Sample records for early modern madrid

  1. Recasting Madrid and Its Characters in Munoz Molina's "Los misterios de Madrid"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Long, Sheri Spaine

    2009-01-01

    "Los misterios de Madrid" (1992) provides a burlesque novelistic portrayal of the changing capital city and its inhabitants in the early 1990s. Spanish writer Antonio Munoz Molina creates vignettes of Madrid's people and places while showing the capital as a destination for both foreign-born immigrants and provincial Spaniards alike. In…

  2. Natural cement in the nineteenth century city of Madrid. Identification of their application, conservation status and their compatibility with moderns cements.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Corrochano, Cristina Mayo; Lasheras Merino, Felix; Sanz-Arauz, David

    2016-04-01

    Roman cement was patented in 1796 and it arrived to Spain in 1835. Although the natural cement used in Madrid came mainly from Guipúzcoa's factories, there were a few small factories producing natural cement in the area. In the south east of Madrid, in "Morata de Tajuña", are the marl quarries of the Madrid Community. Natural cement was extensively used to decorate buildings in Madrid during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. It was highly demanded in various sectors of civil engineering: sewerage, water supply, canals, ports and tunnels. In the building sector, at first the use of cements was limited to building foundations and masonry mortars, but never as render mortar because it was considered an unsightly and vulgar material. For renders still traditional lime mortar was used. And is not till the end of the 19th century when it was used in facade decorations for the first time. We have analysed 25 buildings in Madrid built in that period of time. It was used microscopy techniques for the identification of these cements, checking how many of them used natural cement, how they used it, what is its conservation status and their compatibility with modern cements.

  3. Fault slip rates in the modern new madrid seismic zone

    PubMed

    Mueller; Champion; Guccione; Kelson

    1999-11-05

    Structural and geomorphic analysis of late Holocene sediments in the Lake County region of the New Madrid seismic zone indicates that they are deformed by fault-related folding above the blind Reelfoot thrust fault. The widths of narrow kink bands exposed in trenches were used to model the Reelfoot scarp as a forelimb on a fault-bend fold; this, coupled with the age of folded sediment, yields a slip rate on the blind thrust of 6.1 +/- 0.7 mm/year for the past 2300 +/- 100 years. An alternative method used structural relief across the scarp and the estimated dip of the underlying blind thrust to calculate a slip rate of 4.8 +/- 0.2 mm/year. Geometric relations suggest that the right lateral slip rate on the New Madrid seismic zone is 1.8 to 2.0 mm/year.

  4. AstroMadrid: Astrophysics and technological developments in Comunidad de Madrid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mas-Hesse, J. M.

    2011-11-01

    AstroMadrid is a network constituted by different research groups in the Comunidad de Madrid area, with the objective of coordinating the activities related to the development of astronomical instrumentation in the various centres. AstroMadrid is a multidisciplinar team which benefits from the synergies provided by the different participating groups, optimizing our capabilities to develop instrumentation, and minimizing the problems related to the geographical dispersion within our region. AstroMadrid is also participated by several aerospace industries, which complement the capabilities and facilities available in the research centres. In addition to optimizing the development of instrumentation, AstroMadrid plays an essential role in the formation of new engineers and scientists, by actively contributing to some Master degree courses organized by different Universities in Madrid.

  5. Madrid

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2001-10-22

    This ASTER image was acquired on July 5, 2000 and covers an area of 25 by 24 km over Madrid, Spain. A historic capital city, Madrid is renowned for its unique charm and its exhilarating cultural life. In the 10th century, a Moorish fortress called Magerit was first built on the site, a plateau 656 meters (2,150 feet) above sea level. Spanish Christians seized the city a century later, although Madrid remained relatively unimportant until 1561. It was then that the Spanish king Philip II chose it as the national capital, largely because of its geographic location in the very heart of the country. Some historic structures from this and later periods still grace the narrow streets of the old section of Madrid, although the Spanish Civil War exacted a heavy toll on the city. The image is located at 40.4 degrees north latitude and 3.7 degrees west longitude. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11163

  6. Madrid

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2001-01-01

    This ASTER image was acquired on July 5, 2000 and covers an area of 25 by 24 km over Madrid, Spain. A historic capital city, Madrid is renowned for its unique charm and its exhilarating cultural life. In the 10th century, a Moorish fortress called Magerit was first built on the site, a plateau 656 meters (2,150 feet) above sea level. Spanish Christians seized the city a century later, although Madrid remained relatively unimportant until 1561. It was then that the Spanish king Philip II chose it as the national capital, largely because of its geographic location in the very heart of the country. Some historic structures from this and later periods still grace the narrow streets of the old section of Madrid, although the Spanish Civil War exacted a heavy toll on the city. The image is located at 40.4 degrees north latitude and 3.7 degrees west longitude.

    The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

  7. Making Early Modern Medicine: Reproducing Swedish Bitters.

    PubMed

    Ahnfelt, Nils-Otto; Fors, Hjalmar

    2016-05-01

    Historians of science and medicine have rarely applied themselves to reproducing the experiments and practices of medicine and pharmacy. This paper delineates our efforts to reproduce "Swedish Bitters," an early modern composite medicine in wide European use from the 1730s to the present. In its original formulation, it was made from seven medicinal simples: aloe, rhubarb, saffron, myrrh, gentian, zedoary and agarikon. These were mixed in alcohol together with some theriac, a composite medicine of classical origin. The paper delineates the compositional history of Swedish Bitters and the medical rationale underlying its composition. It also describes how we go about to reproduce the medicine in a laboratory using early modern pharmaceutical methods, and analyse it using contemporary methods of pharmaceutical chemistry. Our aim is twofold: first, to show how reproducing medicines may provide a path towards a deeper understanding of the role of sensual and practical knowledge in the wider context of early modern medical culture; and second, how it may yield interesting results from the point of view of contemporary pharmaceutical science.

  8. Archives and the Boundaries of Early Modern Science.

    PubMed

    Popper, Nicholas

    2016-03-01

    This contribution argues that the study of early modern archives suggests a new agenda for historians of early modern science. While in recent years historians of science have begun to direct increased attention toward the collections amassed by figures and institutions traditionally portrayed as proto-scientific, archives proliferated across early modern Europe, emerging as powerful tools for creating knowledge in politics, history, and law as well as natural philosophy, botany, and more. The essay investigates the methods of production, collection, organization, and manipulation used by English statesmen and Crown officers such as Keeper of the State Papers Thomas Wilson and Secretary of State Joseph Williamson to govern their disorderly collections. Their methods, it is shown, were shared with contemporaries seeking to generate and manage other troves of evidence and in fact reflect a complex ecosystem of imitation and exchange across fields of inquiry. These commonalities suggest that historians of science should look beyond the ancestors of modern scientific disciplines to examine how practices of producing knowledge emerged and migrated throughout cultures of learning in Europe and beyond. Creating such a map of knowledge production and exchange, the essay concludes, would provide a renewed and expansive ambition for the field.

  9. Near-surface structural model for deformation associated with the February 7, 1812, New Madrid, Missouri, earthquake

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Odum, J.K.; Stephenson, W.J.; Shedlock, K.M.; Pratt, T.L.

    1998-01-01

    The February 7, 1812, New Madrid, Missouri, earthquake (M [moment magnitude] 8) was the third and final large-magnitude event to rock the northern Mississippi Embayment during the winter of 1811-1812. Although ground shaking was so strong that it rang church bells, stopped clocks, buckled pavement, and rocked buildings up and down the eastern seaboard, little coseismic surface deformation exists today in the New Madrid area. The fault(s) that ruptured during this event have remained enigmatic. We have integrated geomorphic data documenting differential surficial deformation (supplemented by historical accounts of surficial deformation and earthquake-induced Mississippi River waterfalls and rapids) with the interpretation of existing and recently acquired seismic reflection data, to develop a tectonic model of the near-surface structures in the New Madrid, Missouri, area. This model consists of two primary components: a northnorthwest-trending thrust fault and a series of northeast-trending, strike-slip, tear faults. We conclude that the Reelfoot fault is a thrust fault that is at least 30 km long. We also infer that tear faults in the near surface partitioned the hanging wall into subparallel blocks that have undergone differential displacement during episodes of faulting. The northeast-trending tear faults bound an area documented to have been uplifted at least 0.5 m during the February 7, 1812, earthquake. These faults also appear to bound changes in the surface density of epicenters that are within the modern seismicity, which is occurring in the stepover zone of the left-stepping right-lateral strike-slip fault system of the modern New Madrid seismic zone.

