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The Galería Complex is a cave sediment succession at the Atapuerca paleoanthropological site (Burgos, Spain) that offers detailed environmental information about the late Middle Pleistocene, especially the period between marine oxygen isotope stages MIS10 and MIS7. Previous studies have reconstructed the chronology and detailed the environmental development of this key succession. We introduce rock magnetic climate proxies from the sedimentary units of the Galería succession that we correlate with the global climate record as represented by the marine oxygen isotope record. The cave sediment sequence consists of five infilling phases, four of which were sampled at high resolution across a 5 m thick composite profile. We propose a novel goethite climate proxy along with a frequently used ultrafine ferrimagnetic mineral proxy for paleoclimate reconstruction and detailed chronostratigraphic correlation with isotope stages and substages MIS10/MIS10-9, MIS9e-a and MIS8. The proxies reveal new paleoenvironmental information about paleoprecipitation and indicate that MIS9e was a humid (∼650 mm/year maximum annual precipitation) and intense interglacial in northern Spain that declined in steps into the globally weak glacial stage MIS8. MIS8 consisted of drier periods with 430–510 mm/year annual precipitation and at least one humid substage (600 mm/year)., Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (BU235P18) and the research projects CGL2016-77560-C2, CGL2018-093925-B-C31, and CGL2017-89603-R of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and PID2019-108753 GB-C21 and PID2019-105796 GB-I00 of the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and ERDF funding (European Union). B. Bradák acknowledges financial support from project BU235P18 (Junta de Castilla y León, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). M. Calvo-Rathert acknowledges funding from the Fulbright Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities (PRX19/00148) for a research stay at University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition and alternating field (A.F.) demagnetization analyses were performed on human heart, spleen and liver samples resected from cadavers. The magnetic properties of the samples were measured both at 77K and at 273K. A.F. demagnetization was performed at 273K. Results from the analyses of the tissue indicate the presence of ferromagnetic, fine-grained, magnetically interacting particles which, due primarily to magnetic properties, are thought to be magnetite and/or maghemite. The presence of superparamagnetic particles can be inferred from the increase in saturation IRM values when measured at 77K compared with measurements at 273K and the decay of remanent magnetization upon warming from 77K. The concentration of magnetic material (assuming it is magnetite or maghemite) in the samples varies from 13.7 ng g-1 to 343 ng g-1, with the heart tissue generally having the highest concentration. The presence of magnetic material in these organs may have implications for the function of biogenic magnetite in the human body

In most marine sedimentary records, the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (MBB) has been found in interglacial oxygen isotope stage 19. In the magnetostratigraphic records of most Chinese loess/palaeosol profiles the MBB is located in loess layer L8, which was deposited during a glacial period. The MBB at Lingtai (central Chinese Loess Plateau) also occurs in L8 and is characterized by multiple polarity flips. The natural remanent magnetization is mainly carried by two coexisting components. The higher coercivity (harder) component dominates in loess layers and is thought to be of detrital origin. The lower coercivity (softer) component prevails in palaeosols and was most probably formed in situ by (bio-)chemical processes. A lock-in model for the Lingtai MBB record has been developed by extending the lithologically controlled PDRM model of Bleil & von Dobeneck (1999). It assumes two lock-in zones. The NRM of the magnetically harder component is physically locked by consolidation shortly after loess deposition, whereas the softer component is formed at greater depth by pedogenesis and acquires a chemical remanent magnetization of younger age. At polarity boundaries, grains carrying reversed and normal directions may therefore occur together within a single horizon. The model uses ARM coercivity spectra to estimate the relative contributions of the two components. It is able to explain the observed rapid multiple polarity flips and low magnetization intensities as well as the stratigraphic shift of the Lingtai MBB with respect to the marine records

A new method is presented for fast quantification of urban pollution sources in atmospheric particulate matter (PM). The remanent magnetization of PM samples collected in Switzerland at sites with different exposures to pollution sources is analysed. The coercivity distribution of each sample is calculated from detailed demagnetization curves of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) and is modelled using a linear combination of appropriate functions which represent the contribution of different sources of magnetic minerals to the total magnetization. Two magnetic components, C1 and C2, are identified in all samples. The low-coercivity component C1 predominates in less polluted sites, whereas the concentration of the higher-coercivity component C2 is large in urban areas. The same sites were monitored independently by Hüglin using detailed chemical analysis and a quantitative source attribution of the PM. His results are compared with the magnetic component analysis. The absolute and relative magnetic contributions of component C2 correlate very well with absolute and relative mass contributions of exhaust emissions, respectively. Traffic is the most important PM pollution source in Switzerland: it includes exhaust emissions and abrasion products released by vehicle brakes. Component C2 and traffic-related PM sources correlate well, which is encouraging for the implementation of non-destructive magnetic methods as an economic alternative to chemical analysis when mapping urban dust pollution

Since heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) is a disease that exposes the individual from birth onwards to severe hypercholesterolemia with the development of early cardiovascular disease, a clear consensus on the management of this disease in young patients is necessary. In Belgium, a panel of paediatricians, specialists in (adult) lipid management, general practitioners and representatives of the FH patient organization agreed on the following common recommendations.1.Screening for HeFH should be performed only in children older than 2 years when HeFH has been identified or is suspected (based on a genetic test or clinical criteria) in one parent.2.The diagnostic procedure includes, as a first step, the establishment of a clear diagnosis of HeFH in one of the parents. If this precondition is satisfied, a low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level above 3.5mmol/L (135mg/dL) in the suspected child is predictive for differentiating affected from non-affected children.3.A low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet should be started after 2 years, under the supervision of a dietician or nutritionist.4.The pharmacological treatment, using statins as first line drugs, should usually be started after 10 years if LDL-C levels remain above 5mmol/L (190mg/dL), or above 4mmol/L (160mg/dL) in the presence of a causative mutation, a family history of early cardiovascular disease or severe risk factors. The objective is to reduce LDL-C by at least 30% between 10 and 14 years and, thereafter, to reach LDL-C levels of less than 3.4mmol/L (130mg/dL).Conclusion: The aim of this consensus statement is to achieve more consistent management in the identification and treatment of children with HeFH in Belgium. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

