Search

Objetivo: Proporcionar recomendaciones basadas en la evidencia sobre la prevención y el tratamiento del déficit de vitamina D. Métodos: Un grupo de trabajo multidisciplinar formado por 10 miembros de la Sociedad Española de Investigación Ósea y del Metabolismo Mineral (SEIOMM), formuló las preguntas clínicas de interés. Posteriormente, se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura en MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE y Cochrane sobre la evidencia disponible para cada una de las preguntas planteadas. Se incluyeron artículos publicados en inglés o español entre el 15 julio 2016 y 31 de diciembre de 2020. Para establecer la fuerza de las recomendaciones y el grado de evidencia se empleó el sistema Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Tras la formulación de las recomendaciones, estas se discutieron de manera conjunta en el grupo de trabajo y fueron ratificadas por todos los socios de la SEIOMM. Resultados y conclusiones: El presente documento establece una serie de recomendaciones sobre las concentraciones óptimas y cribado del déficit de 25-hidroxivitamina D, los requerimientos de vitamina D en diferentes poblaciones, la exposición solar, y las estrategias de suplementación en pacientes con déficit.

BackgroundGeant4 is a Monte Carlo code extensively used in medical physics for a wide range of applications, such as dosimetry, micro- and nanodosimetry, imaging, radiation protection, and nuclear medicine. Geant4 is continuously evolving, so it is crucial to have a system that benchmarks this Monte Carlo code for medical physics against reference data and to perform regression testing.AimsTo respond to these needs, we developed G4-Med, a benchmarking and regression testing system of Geant4 for medical physics.Materials and methodsG4-Med currently includes 18 tests. They range from the benchmarking of fundamental physics quantities to the testing of Monte Carlo simulation setups typical of medical physics applications. Both electromagnetic and hadronic physics processes and models within the prebuilt Geant4 physics lists are tested. The tests included in G4-Med are executed on the CERN computing infrastructure via the use of the geant-val web application, developed at CERN for Geant4 testing. The physical observables can be compared to reference data for benchmarking and to results of previous Geant4 versions for regression testing purposes.ResultsThis paper describes the tests included in G4-Med and shows the results derived from the benchmarking of Geant4 10.5 against reference data.DiscussionOur results indicate that the Geant4 electromagnetic physics constructor G4EmStandardPhysics_option4 gives a good agreement with the reference data for all the tests. The QGSP_BIC_HP physics list provided an overall adequate description of the physics involved in hadron therapy, including proton and carbon ion therapy. New tests should be included in the next stage of the project to extend the benchmarking to other physical quantities and application scenarios of interest for medical physics.ConclusionThe results presented and discussed in this paper will aid users in tailoring physics lists to their particular application.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) has a high prevalence in aging obese postmenopausal women. It is not clear whether or not diabetes produces an increase in bone mineral density or an increase in fracture rates. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to investigate whether type 2 DM produces a higher prevalence of vertebral, hip and non-vertebral fractures in obese postmenopausal Caucasian women. A secondary objective was to study the influence of DM in quantitative ultrasound measurements of the heel (QUS) and bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), in both lumbar spine (L2-L4) and proximal femur. METHOD: This study was a prospective cohort of 111 patients with type 2 DM and 91 control individuals (CTR) over age 65 and obese, recruited from 16 centers in Spain. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Lateral dorsal and lumbar X-rays were performed to assess vertebral fractures. Hip and non-vertebral fractures were noted from medical records, written reports or Xray studies. QUS measurements were made of the calcaneus and BMD measurements of the lumbar spine (L2-L4) and proximal femur. RESULTS: Patients had higher BMD in the lumbar spine (L2-L4) than controls (0.979 g/cm2 vs 0.927 g/cm2, p=0.035), but we found no statistically significant differences in the proximal femur. QUS measurements showed similar values in both groups: BUA (69.3 dB/Mhz vs 66.7 dB/Mhz, p=0.291), SOS (1537 m/sg vs 1532 m/sg, p=0.249) and QUI (87.5 vs 83.7, p=0.153). No statistically significant differences were found in any case. There was no association between vertebral, hip and non-vertebral fractures and DM. The crude odds ratio, without adjusting was 1.045 (CI 95% 0.531 ; 2.059), and the adjusted odds ratio was 0.927 (CI 95% 0.461 ; 1.863). CONCLUSIONS: In obese postmenopausal Caucasian women, type 2 DM produces an increase in BMD of the lumbar spine without changes in BMD of the proximal femur or in QUS measurements of the heel. The prevalence of vertebral, hip and non-vertebral fractures did not increase in type 2 DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymptotic giant branch stars are responsible for the production of most of the heavy isotopes beyond Sr observed in the solar system. Among them, isotopes shielded from the r-process contribution by their stable isobars are defined as s-only nuclei. For a long time the abundance of ^{204}Pb, the heaviest s-only isotope, has been a topic of debate because state-of-the-art stellar models appeared to systematically underestimate its solar abundance. Besides the impact of uncertainties from stellar models and galactic chemical evolution simulations, this discrepancy was further obscured by rather divergent theoretical estimates for the neutron capture cross section of its radioactive precursor in the neutron-capture flow, ^{204}Tl (t_{1/2}=3.78  yr), and by the lack of experimental data on this reaction. We present the first ever neutron capture measurement on ^{204}Tl, conducted at the CERN neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF, employing a sample of only 9 mg of ^{204}Tl produced at the Institute Laue Langevin high flux reactor. By complementing our new results with semiempirical calculations we obtained, at the s-process temperatures of kT≈8  keV and kT≈30  keV, Maxwellian-averaged cross sections (MACS) of 580(168) mb and 260(90) mb, respectively. These figures are about 3% lower and 20% higher than the corresponding values widely used in astrophysical calculations, which were based only on theoretical calculations. By using the new ^{204}Tl MACS, the uncertainty arising from the ^{204}Tl(n,γ) cross section on the s-process abundance of ^{204}Pb has been reduced from ∼30% down to +8%/-6%, and the s-process calculations are in agreement with the latest solar system abundance of ^{204}Pb reported by K. Lodders in 2021.