  10. Preterit Loss in Early Modern Nuremberg

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bagwell, Angela Catania

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates "Prateritumschwund," one of the most salient developments in the Upper German dialect area during the Early Modern period. Drawing on a wide range of text types originating in Nuremberg and its surrounding areas from the 13th to the 17th centuries, this study tests various hypotheses put forward as alleged causes…

  11. Early modern mathematical instruments.

    PubMed

    Bennett, Jim

    2011-12-01

    In considering the appropriate use of the terms "science" and "scientific instrument," tracing the history of "mathematical instruments" in the early modern period is offered as an illuminating alternative to the historian's natural instinct to follow the guiding lights of originality and innovation, even if the trail transgresses contemporary boundaries. The mathematical instrument was a well-defined category, shared across the academic, artisanal, and commercial aspects of instrumentation, and its narrative from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century was largely independent from other classes of device, in a period when a "scientific" instrument was unheard of.

  12. Early Period of Modern Architecture in Turkey - A Case Study of Eskisehir

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karasozen, Rana

    2017-10-01

    Modern architecture in the Western World bore fruit at the beginning of the 20th Century in consequence of the process of modernity and seeking of the proper architecture for it. It was formed firstly towards the end of the 1920s. The main reason of this nonsynchronous development was the inadequacy of enlightenment and industrial revolution during the Ottoman Empire and the lack of formation of an intellectual infrastructure which provides the basis of modernity. However, the Ottoman Westernization occurring in the 19th century constituted the foundations of the Republic modernity founded in 1923. The earliest modern architectural designs in Turkey were first practised by European architects after the foundation of the Republic and internalised and practised extensively by the native architects afterwards. The early modern architecture of Turkey, named as “1930s Modernism”, continued until the beginning of the World War II. This period was formed in between the periods of first and second nationalist architecture movements. The early modern architecture period of Turkey was a period which high-quality designs were made. It was practised and internalised not only in big cities such as Ankara and in Istanbul, but also in the medium and small cities of the country. This situation was not just about a formal exception but about the internalisation of modernity by the society. Eskisehir is one of the most important pioneering cities of the Republic period in terms of industrial and educational developments. The earliest modern buildings were built as the public buildings by the state and non-citizen architects in the inadequate conditions of the country in terms of economy and professional people. The earliest modern houses of the city designed by these architects were the prototypes for the later practices which offered the citizens a new lifestyle. The modern houses were the symbols of prestige and status for the owners and the dwellers. The features of early

  13. Ancient gene flow from early modern humans into Eastern Neanderthals.

    PubMed

    Kuhlwilm, Martin; Gronau, Ilan; Hubisz, Melissa J; de Filippo, Cesare; Prado-Martinez, Javier; Kircher, Martin; Fu, Qiaomei; Burbano, Hernán A; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; de la Rasilla, Marco; Rosas, Antonio; Rudan, Pavao; Brajkovic, Dejana; Kucan, Željko; Gušic, Ivan; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Andrés, Aida M; Viola, Bence; Pääbo, Svante; Meyer, Matthias; Siepel, Adam; Castellano, Sergi

    2016-02-25

    It has been shown that Neanderthals contributed genetically to modern humans outside Africa 47,000-65,000 years ago. Here we analyse the genomes of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan from the Altai Mountains in Siberia together with the sequences of chromosome 21 of two Neanderthals from Spain and Croatia. We find that a population that diverged early from other modern humans in Africa contributed genetically to the ancestors of Neanderthals from the Altai Mountains roughly 100,000 years ago. By contrast, we do not detect such a genetic contribution in the Denisovan or the two European Neanderthals. We conclude that in addition to later interbreeding events, the ancestors of Neanderthals from the Altai Mountains and early modern humans met and interbred, possibly in the Near East, many thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

  14. The Bootheel lineament, the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence, and modern seismicity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schweig, E.S.; Ellis, M.A.

    1992-01-01

    Pedologic, geomorphic, and geochronologic data suggest that liquefaction occurred along the Bootheel lineament of Missouri and Arkansas during the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence. The authors propose that the lineament may be the surface trace of a relatively young fault zone consisting of multiple strike-slip flower structures. These structures have been interpreted over a zone at least 5 km wide exhibiting deformed strata at least as young as a regional Eocene/Quaternary unconformity. In physical models, flower structures form in less rigid material in response to low finite displacement across a discrete strike-slip shear zone in a rigid basement. By analogy,more » the Bootheel lineament may represent the most recent attempt of a strike-slip fault zone of relatively low displacement to propagate through a weak cover. In addition, the Bootheel lineament extends between two well-established, seismically active strike-slip fault zones that current form a restraining step. Restraining steps along strike-slip fault zones are inherently unstable, and thus the Bootheel lineament may be acting to smooth the trace of the New Madrid seismic zone as displacement increases. The current seismic inactivity along the Bootheel lineament may be explained by sequential accommodation of complex strain in which the stress field is highly variable within the source volume. In other words, the current stress field may not represent that which operated during the 1811-1812 sequence. Alternatively, an earthquake on a fault associated with the bootheel lineament may have released sufficient strain energy to temporarily shut down activity.« less

  15. Erotic Love and the Development of Proto-Capitalist Ideology in Early Modern Comedy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Damsen, Silver

    2009-01-01

    My dissertation, "Erotic Love and the Development of Proto-Capitalist Ideology in Early Modern Comedy" demonstrates how increased crown authority, and an expanded market combine with the mixed agency of the romantic comedy daughter to further encourage early modern economic growth. The triumph of rebelling daughter over blocking father has…

  16. Trading secrets: Jews and the early modern quest for clandestine knowledge.

    PubMed

    Jütte, Daniel

    2012-12-01

    This essay explores the significance and function of secrecy and secret sciences in Jewish-Christian relations and in Jewish culture in the early modern period. It shows how the trade in clandestine knowledge and the practice of secret sciences became a complex, sometimes hazardous space for contact between Jews and Christians. By examining this trade, the essay clarifies the role of secrecy in the early modern marketplace of knowledge. The attribution of secretiveness to Jews was a widespread topos in early modern European thought. However, relatively little is known about the implications of such beliefs in science or in daily life. The essay pays special attention to the fact that trade in secret knowledge frequently offered Jews a path to the center of power, especially at court. Furthermore, it becomes clear that the practice of secret sciences, the trade in clandestine knowledge, and a mercantile agenda were often inextricably interwoven. Special attention is paid to the Italian-Jewish alchemist, engineer, and entrepreneur Abramo Colorni (ca. 1544-1599), whose career illustrates the opportunities provided by the marketplace of secrets at that time. Much scholarly (and less scholarly) attention has been devoted to whether and what Jews "contributed" to what is commonly called the "Scientific Revolution." This essay argues that the question is misdirected and that, instead, we should pay more attention to the distinctive opportunities offered by the early modern economy of secrecy.

  17. Early modern human diversity suggests subdivided population structure and a complex out-of-Africa scenario

    PubMed Central

    Gunz, Philipp; Bookstein, Fred L.; Mitteroecker, Philipp; Stadlmayr, Andrea; Seidler, Horst; Weber, Gerhard W.

    2009-01-01

    The interpretation of genetic evidence regarding modern human origins depends, among other things, on assessments of the structure and the variation of ancient populations. Because we lack genetic data from the time when the first anatomically modern humans appeared, between 200,000 and 60,000 years ago, instead we exploit the phenotype of neurocranial geometry to compare the variation in early modern human fossils with that in other groups of fossil Homo and recent modern humans. Variation is assessed as the mean-squared Procrustes distance from the group average shape in a representation based on several hundred neurocranial landmarks and semilandmarks. We find that the early modern group has more shape variation than any other group in our sample, which covers 1.8 million years, and that they are morphologically similar to recent modern humans of diverse geographically dispersed populations but not to archaic groups. Of the currently competing models of modern human origins, some are inconsistent with these findings. Rather than a single out-of-Africa dispersal scenario, we suggest that early modern humans were already divided into different populations in Pleistocene Africa, after which there followed a complex migration pattern. Our conclusions bear implications for the inference of ancient human demography from genetic models and emphasize the importance of focusing research on those early modern humans, in particular, in Africa. PMID:19307568

  18. Prevalence of heartworm in dogs and cats of Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Montoya-Alonso, José Alberto; Morchón, Rodrigo; Falcón-Cordón, Yaiza; Falcón-Cordón, Soraya; Simón, Fernando; Carretón, Elena