The HOPE and EUROPA clinical studies have shown that treatment with the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, ramipril and perindopril, may reduce the occurrence of major cardiovascular events in patients with proven atherosclerotic disease. The recently published results of the PRoFESS and TRANSCEND trials completed the much needed information concerning the use of an angiotensin receptor blocker for patients at high risk of cardiovascular events. PRoFESS compared a therapy of telmisartan 80 mg daily with placebo in patients with a recent ischemic stroke. The difference in the primary outcome of first recurrent stroke was not statistically significant between telmisartan and placebo. The secondary outcome of major cardiovascular events showed a relative risk reduction (RRR) of 7% in favour of telmisartan. This tended to be significant (p = 0.06) despite a rather short follow-up period of only 28 months. In TRANSCEND 5,926 patients at high risk for cardiovascular events were randomized to a treatment with telmisartan 80 mg daily or placebo for a mean duration of follow-up of 56 months. The primary composite outcome of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke or hospitalization for heart failure showed a non-significant 8% RRR in favour of the telmisartan treated patients. The main secondary outcome of cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction or stroke as used in the HOPE trial showed a non-significant RRR of 13% in favour of telmisartan treated patients (p = 0,068 adjusted for multiplicity of comparisons). In comparing the Kaplan-Meier curves for the endpoint of major cardiovascular events used in HOPE, EUROPA, TRANSCEND and PRoFESS, the trends are similar. Results of most of the recently published trials have been neutral. This could partly be explained by major improvements in the optimal background therapy of the patients included. Nevertheless, the results of PRoFESS and TRANSCEND do not contradict the results from previous studies wit

La adenosis poliquística esclerosante de la parótida (APEP) es una enfermedad infrecuente, caracterizada por elementos histológicos inflamatorios reactivos de las glándulas salivales, pero la presencia de displasia y atiplas hace también posible pensar se trate de un pseudotumor o una neoplasia. La APEP posee además semejanzas histopatológicas con la enfermedad fibroquística de la mama y comparten receptores de progesterona y estrógenos en las células ductales. La edad promedio de ocurrencia de esta patología es de 44,5 años y generalmente afecta las glándulas salivares mayores. Presentamos aquí el caso clínico de una mujer de 25 años de edad que el año 2002 consultó por un aumento de volumen de la parótida derecha, de larga data. Después de estudios diagnósticos y tratamientos fue intervenida quirúrgicamente y el análisis histopatológico sugirió el diagnóstico APEP.

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The Andes of northern Chile currently experience a phase of relief rejuvenation as indicated by valleys that are >1000 m dissected into pediplains. However, it has been unclear when this phase of relief enhancement started. This paper discusses the use of palaeomagnetic chronologies from four sections in the Taracapá-Region (northern Chile) to assess this age. The sections are located in distal and proximal positions. Sediment accumulation occurred between c. 22.5 and 8/ 7.5 Ma with a hiatus that possibly spans a time interval between c. 19.5 and 11 Ma. The magnetic polarity chronologies suggest a preferred age between 8.0 and 7.5 Ma for the time when relief growth started. In proximal positions, however, alternative correlations suggest an age of 8.5 Ma. In addition, the palaeomagnetic data reveal no rotation of the analysed strata, suggesting a minimum age of c. 22.5 Ma for the tectonic block rotation south of the Arica deflection. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Objective - LIPI-GOAL is a multicentre, open-label, non-comparative treat-to-target study, conducted from March 1998 to May 1999, that assessed the percentage of patients reaching 1992 European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets with atorvastatin 10-80 mg/day in subjects with hypercholesterolaemia, defined as LDL-C > 160 mg/dl after a 12-week step I diet. Methods and results - Patients were treated towards the following LDL-C goals: < 135 mg/dl in patients with atherosclerotic disease present and/or coronary heart disease (CHD) risk > 40%/10 years, or LDL-C < 155 mg/dl in all others. All subjects started treatment with atorvastatin IO mg/day for 6 weeks. The dose was doubled every 6 weeks, to 20, 40, or 80 mg/day at weeks 12, 18, and 24, respectively, if targets were not reached. Of 587 patients screened for participation, 473 were enrolled and 419 (59% male; mean age 61 years) were available for efficacy evaluation. Fifty-five percent had atherosclerotic disease and/or CHD risk > 40%/10 years. Dose titration was not needed in 303 patients (72%) who reached LDL-C target with atorvastatin IO mg/day. Among 116 patients who were subsequently treated with higher atorvastatin dosages, 47 reached LDL-C target with 20 mg/day, 15 with 40 mg/day, and 6 with 80 mg/day. Therefore, 88.5% of subjects reached LDL-C goal in an intention-to-treat analysis. In general, atorvastatin was well tolerated. Conclusions - Most patients at high risk for CHD reached LDL-C goals with atorvastatin 10-80 mg/day. Seventy-two % of patients reached target with atorvastatin 10 mg/day, which may simplify clinical management and should encourage better adherence to recommendations.

Doctorat en sciences -- UCL, 1996