^{140}Ce(n,γ) is a key reaction for slow neutron-capture (s-process) nucleosynthesis due to being a bottleneck in the reaction flow. For this reason, it was measured with high accuracy (uncertainty ≈5%) at the n_TOF facility, with an unprecedented combination of a high purity sample and low neutron-sensitivity detectors. The measured Maxwellian averaged cross section is up to 40% higher than previously accepted values. Stellar model calculations indicate a reduction around 20% of the s-process contribution to the Galactic cerium abundance and smaller sizeable differences for most of the heavier elements. No variations are found in the nucleosynthesis from massive stars.

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is an antimicrobial molecular weapon that is widespread in Proteobacteria and offers competitive advantages to T6SS-positive micro-organisms. Three T6SSs have recently been described in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 and it has been shown that one, K1-T6SS, is used to outcompete a wide range of phytopathogens, protecting plants from pathogen infections. Given the relevance of this system as a powerful and innovative mechanism of biological control, it is critical to understand the processes that govern its expression. Here, we experimentally defined two transcriptional units in the K1-T6SS cluster. One encodes the structural components of the system and is transcribed from two adjacent promoters. The other encodes two hypothetical proteins, the tip of the system and the associated adapters, and effectors and cognate immunity proteins, and it is also transcribed from two adjacent promoters. The four identified promoters contain the typical features of σ 70 -dependent promoters. We have studied the expression of the system under different conditions and in a number of mutants lacking global regulators. P. putida K1-T6SS expression is induced in the stationary phase, but its transcription does not depend on the stationary σ factor RpoS. In fact, the expression of the system is indirectly repressed by RpoS. Furthermore, it is also repressed by RpoN and the transcriptional regulator FleQ, an enhancer-binding protein typically acting in conjunction with RpoN. Importantly, expression of the K1-T6SS gene cluster is positively regulated by the GacS-GacA two-component regulatory system (TCS) and repressed by the RetS sensor kinase, which inhibits this TCS. Our findings identified a complex regulatory network that governs T6SS expression in general and P. putida K1-T6SS in particular, with implications for controlling and manipulating a bacterial agent that is highly relevant in biological control.

Neutron capture reaction cross sections on 74 Ge are of importance to determine 74 Ge production during the astrophysical slow neutron capture process. We present new resonance data on 74 Ge( n , γ ) reactions below 70 keV neutron energy. We calculate Maxwellian averaged cross sections, combining our data below 70 keV with evaluated cross sections at higher neutron energies. Our stellar cross sections are in agreement with a previous activation measurement performed at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe by Marganiec et al., once their data has been re-normalised to account for an update in the reference cross section used in that experiment., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

In Pseudomonas putida KT2440, cfcR encodes an orphan multidomain response regulator with diguanylate cyclase activity, which is responsible for the synthesis of c-di-GMP, a second messenger key in the transition from planktonic to sessile bacterial lifestyles. When overexpressed, cfcR enhances biofilm formation and causes other phenotype alterations. The cfcA gene, encoding a membrane-anchored multisensory CHASE3/GAF hybrid histidine kinase (HK), is required to develop this pleiotropic phenotype. Here we show autophosphorylation of CfcA through HisKA/HATPase_c domains and then transfer of the phosphoryl group to an internal receiver (REC) domain. CfcA REC domains are nonessential for phosphotransfer from CfcA~P to the REC domain of CfcR. CfcA~P also phosphorylates the REC domain of CfcD, a second HK encoded in the same gene cluster as CfcA, which negatively regulates the CfcA/CfcR pathway. To evaluate the impact of CfcA domains on CfcR activity, a battery of mutants with in-frame domain deletions was generated, whose CfcA protein locations were also examined. CfcA membrane anchorage contributes to protein stability and CfcR activation. Salt enhances c-di-GMP levels through CfcR, a response which is hampered by alteration of a presumed ligand-binding motif in the CHASE3 sensor domain. Thus, in P. putida, c-di-GMP is salt-regulated through the CfcA/CfcR/CfcD system., (© 2022 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The high global consumption of ibuprofen and its limited elimination by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), has led to the contamination of aquatic systems by this common analgesic and its metabolites. The potentially negative environmental and public health effects of this emerging contaminant have raised concerns, driving the demand for treatment technologies. The implementation of bacteria which mineralize organic contaminants in biopurification systems used to decontaminate water or directly in processes in WWTPs, is a cheap and sustainable means for complete elimination before release into the environment. In this work, an ibuprofen-mineralizing bacterial strain isolated from sediments of the River Elbe was characterized and assayed to remediate different ibuprofen-polluted media. Strain RW412, which was identified as Sphingopyxis granuli, has a 4.48 Mb genome which includes plasmid sequences which harbor the ipf genes that encode the first steps of ibuprofen mineralization. Here, we confirm that these genes encode enzymes which initiate CoA ligation to ibuprofen, followed by aromatic ring activation by a dioxygenase and retroaldol cleavage to unequivocally produce 4-isobutylcatechol and propionyl-CoA which then undergo further degradation. In liquid mineral salts medium, the strain eliminated more than 2 mM ibuprofen within 74 h with a generation time of 16 h. Upon inoculation into biopurification systems, it eliminated repeated doses of ibuprofen within a few days. Furthermore, in these systems the presence of RW412 avoided the accumulation of ibuprofen metabolites. In ibuprofen-spiked effluent from a municipal WWTP, ibuprofen removal by this strain was 7 times faster than by the indigenous microbiota. These results suggest that this strain can persist and remain active under environmentally relevant conditions, and may be a useful innovation to eliminate this emerging contaminant from urban wastewater treatment systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The incidence and outcomes of care for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) vary greatly from country to country. We aimed to study variation in the incidence, characteristics, and outcomes of care for OHCAs given by Spanish prehospital emergency services., Material and Methods: Descriptive retrospective analysis of data from the Out-of-Hospital Spanish Cardiac Arrest Registry (OHSCAR) from October 2013 to October 2014. Attempts by 19 Spanish emergency services to resuscitate patients were studied. All OHCA cases were reviewed to obtain the following data: incidence, patient and event characteristics, prior emergencies, resuscitation attempts, and the main treatments provided in the hospital. If a patient was admitted, we compared the neurologic status on hospital discharge., Results: Statistically significant differences were detected between emergency services (P .0001) in the incidence of attempted resuscitation and all general characteristics except sex. Hospital treatments and outcomes also differed significantly: pulse had been restored on arrival of 30.5% of patients (range 21.3% to 56.1%, P .001), and 31.8% of admitted patients were discharged in cerebral performance categories 1 or 2 (range 17.2% to 58.3%, P .001)., Conclusion: Differences in the incidence of resuscitation attempts, key variables, and survival at discharge from the hospital are present in OHCA cases attended by prehospital emergency services in different regions of Spain.