    2017-07-26

    Dirofilaria immitis causes heartworm disease, a chronic and potentially fatal cardiopulmonary disease which mainly affects dogs and cats. It is present in most of Spain, due to favourable climatic factors. Madrid, located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, is the most highly populated city in the country. There is a lack of current data on canine heartworm and there are no published epidemiological data regarding feline heartworm in this region, therefore the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and current distribution of canine and feline dirofilariosis in the province of Madrid. Serum samples from 1716 dogs and 531 cats, from animals living in the metropolitan area of Madrid and adjacent areas, were studied. All the samples, either from cats and dogs, were tested for circulating D. immitis antigens using a commercial immunochromatographic test kit. Furthermore, to establish the seroprevalence of heartworm infection in cats, serological techniques for anti-D. immitis and anti-Wolbachia antibody detection were used. Prevalence of D. immitis in the canine population of Madrid was 3%, showing an increase in comparison to previous data. The presence of heartworm in the city centre could be influenced by the presence of Urban Heat Islands, while the positive dogs from metropolitan and adjacent areas were mainly located under the influence of rivers. Regarding cats, 0.2% were positive to the antigens test and 7.3% were seropositive to both anti-D. immitis and Wolbachia surface protein antibodies, which demonstrate the presence of feline heartworm in Madrid. Seropositive cats were present in the same areas where positive dogs were found. Indoor/outdoor cats showed the highest seroprevalence whereas the lowest corresponded to indoor cats, demonstrating that prophylactic treatments should be carried out regardless of lifestyle. Infection was found in 2.2% of dogs and 6.7% of the cats < 1 year-old, which indicates that early preventive campaigns in puppies

  19. Origin of the Blytheville Arch, and long-term displacement on the New Madrid seismic zone, central United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pratt, Thomas L.; Williams, Robert; Odum, Jackson K.; Stephenson, William J.

    2013-01-01

    The southern arm of the New Madrid seismic zone of the central United States coincides with the buried, ~110 km by ~20 km Blytheville Arch antiform within the Cambrian–Ordovician Reelfoot rift graben. The Blytheville Arch has been interpreted at various times as a compressive structure, an igneous intrusion, or a sediment diapir. Reprocessed industry seismic-reflection profiles presented here show a strong similarity between the Blytheville Arch and pop-up structures, or flower structures, within strike-slip fault systems. The Blytheville Arch formed in the Paleozoic, but post–Mid-Cretaceous to Quaternary strata show displacement or folding indicative of faulting. Faults within the graben structure but outside of the Blytheville Arch also appear to displace Upper Cretaceous and perhaps younger strata, indicating that past faulting was not restricted to the Blytheville Arch and New Madrid seismic zone. As much as 10–12.5 km of strike slip can be estimated from apparent shearing of the Reelfoot arm of the New Madrid seismic zone. There also appears to be ~5–5.5 km of shearing of the Reelfoot topographic scarp at the north end of the southern arm of the New Madrid seismic zone and of the southern portion of Crowley's Ridge, which is a north-trending topographic ridge just south of the seismic zone. These observations suggest that there has been substantial strike-slip displacement along the Blytheville Arch and southern arm of the New Madrid seismic zone, that strike-slip extended north and south of the modern seismic zone, and that post–Mid-Cretaceous (post-Eocene?) faulting was not restricted to the Blytheville Arch or to currently active faults within the New Madrid seismic zone.

  20. Nursing care in postwar Madrid.

    PubMed

    Chamorro Rebollo, Elena; Siles González, José; Díaz Pérez, Cristina; Álvarez López, Oscar

    2016-06-01

    To describe the work of the Salus Infirmorum Sisterhood in caring for the most underprivileged individuals from the postwar outskirts of Madrid, through the voluntary service of the nurses who were part of that Institution. A historical study based on the analysis of primary sources from the Sisterhood's archives. Salus Infirmorum once relied on more than 100 volunteer nurses who treated over 425-thousand people in 21 parish dispensaries located within the neediest neighborhoods of Madrid, providing both preventative and curative medical care. Nurses were offered adequate training in exchange for the care provided. Salus Infirmorum took healthcare to the streets of Madrid, treating patients in improvised medical clinics set up in parishes or in the patient's own home, as the situation required, in addition to training women who otherwise would not have had access to it.

  1. Documenting the Past and the Present: Madrid, New Mexico.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gentry, Thomas

    2002-01-01

    Discusses a project in which students visit the town of Madrid, New Mexico, to create a photographic record of Madrid, accompanied by stories. Explains that a video documentary was created about this experience. Includes background information on the village of Madrid to be shared with students. (CMK)

  2. Analysing the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes with recent instrumentally recorded aftershocks

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mueller, K.; Hough, S.E.; Bilham, R.

    2004-01-01

    Although dynamic stress changes associated with the passage of seismic waves are thought to trigger earthquakes at great distances, more than 60 per cent of all aftershocks appear to be triggered by static stress changes within two rupture lengths of a mainshock. The observed distribution of aftershocks may thus be used to infer details of mainshock rupture geometry. Aftershocks following large mid-continental earthquakes, where background stressing rates are low, are known to persist for centuries, and models based on rate-and-state friction laws provide theoretical support for this inference. Most past studies of the New Madrid earthquake sequence have indeed assumed ongoing microseismicity to be a continuing aftershock sequence. Here we use instrumentally recorded aftershock locations and models of elastic stress change to develop a kinematically consistent rupture scenario for three of the four largest earthquakes of the 1811-1812 New Madrid sequence. Our results suggest that these three events occurred on two contiguous faults, producing lobes of increased stress near fault intersections and end points, in areas where present-day microearthquakes have been hitherto interpreted as evidence of primary mainshock rupture. We infer that the remaining New Madrid mainshock may have occurred more than 200 km north of this region in the Wabash Valley of southern Indiana and Illinois-an area that contains abundant modern microseismicity, and where substantial liquefaction was documented by historic accounts. Our results suggest that future large midplate earthquake sequences may extend over a much broader region than previously suspected.

  3. Earliest evidence of modern human life history in North African early Homo sapiens.

    PubMed

    Smith, Tanya M; Tafforeau, Paul; Reid, Donald J; Grün, Rainer; Eggins, Stephen; Boutakiout, Mohamed; Hublin, Jean-Jacques

    2007-04-10

    Recent developmental studies demonstrate that early fossil hominins possessed shorter growth periods than living humans, implying disparate life histories. Analyses of incremental features in teeth provide an accurate means of assessing the age at death of developing dentitions, facilitating direct comparisons with fossil and modern humans. It is currently unknown when and where the prolonged modern human developmental condition originated. Here, an application of x-ray synchrotron microtomography reveals that an early Homo sapiens juvenile from Morocco dated at 160,000 years before present displays an equivalent degree of tooth development to modern European children at the same age. Crown formation times in the juvenile's macrodont dentition are higher than modern human mean values, whereas root development is accelerated relative to modern humans but is less than living apes and some fossil hominins. The juvenile from Jebel Irhoud is currently the oldest-known member of Homo with a developmental pattern (degree of eruption, developmental stage, and crown formation time) that is more similar to modern H. sapiens than to earlier members of Homo. This study also underscores the continuing importance of North Africa for understanding the origins of human anatomical and behavioral modernity. Corresponding biological and cultural changes may have appeared relatively late in the course of human evolution.

  4. Malocclusion in Early Anatomically Modern Human: A Reflection on the Etiology of Modern Dental Misalignment

    PubMed Central

    Sarig, Rachel; Slon, Viviane; Abbas, Janan; May, Hila; Shpack, Nir; Vardimon, Alexander Dan; Hershkovitz, Israel

    2013-01-01

    Malocclusions are common in modern populations. Yet, as the study of occlusion requires an almost intact dentition in both the maxilla and mandible, searching for the ultimate cause of malocclusion is a challenge: relatively little ancient material is available for research on occlusal states. The Qafzeh 9 skull is unique, as its preserved dentition allowed us to investigate the presence and manifestations of malocclusion. The aim of this study was thus to examine the occlusal condition in the Qafzeh 9 specimen in light of modern knowledge regarding the etiology of malocclusion. We revealed a pathologic occlusion in the Qafzeh 9 skull that probably originated in the early developmental stage of the dentition, and was aggravated by forces applied by mastication. When arch continuity is interrupted due to misalignment of teeth as in this case, force transmission is not equal on both sides, causing intra-arch outcomes such as mesialization of the teeth, midline deviation, rotations and the aggravation of crowding. All are evident in the Qafzeh 9 skull: the midline deviates to the left; the incisors rotate mesio-buccally; the left segment is constricted; the left first molar is buccally positioned and the left premolars palatally tilted. The inter-arch evaluation revealed anterior cross bite with functional shift that might affect force transmission and bite force. In conclusion, the findings of the current study suggest that malocclusion of developmental origin was already present in early anatomically modern humans (AMH) (the present case being the oldest known case, dated to ca. 100,000 years); that there is no basis to the notion that early AMH had a better adjustment between teeth and jaw size; and that jaw-teeth size discrepancy could be found in prehistoric populations and is not a recent phenomenon. PMID:24278319

  5. The human autonomous karyotype and the origins of prenatal testing: children, pregnant women and early Down's syndrome cytogenetics, Madrid 1962-1975.

