Recensiones [Revista de Historia Económica Año VII Otoño 1989 n. 3 pp. 727-757]

Antoni Segura i Mas (coord.). El Catastro en España, vol. I (1714-1906) (Por Francisco Comín).-- Antonia Heredia Herrera. Sevilla y los hombres del Comercio (1700-1800) (Por Andrés J. Moreno Mengíbar).-- Pedro Tedde de Lorca. El Banco de San Carlos (1782-1829 (Por Javier Cuenca Esteban).-- José Ramón García López. El Banco de Oviedo, 1864-1874 (Por José Luis García Ruiz).-- Enrique Prieto. Agricultura y atraso en la España contemporánea. Estudio sobre el desarrollo del Capitalismo (Por Carlos Barciela López).-- Mª Asunción Sivera Tejerina. Los cambios técnicos de la agricultura en el término rural de Málaga: siglos XVIII-XX (Por Juan Francisco Zambrana Pineda).-- Pablo Martín Aceña. La política monetaria en España, 1919-1935 (Por M. Cruz Manzano Frias).-- Carles Sudria i Triay. Una societat plenament industrial, vol. 4 de Historia Económica de la Catalunya Contemporánia (Por Gabriel Tortella).-- CH. S. Maier. La refundación de la Europa burguesa. Estabilización en Francia, Alemania e Italia en la década posterior a la Primera Guerra Mundial y In Search of Stability Explorations in Historical Political Economy (Por Mercedes Cabrera).-- Michael Sandersona. Eductttional Opportunity and Social Change in England (Por Clara Eugenia Núñez)Publicad

Long-term results of heart transplant in recipients older and younger than 65 years: a comparative study of mortality, rejections, and neoplasia in a cohort of 445 patients

[Resumen] Background. Whether being older than 65 years should be considered an absolute counterindication to heart transplant (HT), as it is in some centers, is controversial. In our centre, patients older than 65 years are accepted for HT if they satisfy stringent conditions. The aim of this study was to examine whether heart recipients older than 65 years have a greater risk of rejection, neoplasia, or mortality than younger ones. Methods. We studied 445 patients who underwent HT between April 1991 and December 2003, 42 of whom were older than 65 years and 403 who were 65 years or younger. The parameters evaluated were the cumulative incidences of neoplasias and rejections (ISHLT grade ≥ 3A), and the survival rates 1 month, 1 year, and 5 years post-HT. Results. The two groups had similar percentages of patients with at least one rejection episode (≤65 years 56.9%, >65 years 51.3%; P > .05), and although there were proportionally almost twice as many tumors in the older group (14.2%) as in the younger (7.9%), this difference was not statistically significant either. Nor were there any significant differences in survival, the 1-month, 1-year, and 5-year rates being 87.8%, 82.1%, and 68.8%, respectively, in the younger group and 85.7%, 78.6%, and 73.4%, respectively, in the older. Conclusions. Among carefully selected patients aged more than 65 years, HT can be performed without incurring greater risk of rejection, malignancy, or death than is found among recipients younger than 65 years

ATLAS TileCal read-out driver system production and initial performance results

8 pages, 9 figures.-- ISI Article Identifier: 000251744500005The ATLAS Hadronic Tile Calorimeter detector (TileCal) is an iron-scintillating tiles sampling calorimeter designed to operate at the Large Hadron Collider accelerator at CERN. The central element of the back-end system of the TileCal detector is a 9U VME Read-Out Driver (ROD) board. The operation of the TileCal calorimeter requires a total of 32 ROD boards. This paper summarizes the tests performed during the ROD production and the results obtained. Data processing is performed in the ROD by digital signal processors, whose operation is based on the use of online algorithms such as the optimal filtering algorithm for the signal amplitude, pedestal and time reconstruction and the online Muon tagging algorithm which identifies low transverse momentum muons. The initial performance of both algorithms run during commissioning is also presented in this paper.This work was supported by the Spanish Technology and Science Commission under project FPA2003-09220-C02-02.Peer reviewe