The neutron capture cross sections of several unstable nuclides acting as branching points in the s process are crucial for stellar nucleosynthesis studies. The unstable ^{171}Tm (t_{1/2}=1.92  yr) is part of the branching around mass A∼170 but its neutron capture cross section as a function of the neutron energy is not known to date. In this work, following the production for the first time of more than 5 mg of ^{171}Tm at the high-flux reactor Institut Laue-Langevin in France, a sample was produced at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. Two complementary experiments were carried out at the neutron time-of-flight facility (n_TOF) at CERN in Switzerland and at the SARAF liquid lithium target facility at Soreq Nuclear Research Center in Israel by time of flight and activation, respectively. The result of the time-of-flight experiment consists of the first ever set of resonance parameters and the corresponding average resonance parameters, allowing us to make an estimation of the Maxwellian-averaged cross sections (MACS) by extrapolation. The activation measurement provides a direct and more precise measurement of the MACS at 30 keV: 384(40) mb, with which the estimation from the n_TOF data agree at the limit of 1 standard deviation. This value is 2.6 times lower than the JEFF-3.3 and ENDF/B-VIII evaluations, 25% lower than that of the Bao et al. compilation, and 1.6 times larger than the value recommended in the KADoNiS (v1) database, based on the only previous experiment. Our result affects the nucleosynthesis at the A∼170 branching, namely, the ^{171}Yb abundance increases in the material lost by asymptotic giant branch stars, providing a better match to the available pre-solar SiC grain measurements compared to the calculations based on the current JEFF-3.3 model-based evaluation.

Background: Epidemiological studies focusing on occupational pathologies can be an important medium through which to bring about change with respect to workplace accidents, both in terms of prevention planning and management as well as the appropriate care following an accident. Ocular chemical burns benefit from urgent attention as, if not treated early and appropriately, the tissue of the eye and its functionality can be seriously compromised. The objective of this study was to collate epidemiological data on workplace ocular chemical burns which could in turn serve to identify key action points in terms of occupational health., Methods: Cohort study with 604 cases of chemical burns to the eye occurring in the workplace between 2014 and 2015. Criteria inclusion were diagnosis of chemical burn, patient seen at the medical centre of the mutual society, workplace acquired ophthalmic pathology leading to the issuing of a sickness certificate. No exclusion criteria were defined., Results: Ocular chemical burns were the second most common workplace eye injury (12.68%) behind foreign bodies in the eye (43.42%). Men accounted for 68.54% of cases of ocular chemical burns. In around 75% of cases, sickness certification was for less than 7 days, although 6 patients suffered permanent disability. The occupational sector which was most affected particularly the industry service industry. The economic costs with these workplace injuries were extracted., Conclusions: Appropriate early medical assistance is essential. The production and distribution of clinical guides for health care workers could optimise first line assistance and mitigate possible training deficiencies., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.)

The extracytoplasmic function sigma factor σ VreI of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa promotes transcription of potential virulence determinants, including secretion systems and secreted proteins. Its activity is modulated by the VreR anti-σ factor that inhibits the binding of σ VreI to the RNA polymerase in the absence of a (still unknown) inducing signal. The vreI-vreR genes are expressed under inorganic phosphate (Pi) starvation, a physiological condition often encountered in the host that increases P. aeruginosa pathogenicity. However, whether or not σ VreI is active in vivo during infection and contributes to the Pi starvation-induced virulence of this pathogen has not been analyzed yet. Using zebrafish embryos and a human alveolar basal epithelial cell line as P. aeruginosa hosts, we demonstrate in this work that σ VreI is active during infection and that lack of σ VreI considerably reduces the Pi starvation-induced virulence of this pathogen. Surprisingly, lack of the σ VreI inhibitor, the VreR anti-σ factor, also diminishes the virulence of P. aeruginosa. By transcriptomic analyses we show that VreR modulates gene expression not only in a σ VreI -dependent but also in a σ VreI -independent manner. This includes potential virulence determinants and transcriptional regulators that could be responsible for the reduced virulence of the ΔvreR mutant.

The emergence of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains demands the development of new antimicrobial agents. In the last decades, bacteriocins have gained significant interest due to their potential application as biopreservatives in the food industry and as therapeutic agents in medicine. Recent studies project the use of these antimicrobials in agriculture as biocontrol agents. The characterization of bacteriocins and their genetic regulation, however, have been scarcely studied in plant-associated bacteria. In this report, an in-silico and proteomic analysis was performed to identify the bacteriocins produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens SF4c. More than one functional bacteriocin was detected in this strain (S-type bacteriocins and phage-tail-like bacteriocins [tailocins]). It is known that the regulator PrtR represses bacteriocin production in P. aeruginosa under normal condition. However, the mechanism for tailocin regulation remains unknown in plant-associated pseudomonads. In this work, an orthologue of the prtR of P. aeruginosa was identified in the SF4c-tailocin cluster and a prtR null mutant constructed. The expression and production of tailocins was abolished in this mutant; thus evidencing that, unlike P. aeruginosa, PrtR is a positive regulator of tailocins expression in P. fluorescens., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pathogens have developed several strategies to obtain iron during infection, including the use of iron-containing molecules from the host. Haem accounts for the vast majority of the iron pool in vertebrates and thus represents an important source of iron for pathogens. Using a proteomic approach, we have identified in this work a previously uncharacterized system, which we name Hxu, that together with the known Has and Phu systems, is used by the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to respond to haem. We show that the Has and Hxu systems are functional signal transduction pathways of the cell-surface signalling class and report the mechanism triggering the activation of these signalling systems. Both signalling cascades involve an outer membrane receptor (HasR and HxuA respectively) that upon sensing haem in the extracellular medium produces the activation of an σ ECF factor in the cytosol. HxuA has a major role in signalling and a minor role in haem acquisition in conditions in which the HasR and PhuR receptors or other sources of iron are present. Remarkably, P. aeruginosa compensates the lack of the HasR receptor by increasing the production of HxuA, which underscores the importance of haem signalling for this pathogen., (© 2019 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Here, we report the genome sequences of one Achromobacter and four Pseudomonas strains isolated from sediments of the River Elbe which are highly tolerant toward the xenobiotic target compound diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and emerging contaminant.