    PubMed

    Santesmases, María Jesús

    2014-09-01

    Through their ability to reveal and record abnormal chromosomes, whether inherited or accidentally altered, chromosomal studies, known as karyotyping, became the basis upon which medical genetics was constructed. The techniques involved became the visual evidence that confirmed a medical examination and were configured as a material culture for redefining health and disease, or the normal and the abnormal, in cytological terms. I will show that the study of foetal cells obtained by amniocentesis led to the stabilisation of karyotyping in its own right, while also keeping pregnant women under the vigilant medical eye. In the absence of any other examination, prenatal diagnosis by foetal karyotyping became autonomous from the foetal body. Although medical cytogenetics was practiced on an individual basis, data collected about patients over time contributed to the construction of population figures regarding birth defects. I study this complex trajectory by focussing on a Unit for Cytogenetics created in 1962 at the Clínica de la Concepción in Madrid. I incorporate the work and training of the clinicians who created the unit, and worked there as well as at other units in the large new hospitals of the national health care system built in Madrid during the mid-1960s and early 1970s. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Zilsel's Thesis, Maritime Culture, and Iberian Science in Early Modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Leitão, Henrique; Sánchez, Antonio

    2017-01-01

    Zilsel's thesis on the artisanal origins of modern science remains one of the most original proposals about the emergence of scientific modernity. We propose to inspect the scientific developments in Iberia in the early modern period using Zilsel's ideas as a guideline. Our purpose is to show that his ideas illuminate the situation in Iberia but also that the Iberian case is a remarkable illustration of Zilsel's thesis. Furthermore, we argue that Zilsel's thesis is essentially a sociological explanation that cannot be applied to isolated cases; its use implies global events that involve extended societies over large periods of time.

  7. [Opinion and Participation in the Regional Early Breast Cancer Detection Program in 2007 on the part of family physicians from a health district in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain].

    PubMed

    Garrido Elustondo, Sofía; Sánchez Padilla, Elisabeth; Ramírez Alesón, Victoria; González Hernández, Ma José; González Navarro, Andrés; López Gómez, Carlos

    2008-01-01

    Mammogram screening is the most effective method for the early detection of breast cancer. The objective of this study is to evaluate the degree of knowledge, the opinion and the participation in the early breast cancer detection program on the part of the family physicians of the Autonomous Community of Madrid. The population studied was comprised of family physicians from Madrid Health District Seven. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire comprised of 30 questions grouped into physicians characteristics and opinion concerning the early breast cancer detection programs. A total of 46% of the physicians replied. A total of 94% of the physicians believed that it is their duty to inform their patients concerning preventive activities, including breast cancer screening, and 95% believed their advice to be useful for convincing women to have a mammogram. A total of 72% believed information to be lacking on this program. During the time when mammograms are being taken at their centres, 24% of the physicians surveyed always or almost always ask the women if they have any doubts or would like further information, 43% having set up appointments for them and 95% advising them to have a mammogram taken. The family physicians have a good opinion of the early breast cancer detection program and feel their advice to be effective for improving the participation in the program. They report lack of information and inform women about the program to only a small degree.

  8. Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques.

    PubMed

    Günther, Torsten; Valdiosera, Cristina; Malmström, Helena; Ureña, Irene; Rodriguez-Varela, Ricardo; Sverrisdóttir, Óddny Osk; Daskalaki, Evangelia A; Skoglund, Pontus; Naidoo, Thijessen; Svensson, Emma M; Bermúdez de Castro, José María; Carbonell, Eudald; Dunn, Michael; Storå, Jan; Iriarte, Eneko; Arsuaga, Juan Luis; Carretero, José-Miguel; Götherström, Anders; Jakobsson, Mattias

    2015-09-22

    The consequences of the Neolithic transition in Europe--one of the most important cultural changes in human prehistory--is a subject of great interest. However, its effect on prehistoric and modern-day people in Iberia, the westernmost frontier of the European continent, remains unresolved. We present, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide sequence data from eight human remains, dated to between 5,500 and 3,500 years before present, excavated in the El Portalón cave at Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain. We show that these individuals emerged from the same ancestral gene pool as early farmers in other parts of Europe, suggesting that migration was the dominant mode of transferring farming practices throughout western Eurasia. In contrast to central and northern early European farmers, the Chalcolithic El Portalón individuals additionally mixed with local southwestern hunter-gatherers. The proportion of hunter-gatherer-related admixture into early farmers also increased over the course of two millennia. The Chalcolithic El Portalón individuals showed greatest genetic affinity to modern-day Basques, who have long been considered linguistic and genetic isolates linked to the Mesolithic whereas all other European early farmers show greater genetic similarity to modern-day Sardinians. These genetic links suggest that Basques and their language may be linked with the spread of agriculture during the Neolithic. Furthermore, all modern-day Iberian groups except the Basques display distinct admixture with Caucasus/Central Asian and North African groups, possibly related to historical migration events. The El Portalón genomes uncover important pieces of the demographic history of Iberia and Europe and reveal how prehistoric groups relate to modern-day people.

  9. European early modern humans and the fate of the Neandertals

    PubMed Central

    Trinkaus, Erik

    2007-01-01

    A consideration of the morphological aspects of the earliest modern humans in Europe (more than ≈33,000 B.P.) and the subsequent Gravettian human remains indicates that they possess an anatomical pattern congruent with the autapomorphic (derived) morphology of the earliest (Middle Paleolithic) African modern humans. However, they exhibit a variable suite of features that are either distinctive Neandertal traits and/or plesiomorphic (ancestral) aspects that had been lost among the African Middle Paleolithic modern humans. These features include aspects of neurocranial shape, basicranial external morphology, mandibular ramal and symphyseal form, dental morphology and size, and anteroposterior dental proportions, as well as aspects of the clavicles, scapulae, metacarpals, and appendicular proportions. The ubiquitous and variable presence of these morphological features in the European earlier modern human samples can only be parsimoniously explained as a product of modest levels of assimilation of Neandertals into early modern human populations as the latter dispersed across Europe. This interpretation is in agreement with current analyses of recent and past human molecular data. PMID:17452632

  10. Early Modern Humans and Morphological Variation in Southeast Asia: Fossil Evidence from Tam Pa Ling, Laos

    PubMed Central

    Demeter, Fabrice; Shackelford, Laura; Westaway, Kira; Duringer, Philippe; Bacon, Anne-Marie; Ponche, Jean-Luc; Wu, Xiujie; Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa; Zhao, Jian-Xin; Barnes, Lani; Boyon, Marc; Sichanthongtip, Phonephanh; Sénégas, Frank; Karpoff, Anne-Marie; Patole-Edoumba, Elise; Coppens, Yves; Braga, José

    2015-01-01

    Little is known about the timing of modern human emergence and occupation in Eastern Eurasia. However a rapid migration out of Africa into Southeast Asia by at least 60 ka is supported by archaeological, paleogenetic and paleoanthropological data. Recent discoveries in Laos, a modern human cranium (TPL1) from Tam Pa Ling‘s cave, provided the first evidence for the presence of early modern humans in mainland Southeast Asia by 63-46 ka. In the current study, a complete human mandible representing a second individual, TPL 2, is described using discrete traits and geometric morphometrics with an emphasis on determining its population affinity. The TPL2 mandible has a chin and other discrete traits consistent with early modern humans, but it retains a robust lateral corpus and internal corporal morphology typical of archaic humans across the Old World. The mosaic morphology of TPL2 and the fully modern human morphology of TPL1 suggest that a large range of morphological variation was present in early modern human populations residing in the eastern Eurasia by MIS 3. PMID:25849125

  11. Evidence for New Madrid earthquakes in A.D. 300 and 2350 B.C

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tuttle, M.P.; Schweig, E. S.; Campbell, J.; Thomas, P.M.; Sims, J.D.; Lafferty, R. H.

