche). BMD at lumbar spine, femoral neck and total hip was determined by DXA. RESULTS. Mean age of participants was 65±9 yrs. Logarithmic transformation of both markers was performed to allow for normal distribution. Mid-95% ranges for P1NP and -CTX were 15-78 ng/ml and 0.069-0.760 ng/ml, respectively. Median and interquartile range of serum P1NP and -CTX were 33.5 [25.5;44.4] ng/ml and 0.27 [0.19;0.38] ng/ml, respectively. Mean values of P1NP (37.1±16.7 ng/ml) were similar to those previously described. -CTX mean values (0.300±0.171 ng/ml) were also similar to those quoted by the manufacturers in men younger than 70 yrs, but slightly lower than those reported in subjects older than 70 yrs. Both markers were higher among osteoporotic men. After excluding from the analysis those men who were found to have BMD below -2.5 T-score, 25OHD serum level below 30 ng/ml or serum PTH above 65 pg/ml, P1NP and -CTX ranges were 17-71 ng/ml and 0.070- 0.681 ng/ml, again respectively. CONCLUSIONS. Values obtained from this well-characterized population study provide reference ranges for serum automated P1NP and -CTX in normal Spanish adult men