33S is a stable isotope of sulphur which is being studied as a potential cooperative target for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) in accelerator-based neutron sources because of its large (n,α) cross section in the epithermal neutron energy range. Previous measurements resolved the resonances with a discrepant description of the lowest-lying and strongest one (at 13.5 keV). However, the evaluations of the major databases do not include resonances, except EAF-2010 which shows smaller values in this range than the experimental data. Furthermore, the glaring lack of data below 10 keV down to thermal (25.3 meV) has motivated a new measurement at n_TOF at CERN in order to cover the whole energy range. The inclusion of this new 33S(n,α) cross section in Monte Carlo simulations provides a more accurate estimation of the deposited kerma rate in tissue due to the presence of 33S. The results of those simulations represent the goal of this work.

We report on the measurement of the ^{7}Be(n,p)^{7}Li cross section from thermal to approximately 325 keV neutron energy, performed in the high-flux experimental area (EAR2) of the n_TOF facility at CERN. This reaction plays a key role in the lithium yield of the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) for standard cosmology. The only two previous time-of-flight measurements performed on this reaction did not cover the energy window of interest for BBN, and they showed a large discrepancy between each other. The measurement was performed with a Si telescope and a high-purity sample produced by implantation of a ^{7}Be ion beam at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. While a significantly higher cross section is found at low energy, relative to current evaluations, in the region of BBN interest, the present results are consistent with the values inferred from the time-reversal ^{7}Li(p,n)^{7}Be reaction, thus yielding only a relatively minor improvement on the so-called cosmological lithium problem. The relevance of these results on the near-threshold neutron production in the p+^{7}Li reaction is also discussed.

Fire blight is a devastating plant disease caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, and its control is frequently based on the use of copper-based compounds whose mechanisms of action are not well known. Consequently, in this article, we investigate the response of E. amylovora to copper shock by a whole-genome microarray approach. Transcriptional analyses showed that, in the presence of copper, 23 genes were increased in expression; these genes were classified mainly into the transport and stress functional categories. Among them, the copA gene was strongly induced and regulated in a finely tuned manner by copper. Mutation of copA, soxS, arcB, yjcE, ygcF, yhhQ, galF and EAM_3469 genes revealed that tolerance to copper in E. amylovora can be achieved by complex physiological mechanisms, including: (i) the control of copper homeostasis through, at least, the extrusion of Cu(I) by a P-type ATPase efflux pump CopA; and (ii) the overcoming of copper toxicity caused by oxidative stress by the expression of several reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related genes, including the two major transcriptional factors SoxS and ArcB. Furthermore, complementation analyses demonstrated the important role of copA for copper tolerance in E. amylovora, not only in vitro, but also in inoculated pear shoots., (© 2016 BSPP AND JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD.)

We present a realization for some K -functionals associated with Jacobi expansions in terms of generalized Jacobi-Weierstrass operators. Fractional powers of the operators as well as results concerning simultaneous approximation and Nikolskii-Stechkin type inequalities are also considered., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Background: Adverse reactions to local anesthetics (LAs), especially esters, are not uncommon, but true allergy is rarely diagnosed. To our knowledge, currently there is no reliable method of determining IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to LAs and cocaine., Objective: To assess the clinical value of allergy tests (prick, IgE, challenges, and arrays) in people suffering hypersensitivity reactions (asthma and anaphylaxis) during local anesthesia with cocaine derivatives and drug abusers with allergic symptoms after cocaine inhalation., Methods: We selected cocaine-dependent patients and allergic patients who suffered severe reactions during local anesthesia from a database of 23,873 patients. The diagnostic yield (sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value) of allergy tests using cocaine and coca leaf extracts in determining cocaine allergy was assessed, taking a positive challenge as the criterion standard., Results: After prick tests, specific IgE, and challenge with cocaine extract, 41 of 211 patients (19.4%) were diagnosed as sensitized to cocaine. Prick tests and IgE to coca leaves (coca tea) had a good sensitivity (95.1% and 92.7%, respectively) and specificity (92.3 and 98.8%, respectively) for the diagnosis of cocaine allergy and LA-derived allergy., Conclusions: Cocaine may be an important allergen. Drug abusers and patients sensitized to local anesthesia and tobacco are at risk. Both prick tests and specific IgE against coca leaf extract detected sensitization to cocaine. The highest levels were related to severe clinical profiles., (Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To determine out-of-hospital cardiac arrest mortality in the province of Alicante (Spain) and its associated factors., Methods: Cross-sectional observational study of all patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (n = 422) in the province of Alicante in 2013. To determine associated factors, a binary logistic regression model was constructed. Primary outcome: death before arriving at the hospital. Predictive variables: gender, age, artificial respiration, prior functional status, asystole, cardiogenic aetiology, bystander CPR, time from the cardiac arrest to the arrival of the EMS and location of cardiac arrest., Results: There were 337 deaths (79.9%; 95% CI: 76.0-83.7%). Factors independently associated (p<0.05) with death were: male gender (OR = 2.11; 95% CI: 1.20-3.72; p = 0.010), asystole (OR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.17-3.39; p = 0.012), cardiac arrest at home (OR = 2.44; 95% CI: 1.42-4.18; p = 0.001) and an increased time between arrest and EMS arrival (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.09, p = 0.009). Having a worse prior functional status had a tendency towards significance (OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.31-1.02, p = 0.059)., Conclusions: Mortality was high. The associated factors were: male gender, asystole, worse prior functional status, longer time from the cardiac arrest to the arrival of the EMS and having the cardiac arrest at home. The clearly negative impact of experiencing a cardiac arrest at home necessitates modifying training policies in Spain. These policies should be focused on providing information about CPR in schools in order to decrease the mortality of these events.