    2005-01-01

    Six episodes of earthquake-induced liquefaction are associated with soil horizons containing artifacts of the Late Archaic (3000-500 B.C.) and Early to Middle Woodland (500 B.C.-A.D. 400) cultural periods at the Burkett archaeological site in the northern part of the New Madrid seismic zone, where little information about prehistoric earthquakes has been available. Radiocarbon dating of organic material and analysis of artifacts are used to estimate the ages of the liquefaction features and times of the causative earthquakes. The most recent episode of liquefaction occurred after A.D. 1670, produced small sand dikes, and is probably related to the 1895 Charleston, Missouri earthquake. The preceding episode struck the area in A.D. 300 ?? 200 years and generated a sand blow that contains Late Woodland artifacts and buries an Early to Middle Woodland cultural horizon. Four older episodes of liquefaction occurred in 2350 B.C. ?? 200 years and may have been produced by a sequence of closely timed earthquakes. The four earlier episodes produced graben structures, sand dikes, and associated sand blows on which a cultural mound was constructed. The Burkett liquefaction features that formed about 2350 B.C. and A.D. 300 are relatively large and similar in age to other liquefaction features in northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri, respectively. If the prehistoric features at the Burkett site and those of similar age elsewhere in the region are the result of the same earthquakes, then this suggests that they were similar in size to the three largest (M 7-8) 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes. A New Madrid-type earthquake in A.D. 300 ?? 200 years would support an average recurrence time of 500 years. Although this study extends the earthquake chronology back to 2500 B.C., it is uncertain that the record of New Madrid events is complete for the period between 2350 B.C. and A.D. 300. As demonstrated by this study, information about other prehistoric earthquakes may be

  12. Assembling the dodo in early modern natural history.

    PubMed

    Lawrence, Natalie

    2015-09-01

    This paper explores the assimilation of the flightless dodo into early modern natural history. The dodo was first described by Dutch sailors landing on Mauritius in 1598, and became extinct in the 1680s or 1690s. Despite this brief period of encounter, the bird was a popular subject in natural-history works and a range of other genres. The dodo will be used here as a counterexample to the historical narratives of taxonomic crisis and abrupt shifts in natural history caused by exotic creatures coming to Europe. Though this bird had a bizarre form, early modern naturalists integrated the dodo and other flightless birds through several levels of conceptual categorization, including the geographical, morphological and symbolic. Naturalists such as Charles L'Ecluse produced a set of typical descriptive tropes that helped make up the European dodo. These long-lived images were used for a variety of symbolic purposes, demonstrated by the depiction of the Dutch East India enterprise in Willem Piso's 1658 publication. The case of the dodo shows that, far from there being a dramatic shift away from emblematics in the seventeenth century, the implicit symbolic roles attributed to exotic beasts by naturalists constructing them from scant information and specimens remained integral to natural history.

  13. Sex differences of dental pathology in early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura in Japan.

    PubMed

    Oyamada, Joichi; Kitagawa, Yoshikazu; Hara, Masahito; Sakamoto, Junya; Matsushita, Takayuki; Tsurumoto, Toshiyuki; Manabe, Yoshitaka

    2017-07-01

    So-called "Ohaguro", teeth blackening, in the married females was a general custom regardless of class in the early modern period. As a result, Ohaguro was thought to have enhanced the acid resistance of tooth substance and tightened gingiva and prevented tooth morbidity due to periodontal disease. For investigation into the influence of Ohaguro, the skeletal remains of early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura were examined for differences in the dental pathology based on sex. Though females from archeological sites have significantly more carious teeth and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) than males in the previous studies, the prevalence of caries and AMTL in males was higher than in females among the early modern samurai and commoners in Kokura. The efficacies of Ohaguro may influence the good dental health of females. On the other hand, as females were considered inferior to males under the feudal system in Japan, males, including children, might tend to consume more nutritious foods compared to females. However, those foods are certainly not better with regard to dental health, since those foods are more highly cariogenic. These factors may have caused higher caries and AMTL prevalence among males compared to females in early modern Kokura.

  14. The early Upper Paleolithic human skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho (Portugal) and modern human emergence in Iberia

    PubMed Central

    Duarte, Cidália; Maurício, João; Pettitt, Paul B.; Souto, Pedro; Trinkaus, Erik; van der Plicht, Hans; Zilhão, João

    1999-01-01

    The discovery of an early Upper Paleolithic human burial at the Abrigo do Lagar Velho, Portugal, has provided evidence of early modern humans from southern Iberia. The remains, the largely complete skeleton of a ≈4-year-old child buried with pierced shell and red ochre, is dated to ca. 24,500 years B.P. The cranium, mandible, dentition, and postcrania present a mosaic of European early modern human and Neandertal features. The temporal bone has an intermediate-sized juxtamastoid eminence. The mandibular mentum osseum and the dental size and proportions, supported by mandibular ramal features, radial tuberosity orientation, and diaphyseal curvature, as well as the pubic proportions align the skeleton with early modern humans. Body proportions, reflected in femorotibial lengths and diaphyseal robusticity plus tibial condylar displacement, as well as mandibular symphyseal retreat and thoracohumeral muscle insertions, align the skeleton with the Neandertals. This morphological mosaic indicates admixture between regional Neandertals and early modern humans dispersing into southern Iberia. It establishes the complexities of the Late Pleistocene emergence of modern humans and refutes strict replacement models of modern human origins. PMID:10377462

  15. Kinematics of the New Madrid seismic zone, central United States, based on stepover models

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pratt, Thomas L.

    2012-01-01

    Seismicity in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) of the central United States is generally attributed to a stepover structure in which the Reelfoot thrust fault transfers slip between parallel strike-slip faults. However, some arms of the seismic zone do not fit this simple model. Comparison of the NMSZ with an analog sandbox model of a restraining stepover structure explains all of the arms of seismicity as only part of the extensive pattern of faults that characterizes stepover structures. Computer models show that the stepover structure may form because differences in the trends of lower crustal shearing and inherited upper crustal faults make a step between en echelon fault segments the easiest path for slip in the upper crust. The models predict that the modern seismicity occurs only on a subset of the faults in the New Madrid stepover structure, that only the southern part of the stepover structure ruptured in the A.D. 1811–1812 earthquakes, and that the stepover formed because the trends of older faults are not the same as the current direction of shearing.

  16. Ancient gene flow from early modern humans into Eastern Neanderthals

    PubMed Central

    Kuhlwilm, Martin; Gronau, Ilan; Hubisz, Melissa J.; de Filippo, Cesare; Prado-Martinez, Javier; Kircher, Martin; Fu, Qiaomei; Burbano, Hernán A.; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; de la Rasilla, Marco; Rosas, Antonio; Rudan, Pavao; Brajkovic, Dejana; Kucan, Željko; Gušic, Ivan; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Andrés, Aida M.; Viola, Bence; Pääbo, Svante; Meyer, Matthias; Siepel, Adam; Castellano, Sergi

    2016-01-01

    It has been shown that Neanderthals contributed genetically to modern humans outside Africa 47,000–65,000 years ago. Here, we analyze the genomes of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan from the Altai Mountains in Siberia together with the sequences of chromosome 21 of two Neanderthals from Spain and Croatia. We find that a population that diverged early from other modern humans in Africa contributed genetically to the ancestors of Neanderthals from the Altai Mountains roughly 100,000 years ago. By contrast, we do not detect such a genetic contribution in the Denisovan or the two European Neanderthals. We conclude that in addition to later interbreeding events, the ancestors of Neanderthals from the Altai Mountains and of modern humans met and interbred, possibly in the Near East, many thousands of years earlier than previously reported. PMID:26886800

  17. Early modern human lithic technology from Jerimalai, East Timor.

    PubMed

    Marwick, Ben; Clarkson, Chris; O'Connor, Sue; Collins, Sophie

    2016-12-01

    Jerimalai is a rock shelter in East Timor with cultural remains dated to 42,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest known sites of modern human activity in island Southeast Asia. It has special global significance for its record of early pelagic fishing and ancient shell fish hooks. It is also of regional significance for its early occupation and comparatively large assemblage of Pleistocene stone artefacts. Three major findings arise from our study of the stone artefacts. First, there is little change in lithic technology over the 42,000 year sequence, with the most noticeable change being the addition of new artefact types and raw materials in the mid-Holocene. Second, the assemblage is dominated by small chert cores and implements rather than pebble tools and choppers, a pattern we argue pattern, we argue, that is common in island SE Asian sites as opposed to mainland SE Asian sites. Third, the Jerimalai assemblage bears a striking resemblance to the assemblage from Liang Bua, argued by the Liang Bua excavation team to be associated with Homo floresiensis. We argue that the near proximity of these two islands along the Indonesian island chain (c.100 km apart), the long antiquity of modern human occupation in the region (as documented at Jerimalai), and the strong resemblance of distinctive flake stone technologies seen at both sites, raises the intriguing possibility that both the Liang Bua and Jerimalai assemblages were created by modern humans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. "Old Poems Have Heart": Teenage Students Reading Early Modern Poetry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Naylor, Amanda

    2013-01-01

    The proposals for the revised National Curriculum in English suggest limiting the pre-twentieth century poetry that GCSE pupils read to "representative Romantic poetry" (Department for Education [DFE], 2013, p. 4). This paper argues that poetry of the early modern period is challenging and enriching study for adolescent pupils and that…

  19. New Madrid Seismotectonic Study: activities during fiscal year 1983

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buschbach, T.C.