Algorithms for the ROD DSP of the ATLAS hadronic Tile Calorimeter

10 pages, 10 figures.-- ISI Article Identifier: 000253651100003.Final full-text version available at: http://ific.uv.es/tical/doc/2007_02_12_JINST_2_T02001.pdfIn this paper we present the performance of two algorithms currently running in the Tile Calorimeter Read-Out Driver boards for the commissioning of ATLAS. The first algorithm presented is the so called Optimal Filtering. It reconstructs the deposited energy in the Tile Calorimeter and the arrival time of the data. The second algorithm is the MTag which tags low transverse momentum muons that may escape the ATLAS muon spectrometer first level trigger.Comparisons between online (inside the Read-Out Drivers) and offline implementations are done with an agreement around 99% for the reconstruction of the amplitude using the Optimal Filtering algorithm and a coincidende of 93% between the offline and online tagged muons for the MTag algorithm. The processing time is measured for both algorithms running together with a resulting time of 59.2 μs which, although above the 10 μs of the first level trigger, it fulfills the requirements of the commissioning trigger (~ 1 Hz). We expect further optimizations of the algorithms which will reduce their processing time below 10 μs.The authors acknowledge the help of Oleg Solovyanov, Giulio Usai, Sasha Solodkov, Tomas Davidek and the whole TileCal community.Peer reviewe

Rise and demise of the global silver standard

In the early modern period, the world economy gravitated around the expansion of long-distance commerce. Together with navigation improvements, silver was the prime commodity which moved the sails of such trade. The disparate availability and the particular demand for silver across the globe determined the participation of producers, consumers, and intermediaries in a growing global economy. American endowments of silver are a known feature of this process; however, the fact that the supply of silver was in the form of specie is a less known aspect of the integration of the global economy. This chapter surveys the production and export of silver specie out of Spanish America, its intermediation by Europeans, and the reexport to Asia. It describes how the sheer volume produced and the quality and consistency of the coin provided familiarity with, and reliability to, the Spanish American peso which made it current in most world markets. By the eighteenth century, it has become a currency standard for the international economy which grew together with the production and coinage of silver. Implications varied according to the institutional settings to deal with specie and foreign exchange in each intervening economy of that trade. Generalized warfare in late eighteenth-century Europe brought down governance in Spanish America and coinage fragmented along with the political fragmentation of the empire. The emergence of new sovereign republics and the end of minting as known meant the cessation of the silver standard that had contributed to the early modern globalization

Phylogenetic diversity of Amazonian tree communities

Aim: To examine variation in the phylogenetic diversity (PD) of tree communities across geographical and environmental gradients in Amazonia. Location: Two hundred and eighty-three c. 1 ha forest inventory plots from across Amazonia. Methods: We evaluated PD as the total phylogenetic branch length across species in each plot (PDss), the mean pairwise phylogenetic distance between species (MPD), the mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD) and their equivalents standardized for species richness (ses.PDss, ses.MPD, ses.MNTD). We compared PD of tree communities growing (1) on substrates of varying geological age; and (2) in environments with varying ecophysiological barriers to growth and survival. Results: PDss is strongly positively correlated with species richness (SR), whereas MNTD has a negative correlation. Communities on geologically young- and intermediate-aged substrates (western and central Amazonia respectively) have the highest SR, and therefore the highest PDss and the lowest MNTD. We find that the youngest and oldest substrates (the latter on the Brazilian and Guiana Shields) have the highest ses.PDss and ses.MNTD. MPD and ses.MPD are strongly correlated with how evenly taxa are distributed among the three principal angiosperm clades and are both highest in western Amazonia. Meanwhile, seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) and forests on white sands have low PD, as evaluated by any metric. Main conclusions: High ses.PDss and ses.MNTD reflect greater lineage diversity in communities. We suggest that high ses.PDss and ses.MNTD in western Amazonia results from its favourable, easy-to-colonize environment, whereas high values in the Brazilian and Guianan Shields may be due to accumulation of lineages over a longer period of time. White-sand forests and SDTF are dominated by close relatives from fewer lineages, perhaps reflecting ecophysiological barriers that are difficult to surmount evolutionarily. Because MPD and ses.MPD do not reflect lineage diversity per se, we suggest that PDss, ses.PDss and ses.MNTD may be the most useful diversity metrics for setting large-scale conservation priorities

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. Methods: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015. Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years, 65 to 80 years, and = 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. Results: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 = 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients =80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%, 65 years; 20.5%, 65-79 years; 31.3%, =80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%, <65 years;30.1%, 65-79 years;34.7%, =80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%, =80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age = 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI = 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88), and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared, the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. Conclusion: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age = 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI), and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group