Most survival outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are provided by emergency medical services (EMS) without a doctor on board. Our objective was to determine such outcomes in a whole country with public physician-led EMS., Methods: We analyzed data from a nationwide prospective registry of OHCA cases attended by 19 public EMS in Spain, covering the period from 1-October 2013 to 30-October 2014., Results: Advanced life support (ALS) was initiated in 9347 cases (incidence 18.6 cases/10 5 inhabitants per year). Resuscitation was considered futile in 558 cases (5.9%), and ALS was continued in 8789 cases (94.1%); mean age 63.5±17 years, 72.1% men. Initial rhythm was shockable in 22.1% of cases. Basic life support (BLS) was provided by bystanders in 1602 (24%) cases (635 of them with telephone assistance from the dispatch center). Of 8789 patients receiving ALS, 72.1% men, 2669 (30.4%) patients had return of spontaneous circulation on hospital arrival, 50.6% when the initial rhythm was shockable. Hospital discharge with good neurological status (CPC 1-2 ) was found in 11.1% of the study population and in 27.6% when considering the Utstein comparator group of patients. A total of 216 (2.5%) patients arrived at the hospital with ongoing resuscitation, of whom only one survived with CPC 1-2 , and 165 (1.9%) patients were included in non-heart-beating donation programs., Conclusions: In Spain with physician-led EMS, OHCA survival with CPC 1-2 reached a reasonable percentage despite only a modest contribution of bystander BLS. Ongoing resuscitation strategy seems to be futile except when considering non-heart beating donation programs., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As the interface between plant roots and soil, the rhizosphere is a complex environment where nutrients released by the plant promote microbial growth. Increasing evidences indicate that the plant also exerts a selective pressure on microbial populations in the rhizosphere, favouring colonization by certain groups. In this work, we have designed an experimental setup to begin analysing the evolution of a specific bacterial population in the rhizosphere, using Pseudomonas putida KT2440 as model organism. After several rounds of selection without passage through laboratory growth conditions, derivatives of this strain with increased fitness in the rhizosphere were isolated. Detailed analysis of one of these clones indicated that this effect is specific for rhizosphere conditions and derives from changes in its transcriptional profile in this environment, with 43 genes being differentially expressed with respect to the parental strain. Several of these genes belong to functional categories which could affect stress adaptation and availability of particular nutrients. By inactivating two genes identified as upregulated in the selected clone (coding for a stress-response protein and a rRNA modifying protein), these functions were shown to contribute to rhizosphere fitness. Our data also suggest the existence of different evolutionary pathways leading to increased rhizosphere fitness., (© 2016 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Gene regulation in bacteria is primarily controlled at the level of transcription initiation by modifying the affinity of the RNA polymerase (RNAP) for the promoter. This control often occurs through the substitution of the RNAP sigma (σ) subunit. Next to the primary σ factor, most bacteria contain a variable number of alternative σ factors of which the extracytoplasmic function group (σ(ECF)) is predominant. Pseudomonas aeruginosa contains nineteen σ(ECF), including the virulence regulator σ(VreI). σ(VreI) is encoded by the vreAIR operon, which also encodes a receptor-like protein (VreA) and an anti-σ factor (VreR). These three proteins form a signal transduction pathway known as PUMA3, which controls expression of P. aeruginosa virulence functions. Expression of the vreAIR operon occurs under inorganic phosphate (Pi) limitation and requires the PhoB transcription factor. Intriguingly, the genes of the σ(VreI) regulon are also expressed in low Pi despite the fact that the σ(VreI) repressor, the anti-σ factor VreR, is also produced in this condition. Here we show that although σ(VreI) is partially active under Pi starvation, maximal transcription of the σ(VreI) regulon genes requires the removal of VreR. This strongly suggests that an extra signal, probably host-derived, is required in vivo for full σ(VreI) activation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the activity of σ(VreI) is modulated not only by VreR but also by the transcription factor PhoB. Presence of this regulator is an absolute requirement for σ(VreI) to complex the DNA and initiate transcription of the PUMA3 regulon. The potential DNA binding sites of these two proteins, which include a pho box and -10 and -35 elements, are proposed.

Aim: The main purpose of this work is to present a new (n,α) cross-section measurement for a stable isotope of sulfur, (33)S, in order to solve existing discrepancies., Background: (33)S has been studied as a cooperating target for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) because of its large (n,α) cross-section in the epithermal neutron energy range, the most suitable one for BNCT. Although the most important evaluated databases, such as ENDF, do not show any resonances in the cross-section, experimental measurements which provided data from 10 keV to 1 MeV showed that the lowest-lying and strongest resonance of (33)S(n,α) cross-section occurs at 13.5 keV. Nevertheless, the set of resonance parameters that describe such resonance shows important discrepancies (more than a factor of 2) between them., Materials and Methods: A new measurement of the (33)S(n,α)(30)Si reaction cross-section was proposed to the ISOLDE and Neutron Time-of-Flight Experiments Committee of CERN. It was performed at n&#95;TOF(CERN) in 2012 using MicroMegas detectors., Results: In this work, we will present a brief overview of the experiment as well as preliminary results of the data analysis in the neutron energy range from thermal to 100 keV. These results will be taken into account to calculate the kerma-fluence factors corresponding to (33)S in addition to (10)B and those of a standard four-component ICRU tissue., Conclusions: MCNP simulations of the deposited dose, including our experimental data, shows an important kerma rate enhancement at the surface of the tissue, mainly due to the presence of (33)S.