    1985-04-01

    The New Madrid Seismotectonic Study is a coordinated program of geological, geophysical, and seismological investigations of the area within a 200-mile radius of New Madrid, Missouri. The study is designed to define the structural setting and tectonic history of the area in order to realistically evaluate earthquake risks in the siting of nuclear facilities. Our studies concentrated on defining boundaries of a proposed rift complex in the area, as well as establishing the relationships of the east-west trending fault systems with the northwest-trending faults of the Wabash Valley and New Madrid areas. There were 204 earthquakes located in 1983. Inmore » addition, the earthquake swarm in north-central Arkansas continued throughout the year, and 45,000 earthquakes have been recorded there since January, 1982. Current seismic activity in the Anna, Ohio, area appears to be related to the northwest-trending Fort Wayne rift and possibly with the rift's contact with a low-density pluton. Fault studies of the Rough Creek-Shawneetown Fault System showed mostly high-angle normal faults with a master fault that is a high-angle south-dipping reverse fault. Trenching of terrace deposits along the Kentucky River Fault System confirmed some anomalous conditions in terrace deposits previously indicated by electrical resistivity and augering programs. Thermal and chemical data from groundwater in the Mississippi Embayment appear to be useful in localizing deep faults that cut through the aquifers. Early indications from studies of jointing in Indiana are that the direction of major joint sets will be useful in determining regional stress directions. No Quaternary faulting was found in the Indiana or Illinois fault studies.« less

  20. The Corporeality of Learning: Confucian Education in Early Modern Japan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tsujimoto, Masashi

    2016-01-01

    The intellectual foundation of early modern Japan was provided by Confucianism--a system of knowledge set forth in Chinese classical writings. In order to gain access to this knowledge, the Japanese applied reading markers to modify the original Chinese to fit the peculiarities of Japanese grammar and pronunciation. Confucian education started by…

  1. All that glitters: fool's gold in the early-modern era.

    PubMed

    Roos, Anna Marie

    2008-12-01

    Natural philosophers of the early-modern period perceived fool's gold or iron pyrites as a substance required for the formation of metals, and chemists such as Johann Glauber speculated the vitriol produced from pyrites was the source of the legendary philosopher's stone. The sulphurous exhalations of fool's gold were also thought by members of the early Royal Society to be the basis of a variety of meteorological, geological and medical effects, including the production of thunder, lightning, earthquakes and volcanoes, fossilisation and petrifaction, as well as the principal cause of bladder and gallstones.

  2. The Commerce of Utility: Teaching Mathematical Geography in Early Modern England

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cormack, Lesley B.

    2006-01-01

    The teaching and learning of geographical and mathematical knowledge in early modern England was a complex interaction among scholars, practitioners, merchants, and gentry. Each group had different values and goals associated with geographical knowledge and therefore different educational venues and different topics to be investigated. This paper…

  3. New Madrid Seismotectonic Program. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buschbach, T.C.

    1986-06-01

    The New Madrid Seismotectonic Program was a large-scale multidisciplinary effort that was designed to define the structural setting and tectonic history of the New Madrid area in order to realistically evaluate earthquake risks in the siting of nuclear facilities. The tectonic model proposed to explain the New Madrid seismicity is the ''zone of weakness'' model, which suggests that an ancient rift complex formed a zone of weakness in the earth's crust along which regional stresses are relieved. The Reelfoot Rift portion of the proposed rift complex is currently seismically active, and it must be considered capable and likely to bemore » exposed to large-magnitude earthquakes in the future. Earthquakes that occur in the Wabash Valley area are less abundant and generally have deeper hypocenters than earthquakes in the New Madrid area. The area of the Southern Indiana Arm must be considered to have seismic risk, although a lesser extent than the Reelfoot Rift. The east-west trending Rough Creek Graben is practically aseismic, probably in large part due to its orientation in the current stress field. The northwest-trending St. Louis Arm of the proposed rift complex includes a pattern of seismicity that extends from southern Illinois along the Mississippi River. This arm must be considered to have seismic risk, but because of the lack of development of a graben associated with the arm and the orientation of the arm in the current stress field, the risk appears to be less than in the Reelfoot Rift portion of the rift complex.« less

  4. A Fruitful Exchange/Conflict: Engineers and Mathematicians in Early Modern Italy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maffioli, Cesare S.

    2013-01-01

    Exchanges of learning and controversies between engineers and mathematicians were important factors in the development of early modern science. This theme is discussed by focusing, first, on architectural and mathematical dynamism in mid 16th-century Milan. While some engineers-architects referred to Euclid and Vitruvius for improving their…

  5. Trading Zones in Early Modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Long, Pamela O

    2015-12-01

    This essay adopts the concept of trading zones first developed for the history of science by Peter Galison and redefines it for the early modern period. The term "trading zones" is used to mean arenas in which substantive and reciprocal communication occurred between individuals who were artisanally trained and learned (university-trained) individuals. Such trading zones proliferated in the sixteenth century. They tended to arise in certain kinds of places and not in others, but their existence must be determined empirically. The author's work on trading zones differs from the ideas of Edgar Zilsel, who emphasized the influence of artisans on the scientific revolution. In contrast, in this essay, the mutual influence of artisans and the learned on each other is stressed, and translation is used as a modality that was important to communication within trading zones.

  6. Religion in the National Historical Narrative of the Early Modern Times in Contemporary Ukrainian Schooling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shevchenko, Tetiana

    2015-01-01

    This article deals with religious discourse in modern history school textbooks in Ukraine that cover early modern times in Ukrainian history. It analyzes the place of religious discourse within national discourse, the correlation between local Ukrainian religious and more general discourse, and the representation of the relationships between…

  7. ‘Herbals she peruseth’: reading medicine in early modern England

    PubMed Central

    Leong, Elaine

    2014-01-01

    In 1631, Richard Brathwaite penned a conduct manual for ‘English Gentlewomen’. In Brathwaite's mind, the ideal English gentlewoman was not only chaste, modest and honourable but also an avid reader. In fact, Brathwaite specifically recommends English gentlewomen to first peruse herbals and then to deepen their medical knowledge via conference. Centred on the manuscript notebooks of two late seventeenth-century women, Margaret Boscawen (d. 1688) and Elizabeth Freke (1642–1714), this article explores women and ‘medical reading’ in early modern England. It first demonstrates that whilst both women consulted herbals by contemporary authors such as John Gerard and Nicholas Culpeper, their modes of reading could not be more different. Where Freke ruminated, digested and abstracted from Gerard's large tome, Boscawen made practical lists from Culpeper's The English Physitian. Secondly, the article shows that both supplemented their herbal reading with a range of other vernacular medical texts including printed medical recipe books, contemporary pharmacopoeia and surgical handbooks. Early modern English women's medical reading, I argue, was nuanced, sophisticated and diverse. Furthermore, I contend that well-informed readers like Boscawen and Freke made smart medical consumers and formidable negotiators in their medical encounters. PMID:25821333

  8. Casebooks in Early Modern England:

    PubMed Central

    Kassell, Lauren

    2014-01-01

    summary Casebooks are the richest sources that we have for encounters between early modern medical practitioners and their patients. This article compares astrological and medical records across two centuries, focused on England, and charts developments in the ways in which practitioners kept records and reflected on their practices. Astrologers had a long history of working from particular moments, stellar configurations, and events to general rules. These practices required systematic notation. Physicians increasingly modeled themselves on Hippocrates, recording details of cases as the basis for reasoned expositions of the histories of disease. Medical records, as other scholars have demonstrated, shaped the production of medical knowledge. Instead, this article focuses on the nature of casebooks as artifacts of the medical encounter. It establishes that casebooks were serial records of practice, akin to diaries, testimonials, and registers; identifies extant English casebooks and the practices that led to their production and preservation; and concludes that the processes of writing, ordering, and preserving medical records are as important for understanding the medical encounter as the records themselves. PMID:25557513

  9. Alchemical poetry in medieval and early modern Europe: a preliminary survey and synthesis. Part II - Synthesis.

    PubMed

    Kahn, Didier

    2011-03-01

    This article provides a preliminary description of medieval and early modern alchemical poetry composed in Latin and in the principal vernacular languages of western Europe. It aims to distinguish the various genres in which this poetry flourished, and to identify the most representative aspects of each cultural epoch by considering the medieval and early modern periods in turn. Such a distinction (always somewhat artificial) between two broad historical periods may be justified by the appearance of new cultural phenomena that profoundly modified the character of early modern alchemical poetry: the ever-increasing importance of the prisca theologia, the alchemical interpretation of ancient mythology, and the rise of neo-Latin humanist poetry. Although early modern alchemy was marked by the appearance of new doctrines (notably the alchemical spiritus mundi and Paracelsianism), alchemical poetry was only superficially modified by criteria of a scientific nature, which therefore appear to be of lesser importance. This study falls into two parts. Part I provides a descriptive survey of extant poetry, and in Part II the results of the survey are analysed in order to highlight such distinctive features as the function of alchemical poetry, the influence of the book market on its evolution, its doctrinal content, and the question of whether any theory of alchemical poetry ever emerged. Part II is accompanied by an index of the authors and works cited in both parts.

  10. Approaches to the History of Patients: From the Ancient World to Early Modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Stolberg, Michael

    2016-01-01

    This chapter looks from an early modernist's perspective at some of the major questions and methodological issues that writing the history of patients in the ancient world shares with similar work on Patientengeschichte in medieval and early modern Europe. It addresses, in particular, the problem of finding adequate sources that give access to the patients' experience of illness and medicine and highlights the potential as well as the limitations of using physicians' case histories for that purpose. It discusses the doctor-patient relationship as it emerges from these sources, and the impact of the patient's point of view on learned medical theory and practice. In conclusion, it pleads for a cautious and nuanced approach to the controversial issue of retrospective diagnosis, recommending that historians consistently ask in which contexts and in what way the application of modern diagnostic labels to pre-modern accounts of illness can truly contribute to a better historical understanding rather than distort it.

  11. Modern mammal origins: evolutionary grades in the Early Cretaceous of North America.

    PubMed

    Jacobs, L L; Winkler, D A; Murry, P A

    1989-07-01

    Major groups of modern mammals have their origins in the Mesozoic Era, yet the mammalian fossil record is generally poor for that time interval. Fundamental morphological changes that led to modern mammals are often represented by small samples of isolated teeth. Fortunately, functional wear facets on teeth allow prediction of the morphology of occluding teeth that may be unrepresented by fossils. A major step in mammalian evolution occurred in the Early Cretaceous with the evolution of tribosphenic molars, which characterize marsupials and placentals, the two most abundant and diverse extant groups of mammals. A tooth from the Early Cretaceous (110 million years before present) of Texas tests previous predictions (based on lower molars) of the morphology of upper molars in early tribosphenic dentitions. The lingual cusp (protocone) is primitively without shear facets, as expected, but the cheek side of the tooth is derived (advanced) in having distinctive cusps along the margin. The tooth, although distressingly inadequate to define many features of the organism, demonstrates unexpected morphological diversity at a strategic stage of mammalian evolution and falsifies previous claims of the earliest occurrence of true marsupials.

  12. Modern mammal origins: evolutionary grades in the Early Cretaceous of North America.

    PubMed Central

    Jacobs, L L; Winkler, D A; Murry, P A

    1989-01-01

    Major groups of modern mammals have their origins in the Mesozoic Era, yet the mammalian fossil record is generally poor for that time interval. Fundamental morphological changes that led to modern mammals are often represented by small samples of isolated teeth. Fortunately, functional wear facets on teeth allow prediction of the morphology of occluding teeth that may be unrepresented by fossils. A major step in mammalian evolution occurred in the Early Cretaceous with the evolution of tribosphenic molars, which characterize marsupials and placentals, the two most abundant and diverse extant groups of mammals. A tooth from the Early Cretaceous (110 million years before present) of Texas tests previous predictions (based on lower molars) of the morphology of upper molars in early tribosphenic dentitions. The lingual cusp (protocone) is primitively without shear facets, as expected, but the cheek side of the tooth is derived (advanced) in having distinctive cusps along the margin. The tooth, although distressingly inadequate to define many features of the organism, demonstrates unexpected morphological diversity at a strategic stage of mammalian evolution and falsifies previous claims of the earliest occurrence of true marsupials. Images PMID:2740336

  13. Formalization and Interaction: Toward a Comprehensive History of Technology-Related Knowledge in Early Modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Popplow, Marcus

    2015-12-01

    Recent critical approaches to what has conventionally been described as "scientific" and "technical" knowledge in early modern Europe have provided a wealth of new insights. So far, the various analytical concepts suggested by these studies have not yet been comprehensively discussed. The present essay argues that such comprehensive approaches might prove of special value for long-term and cross-cultural reflections on technology-related knowledge. As heuristic tools, the notions of "formalization" and "interaction" are proposed as part of alternative narratives to those highlighting the emergence of "science" as the most relevant development for technology-related knowledge in early modern Europe.

  14. Teaching Petrarchan and Anti-Petrarchan Discourses in Early Modern English Lyrics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ribes, Purificación

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the present article is to help students realize that Petrarchism has been an influential source of inspiration for Early Modern English lyrics. Its topics and conventions have lent themselves to a wide variety of appropriations which the present selection of texts for analysis tries to illustrate. A few telling examples from Spenser,…

  15. The Social ecology of Madrid: Stratification in comparative perspective.

    PubMed

    Abrahamson, M; Johnson, P

    1974-08-01

    This paper examines the characteristics of residential zones in Madrid, Spain. The primary difference between zones is found to lie in a new bourgeoisie life-style dimension. Working women are found to be the best indicator of this dimension, which also involves servants, natives of Madrid and high degrees of literacy. Fertility-related considerations, however, are unrelated to working women, and this is explained as due to the availability of domestic help and "women-oriented" working arrangements. Fertility and socioeconomic status are found to be interrelated and constitute a second dimension of residential segregation. In conclusion, Madrid is examined in relation to both more and less industrialized cities, leading to a further modification of social area theory contentions concerning the ecology of stratification in developing cities.

  16. Between Charity and Education: Orphans and Orphanages in Early Modern Times

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobi, Juliane

    2009-01-01

    In early modern times orphans have been children who could not expect sufficient support from their family because of lack of at least one parent, in most cases the father. This article will clarify of whom we are talking if we talk about orphans and what have been the conditions of living in a society which was organised by a high variety of…

  17. Alchemical poetry in medieval and early modern Europe: a preliminary survey and synthesis. Part I--Preliminary survey.

    PubMed

    Kahn, Didier

    2010-11-01

    This article provides a preliminary description of medieval and early modern alchemical poetry composed in Latin and in the principal vernacular languages of western Europe. It aims to distinguish the various genres in which this poetry flourished, and to identify the most representative aspects of each cultural epoch by considering the medieval and early modern periods in turn. Such a distinction (always somewhat artificial) between two broad historical periods may be justified by the appearance of new cultural phenomena that profoundly modified the character of early modern alchemical poetry: the ever-increasing importance of the prisca theologia, the alchemical interpretation of ancient mythology, and the rise of neo-Latin humanist poetry. Although early modern alchemy was marked by the appearance of new doctrines (notably the alchemical spiritus mundi and Paracelsianism), alchemical poetry was only superficially modified by criteria of a scientific nature, which therefore appear to be of lesser importance. This study falls into two parts. Part I provides a descriptive survey of extant poetry, and in Part II the results of the survey are analysed in order to highlight such distinctive features as the function of alchemical poetry, the influence of the book market on its evolution, its doctrinal content, and the question of whether any theory of alchemical poetry ever emerged. Part II is accompanied by an index of the authors and works cited in both parts.