Background: Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE), having demonstrated survival benefits, is the treatmentof choice in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma, although there is great heterogeneity in its clinical application., Material and Methods: A survey was sent to the Madrid Regional hospitals to assess applicability, indications and treatment protocols. The assessment was made overall and according to the type of hospital (groups A vs. B and C)., Results: Seventeen out of 22 hospitals responded (8/8 group A, 9/ 14 group B-C). All do/indicate transarterial chemoembolisation, 13/17 at their own facilities. Eight of the 17 hospitals have multidisciplinary groups (5/8 A, 3/9 B-C). Nine hospitals perform > 20 procedures/year (7 group A), and 6 from group B-C request/perform < 10/year. It is performed on an "on-demand" basis in 12/17. In 5 hospitals, all the procedures use drug-eluting beads loaded with doxorubicin. The average number of procedures per patient is 2. The mean time from diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma to transarterial chemoembolisation is ≤ 2 months in 16 hospitals. In 11/17 hospitals, response is assessed by computed tomography. Radiological response is measured without specific criteria in 12/17 and the other five hospitals (4 group A) assessed using standardised criteria., Conclusion: Uniformity among the Madrid Regional hospitals was found in the indication and treatment regimen. The use of DEB-TACE has become the preferred form of TACE in clinical practice. The differentiating factors for the more specialised hospitals are a larger volume of procedures, decision-making by multidisciplinary committees and assessment of radiological response more likely to be standardised.

Flight missions were made in Brazilian territory in 2009 and 2011 with the aim of measuring the cosmic radiation dose rate incident on aircraft in the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly and to compare it with Monte Carlo simulations. During one of these flights, small fluctuations were observed in the vicinity of the aircraft with formation of Cumulonimbus clouds. Motivated by these observations, in this work, the authors investigated the relationship between the presence of clouds and the neutron flux and dose rate incident on aircraft using computational simulation. The Monte Carlo simulations were made using the MCNPX and Geant4 codes, considering the incident proton flux at the top of the atmosphere and its propagation and neutron production through several vertically arranged slabs, which were modelled according to the ISO specifications., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

(33)S is a stable isotope of sulfur for which the emission of an α-particle is the dominant exit channel for neutron-induced reactions. In this work the enhancement of both the absorbed and the equivalent biologically weighted dose in a BNCT treatment with 13.5keV neutrons, due to the presence of (33)S, has been tested by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The kerma-fluence factors for the ICRU-4 tissue have been calculated using standard weighting factors. The simulations depend crucially on the scarce (33)S(n,α)(30)Si cross-section data. The presence of a high resonance at 13.5keV was established by previous authors providing discrepant resonance parameters. No experimental data below 10keV are available. All of this has motivated a proposal of experiment at the n&#95;TOF facility at CERN. A setup was designed and tested in 2011. Some results of the successful test will be shown. The experiment is scheduled for the period November to December 2012., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Numerous regions of the brain, such as the medial frontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, insula, and amygdala, participate in the autonomic control of cardiovascular functions such as heart rate. The degenerative process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) involves the listed anatomical structures and may therefore produce dysautonomic cardiovascular symptoms., Aim: To observe whether or not non-cardiogenic bradycardia was more frequent in a group of patients with FTD than in subjects with mild cognitive impairment or dementia of a different aetiology., Patients and Method: Once patients with primary cardiac arrhythmia were excluded, we registered the heart rates of 258 patients with cognitive symptoms (36 with FTD, 22 with Alzheimer disease, 23 with vascular dementia, 10 with other dementias, and 167 with non-dementia cognitive impairment)., Results: Bradycardia (<60 beats/minute) was significantly more frequent in patients with FTD. This difference remained significant after excluding subjects undergoing treatment with a potentially bradycardic effect. Bradycardia was more prevalent in behavioural FTD cases than in cases of the aphasic variant, and we detected a trend toward higher frequency among patients with more pronounced right hemisphere atrophy. Moreover, mean systolic blood pressure in FTD patients was lower than in other participants, and systolic hypotension (<120 and <100mm Hg) was more prevalent., Conclusion: Bradycardia was more frequent in the FTD sample than in other patients with cognitive symptoms. Further investigations will be necessary before we may consider bradycardia to be a sign supporting diagnosis of FTD or its behavioural variant., (Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

A collaborative study in 10 laboratories was performed to validate an ELISA method developed for the quantitative determination of peanut protein in foods. The ELISA kit used for this study is based on rabbit polyclonal antibody. This kit does not produce any false-positive results or cross-reactivity with a broad range of peanut-free food matrixes. All participants obtained the peanut ELISA kit with standard operational procedures, a list of samples, the samples, and a protocol for recording test results. The study included 15 food samples. Three food matrix samples of zero peanut content showed peanut protein content lower than the first standard (0.10 mg/kg). Three samples with peanut declared as an ingredient revealed peanut protein content outside the calibration curve (absorbance was above the highest standard) in all laboratories, and three samples had the peanut content reported either above the highest standard or within the calibration curve, depending on the laboratory. Six samples with peanut declared as an ingredient gave the peanut protein content within the calibration curve. Only these six samples, together with a positive control sample (CS2), were used for statistical evaluation. The statistical tests (Cochran, Grubbs, and Mandel) and analysis of variance were used for the evaluation of the collaborative study results. Repeatability and reproducibility limits, as well as an LOQ (LOQcollaborative 0.22 mg peanut proteins/kg) and an LOD (LODcollaborative 0.07 mg peanut proteinslkg) for the kit were calculated.

The extracellular matrix of bacterial biofilms has at least two key functions: to serve as a structural scaffold for the multicellular community, and to play a protective role against external stress. In this work, we report a compensatory effect whereby Pseudomonas putida reacts to the lack of either of the two main surface proteins involved in biofilm formation, LapA and LapF, by increasing expression and production of a species-specific EPS. Elevated levels of the second messenger molecule cyclic di-GMP alter the balance of extracellular matrix components, and the phenotypes of lapA and lapF mutants under these conditions are indicative of direct interactions taking place between large secreted proteins and exopolysaccharides. Our data suggest the existence of a mechanism by which bacteria would sense alterations in the composition of the extracellular matrix, leading to changes in expression of the different elements., (Copyright © 2013 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The 63Ni(n,γ) cross section has been measured for the first time at the neutron time-of-flight facility n&#95;TOF at CERN from thermal neutron energies up to 200 keV. In total, capture kernels of 12 (new) resonances were determined. Maxwellian averaged cross sections were calculated for thermal energies from   kT=5-100  keV with uncertainties around 20%. Stellar model calculations for a 25M⊙ star show that the new data have a significant effect on the s-process production of 63Cu, 64Ni, and 64Zn in massive stars, allowing stronger constraints on the Cu yields from explosive nucleosynthesis in the subsequent supernova.

Background: The diagnosis of anaphylactic reactions due to opiates during anaesthesia can be difficult, since in most cases various drugs may have been administered. Detection of specific IgE to poppy seed might be a marker for sensitisation to opiates in allergic people and heroin-abusers. This study assessed the clinical value of morphine, pholcodine and poppy seed skin-prick and IgE determination in people suffering hypersensitivity reactions during anaesthesia or analgesia and drug-abusers with allergic symptoms., Methods: We selected heroin abusers and patients who suffered severe reactions during anaesthesia and analgesia from a database of 23,873 patients. The diagnostic yield (sensitivity, specificity and predictive value) of prick and IgE tests in determining opiate allergy was analysed., Results: Overall, 149 patients and 200 controls, mean age 32.9 ± 14.7 years, were included. All patients with positive prick to opiates showed positive prick and IgE to poppy seeds, but not to morphine or pholcodine IgE. Among drug-abusers, 13/42 patients (31%) presented opium hypersensitivity confirmed by challenge tests. Among non-drug abusers, sensitisation to opiates was higher in people allergic to tobacco (25%), P<.001. Prick tests and IgE against poppy seed had a good sensitivity (95.6% and 82.6%, respectively) and specificity (98.5% and 100%, respectively) in the diagnosis of opiate allergy., Conclusions: Opiates may be significant allergens. Drug-abusers and people sensitised to tobacco are at risk. Both the prick and specific IgE tests efficiently detected sensitisation to opiates. The highest levels were related to more-severe clinical profiles., (Copyright © 2011 SEICAP. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To study the prevalence of hyperuricemia in children with overweight or obesity and analyze the relation with metabolic syndrome and the diseases that define it., Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional prevalence study in 148 children recruited from pediatric endocrinology consultation, with overweight or obesity (12±3 years, 48% boys, BMI 31.8±6.1). We measured BMI, waist-height, waist circumference, blood pressure with standard instrumentation and glucose (fasting and after overload with 75 g), insulin resistance, cholesterol HDL, triglycerides and uric acid., Results: The prevalence of hyperuricemia was 53%. Patients with hyperuricemia had greater BMI (33.9 vs 30.6, p=0.003), plus waist circumference (101.4 vs 91.1cm, p<0.001), higher blood pressure: systolic (123.4 vs 111.9 mm Hg, p<0.001), diastolic (78.2 vs 68.7 mm Hg, p<0.001). They presented greater blood glucose after overload oral glucose (107.5 vs 100.7 mg/dl, p=0.03), insulin was higher (29.2 vs 20.7 mg/dl, p=0.001) as well as HOMA IR (6.5 vs 4.4, p<0.001) and HDL levels were lower (49.5 vs 54.4 mg/dl, p=0.02). Uric acid's level which most is the likely diagnosis of metabolic syndrome corresponds to 5.4 mg/dl in our sample (sensitivity: 64% and specificity 62%)., Conclusion: The prevalence of hyperuricemia in children with overweight and obesity is high. In the group of patients with obesity and hyperuricemia, we found out that the parameters measured to diagnose with metabolic syndrome were less favorable. Uric acid's level from where there is a higher possibility to see metabolic syndrome is 5.4 mg/dl., (Copyright © 2011 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

The stability of seven genomic islands of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 with predicted potential for mobilization was studied in bacterial populations associated with the rhizosphere of corn plants by multiplex PCR. DNA rearrangements were detected for only one of them (GI28), which was lost at high frequency. This genomic island of 39.4 kb, with 53 open reading frames, shows the characteristic organization of genes belonging to tailed phages. We present evidence indicating that it corresponds to the lysogenic state of a functional bacteriophage that we have designated Pspu28. Integrated and rarely excised forms of Pspu28 coexist in KT2440 populations. Pspu28 is self-transmissible, and an excisionase is essential for its removal from the bacterial chromosome. The excised Pspu28 forms a circular element that can integrate into the chromosome at a specific location, att sites containing a 17-bp direct repeat sequence. Excision/insertion of Pspu28 alters the promoter sequence and changes the expression level of PP&#95;1531, which encodes a predicted arsenate reductase. Finally, we show that the presence of Pspu28 in the lysogenic state has a negative effect on bacterial fitness in the rhizosphere under conditions of intraspecific competition, thus explaining why clones having lost this mobile element are recovered from that environment.

R-type and F-type pyocins are high-molecular-mass bacteriocins produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa that resemble bacteriophage tails. They contain no head structures and no DNA, and are used as defence systems. In this report, we show that Pseudomonas fluorescens SF4c, a strain isolated from the wheat rhizosphere, produces a high-molecular-mass bacteriocin which inhibits the growth of closely related bacteria. A mutant deficient in production of this antimicrobial compound was obtained by transposon mutagenesis. Sequence analysis revealed that the transposon had disrupted a gene that we have named ptm, since it is homologous to that encoding phage tape-measure protein in P. fluorescens Pf0-1, a gene belonging to a prophage similar to phage-like pyocin from P. aeruginosa PAO1. In addition, we have identified genes from the SF4c pyocin cluster that encode a lytic system and regulatory genes. We constructed a non-polar ptm mutant of P. fluorescens SF4c. Heterologous complementation of this mutation restored the production of bacteriocin. Real-time PCR was used to analyse the expression of pyocin under different stress conditions. Bacteriocin was upregulated by mitomycin C, UV light and hydrogen peroxide, and was downregulated by saline stress. This report constitutes, to our knowledge, the first genetic characterization of a phage tail-like bacteriocin in a rhizosphere Pseudomonas strain.

Purpose: To test and to develop Geant4 (Geometry And Tracking version 4) Monte Carlo hadronic models with focus on applications in a space radiation environment., Materials and Methods: The Monte Carlo simulations have been performed using the Geant4 toolkit. Binary (BIC), its extension for incident light ions (BIC-ion) and Bertini (BERT) cascades were used as main Monte Carlo generators. For comparisons purposes, some other models were tested too. The hadronic testing suite has been used as a primary tool for model development and validation against experimental data., Results: The Geant4 pre-compound (PRECO) and de-excitation (DEE) models were revised and improved. Proton, neutron, pion, and ion nuclear interactions were simulated with the recent version of Geant4 9.4 and were compared with experimental data from thin and thick target experiments., Conclusions: The Geant4 toolkit offers a large set of models allowing effective simulation of interactions of particles with matter. We have tested different Monte Carlo generators with our hadronic testing suite and accordingly we can propose an optimal configuration of Geant4 models for the simulation of the space radiation environment.

Purpose: To develop a stand-alone code to make any application coded with the GEANT4 (GEometry ANd Tracking, version 4) toolkit capable of reading and writing phase-space (phsp) files in the format created by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), so that the exchange of phsp files between other validated Monte Carlo (MC) codes and GEANT4 is possible., Methods: We present a stand-alone code, written in C++ object-oriented language, developed in a way that ensures the compatibility with future versions of the IAEA phsp format. The aim of the reader part is to get the information from a given IAEA phsp file and create the primary particles in a GEANT4 user application. On the other hand, the writer part of the code is the responsible for writing the IAEA phsp files during a run of the GEANT4 application., Results: A testing simulation was written with GEANT4 to verify the performance of this code, with satisfactory results. An example of use in a GEANT4 application which simulates the treatment head of a radiotherapy linear electron accelerator (linac) is also shown, comparing dose calculations with experimental data., Conclusions: This stand-alone package, which can be used in any GEANT4 application, allows the exchange of validated phsp files between different MC codes and the use of phsp data from many different accelerators and fields in dosimetry studies. Furthermore, it also offers additional utilities of interest in medical applications.

The small molecule carrier class of biomolecule transporters, modeled on the third helix of the Antennapedia homeodomain, has previously been shown to transport active proteins into cells. Here, we show an improved synthetic route to small molecule carriers, including Molander chemistry using trifluoroborate salts to improve the yield of the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling step for the formation of the biphenyl backbone. The required boronic acids could be formed by the reaction of a 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl ether-modified aryl Grignard reagent with triisopropyl borate. The potential for the use of small molecule carriers as oligonucleotide-transporting agents was also explored by characterizing the interactions between small molecule carriers and siRNA. Molecular dynamics and NMR analysis indicated that the small molecule carrier guanidines are stabilized by π-cation interactions with the biphenyl system, thus not only increasing the basicity or pKa but also shielding the charge. The binding affinities of various small molecule carriers for siRNA were investigated using isothermal calorimetry and gel shift assays. Small molecule carrier-mediated siRNA delivery to cultured fibroblasts is demonstrated, showing that small molecule carriers possess the ability to transport functional siRNA into cells. Knockdown of Cdc7 kinase, a target for cancer, is achieved., (© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

As carbon ions, at therapeutic energies, penetrate tissue, they undergo inelastic nuclear reactions and give rise to significant yields of secondary fragment fluences. Therefore, an accurate prediction of these fluences resulting from the primary carbon interactions is necessary in the patient's body in order to precisely simulate the spatial dose distribution and the resulting biological effect. In this paper, the performance of nuclear fragmentation models of the Monte Carlo transport codes, FLUKA and GEANT4, in tissue-like media and for an energy regime relevant for therapeutic carbon ions is investigated. The ability of these Monte Carlo codes to reproduce experimental data of charge-changing cross sections and integral and differential yields of secondary charged fragments is evaluated. For the fragment yields, the main focus is on the consideration of experimental approximations and uncertainties such as the energy measurement by time-of-flight. For GEANT4, the hadronic models G4BinaryLightIonReaction and G4QMD are benchmarked together with some recently enhanced de-excitation models. For non-differential quantities, discrepancies of some tens of percent are found for both codes. For differential quantities, even larger deviations are found. Implications of these findings for the therapeutic use of carbon ions are discussed.

Background and Aims: Vertebral fracture (VF) is the most common complication of osteoporosis. However, more than half of all VF are asymptomatic and may go unnoticed, even in patients with osteoporosis. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of VF in postmenopausal women with osteopenic lumbar densitometry by means of vertebral morphometry, using the MorphoXpress® software., Patients and Methods: This was an epidemiological, cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted among 289 postmenopausal women (>1 year of amenorrhoea), diagnosed with lumbar osteopenia (not due to chronic treatment with corticosteroids or immobilization). Vertebral deformities ≥20% were considered as VF., Results: Demographic and clinical characteristics showed mean age (±SD) 64±9 years, body mass index 27±5 kg/m2, and time from diagnosis of 2±3 years. A total of 25% of subjects had a family history of osteoporotic fracture in first-degree relatives, and 23% had previous fragility fracture. The prevalence of VF was 50% (CI 95% 44-56), the most frequent being the dorsal wedge (34%). Previous fragility fracture was a risk factor for VF (OR 3.13, p=0.0004). A total of 76.5% of patients were receiving treatment, mainly calcium and vitamin D supplements (70%) and bisphosphonates (27%)., Conclusions: MorphoXpress® revealed that 50% of postmenopausal women with osteopenic lumbar densitometry showed VF. This result is important since only 7% of all evaluated subjects had previously been diagnosed with VF.

Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi is a tumour-inducing pathogen of Olea europaea L. causing olive knot disease. Bioinformatic analysis of the draft genome sequence of strain NCPPB 3335, which encodes 5232 predicted coding genes on a total length of 5856 998 bp and a 57.12% G + C, revealed a large degree of conservation with Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola 1448A and P. syringae pv. tabaci 11528. However, NCPPB 3335 contains twelve variable genomic regions, which are absent in all previously sequenced P. syringae strains. Various features that could contribute to the ability of this strain to survive in a woody host were identified, including broad catabolic and transport capabilities for degrading plant-derived aromatic compounds, the duplication of sequences related to the biosynthesis of the phytohormone indoleacetic acid (iaaM, iaaH) and its amino acid conjugate indoleacetic acid-lysine (iaaL gene), and the repertoire of strain-specific putative type III secretion system effectors. Access to this seventh genome sequence belonging to the 'P. syringae complex' allowed us to identify 73 predicted coding genes that are NCPPB 3335-specific. Results shown here provide the basis for detailed functional analysis of a tumour-inducing pathogen of woody hosts and for the study of specific adaptations of a P. savastanoi pathovar.