  18. A never-ending succession of epidemics? Mortality in early-modern York.

    PubMed

    Galley, C

    1994-04-01

    Early-modern cities are often perceived to be centres of high mortality and under constant siege from a barrage of epidemics. However, few urban mortality rates have been calculated and by employing parish register evidence from the regional capital of York, the thesis that the city was subjected to continual sudden increases in mortality can be firmly rejected. Infant mortality was high but remained virtually constant between 1561 and 1700. About a quarter of all infants did not survive to reach their first birthday and neonatal mortality was especially severe. From the mid-seventeenth century a series of epidemics increased child mortality although overall levels of mortality were not significantly affected. Relatively little can be said about adult mortality and apart from two periods of 'crisis' mortality there is little to suggest that adults were greatly affected by epidemics. Indeed, for many adults the urban environment appears to have posed no great threat to health and most could look forward to a relatively long life in the city. York's mortality regime was very similar to that of the smaller market town of Gainsborough where high levels of mortality remained stable throughout much of the early-modern period.

  19. New Madrid seismotectonic study. Activities during fiscal year 1982

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buschbach, T.C.

    1984-04-01

    The New Madrid Seismotectonic Study is a coordinated program of geological, geophysical, and seismological investigations of the area within a 200-mile radius of New Madrid, Missouri. The study is designed to define the structural setting and tectonic history of the area in order to realistically evaluate earthquake risks in the siting of nuclear facilities. Fiscal year 1982 included geological and geophysical studies aimed at better definition of the east-west trending fault systems - the Rough Creek and Cottage Grove systems - and the northwest-trending Ste. Genevieve faulting. A prime objective was to determine the nature and history of faulting andmore » to establish the relationship with that faulting and the northeast-trending faults of the Wabash Valley and New Madrid areas. 27 references, 61 figures.« less

  20. Marginalia, commonplaces, and correspondence: scribal exchange in early modern science.

    PubMed

    Yale, Elizabeth

    2011-06-01

    In recent years, historians of science have increasingly turned their attention to the "print culture" of early modern science. These studies have revealed that printing, as both a technology and a social and economic system, structured the forms and meanings of natural knowledge. Yet in early modern Europe, naturalists, including John Aubrey, John Evelyn, and John Ray, whose work is discussed in this paper, often shared and read scientific texts in manuscript either before or in lieu of printing. Scribal exchange, exemplified in the circulation of writings like commonplace books, marginalia, manuscript treatises, and correspondence, was the primary means by which communities of naturalists constructed scientific knowledge. Print and manuscript were necessary partners. Manuscript fostered close collaboration, and could be circulated relatively cheaply; but, unlike print, it could not reliably secure priority or survival for posterity. Naturalists approached scribal and print communication strategically, choosing the medium that best suited their goals at any given moment. As a result, print and scribal modes of disseminating information, constructing natural knowledge, and organizing communities developed in tandem. Practices typically associated with print culture manifested themselves in scribal texts and exchanges, and vice versa. "Print culture" cannot be hived off from "scribal culture." Rather, in their daily jottings and exchanges, naturalists inhabited, and produced, one common culture of communication. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Kant's disputation of 1770: the dissertation and the communication of knowledge in early modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Chang, Kevin

    2007-06-01

    Kant's disputation of 1770 at his inauguration as the metaphysics professor at Königsberg is a good example of the nature of the early modern dissertation and its use as a means of communicating knowledge. The public disputation played an important part in the teaching, examination, publication and ceremonial life of the medieval university. Originally prepared as a text for the public disputation, the dissertation communicated the teachings of individual scholars and institutions and was used by eminent early modern scholars to introduce their ideas and findings. Kant's use of his 1770 disputation also reveals the different channels of communication, both private and public, that paid close attention to knowledge published in dissertations.

  2. Plant foods and the dietary ecology of Neanderthals and early modern humans.

    PubMed

    Henry, Amanda G; Brooks, Alison S; Piperno, Dolores R

    2014-04-01

    One of the most important challenges in anthropology is understanding the disappearance of Neanderthals. Previous research suggests that Neanderthals had a narrower diet than early modern humans, in part because they lacked various social and technological advances that lead to greater dietary variety, such as a sexual division of labor and the use of complex projectile weapons. The wider diet of early modern humans would have provided more calories and nutrients, increasing fertility, decreasing mortality and supporting large population sizes, allowing them to out-compete Neanderthals. However, this model for Neanderthal dietary behavior is based on analysis of animal remains, stable isotopes, and other methods that provide evidence only of animal food in the diet. This model does not take into account the potential role of plant food. Here we present results from the first broad comparison of plant foods in the diets of Neanderthals and early modern humans from several populations in Europe, the Near East, and Africa. Our data comes from the analysis of plant microremains (starch grains and phytoliths) in dental calculus and on stone tools. Our results suggest that both species consumed a similarly wide array of plant foods, including foods that are often considered low-ranked, like underground storage organs and grass seeds. Plants were consumed across the entire range of individuals and sites we examined, and none of the expected predictors of variation (species, geographic region, or associated stone tool technology) had a strong influence on the number of plant species consumed. Our data suggest that Neanderthal dietary ecology was more complex than previously thought. This implies that the relationship between Neanderthal technology, social behavior, and food acquisition strategies must be better explored. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. "The Root is Hidden and the Material Uncertain": the challenges of prosecuting witchcraft in early modern Venice.

    PubMed

    Seitz, Jonathan

    2009-01-01

    The rich archival records of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Venice have yielded much information about early modern society and culture. The transcripts of witchcraft trials held before the Inquisition reveal the complexities of early modern conceptions of natural and supernatural. The tribunal found itself entirely unable to convict individuals charged with performing harmful magic, or maleficio, as different worldviews clashed in the courtroom. Physicians, exorcists, and inquisitors all had different approaches to distinguishing natural phenomena from supernatural, and without a consensus guilty verdicts could not be obtained.

  4. Smallpox vaccination: an early start of modern medicine in America.

    PubMed

    Liebowitz, Dan

    2017-01-01

    Smallpox was eradicated by the World Health Organization in 1980. Before its eradication thedisease had a mortality rate upwards of 50% and had a significant impact on society. During theAmerican Revolutionary war, smallpox outbreaks were impeding the American war effort until1777 when George Washington carried out a mass inoculation campaign in the ContinentalArmy that reduced the mortality from smallpox to less than 2%. Inoculation was an early formof vaccination that used live virus from active pustules to induce a milder, but still sometimesdeadly, case of disease. Washington has been credited with helping to ease the burden ofsmallpox on the Army which improved the odds of success against the British. When EdwardJenner's vaccine reached America it was more readily accepted by political and medical leadersdue the success of Washington's inoculation campaign. The Founding Fathers argued thatsmallpox vaccination was the greatest discovery in modern medicine and they were likely correctthat it helped to usher in the modern era of vaccinology.

  5. Testing Drugs and Trying Cures: Experiment and Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Leong, Elaine; Rankin, Alisha

    2017-01-01

    This article examines traditions of testing drugs (as substances) and trying cures (on patients) in medieval and early modern Europe. It argues that the history of drug testing needs to be a more central story to overall histories of scientific experiment. The practice of conducting thoughtful-and sometimes contrived-tests on drugs has a rich and varied tradition dating back to antiquity, which expanded in the Middle Ages and early modern period. Learned physicians paired text-based knowledge (reason) with hands-on testing (experience or experiment) in order to make claims about drugs' properties or effects on humans. Lay practitioners similarly used hands-on testing to gain knowledge of pharmaceutical effects. Although drug testing practices expanded in scale, actors, and sites, therpublished a work extolling the virtues of drugs froe was significant continuity from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century.

  6. Allergenic pollen pollinosis in Madrid.

    PubMed

    Subiza, J; Jerez, M; Jiménez, J A; Narganes, M J; Cabrera, M; Varela, S; Subiza, E

    1995-07-01

    A 15-year pollen count was performed in the atmosphere of Madrid, Spain, to determine the months in which the highest concentrations of allergenic pollens occur. Pollen counts were done with a Burkard spore trap (Burkard Manufacturing, Rickmansworth, Herst., U.K.). The results were subsequently compared with results of skin tests in patients with pollinosis born and living in and around Madrid. The highest airborne presence (percent of total yearly pollen counts, mean of counts from 1979 to 1993) was for Quercus spp. (17%); followed by Platanus spp. (15%), Poaceae (15%), Cupressaceae (11%), Olea spp. (9%), Pinus spp. (7%), Populus spp. (4%), and Plantago spp. (4%). The most predominant pollens from January to April are tree pollens (Cupressaceae, Alnus, Fraxinus, Ulmus, Populus, Platanus, and Morus), although these are also abudant in May and June (Quercus, Olea, and Pinus spp.). The grass pollination period shows a double curve: the first peak occurs from February to April (8% of yearly grasses), and the second peak occurs from May to July (90% of yearly grasses). Among allergenically significant weeds, the most notable is Plantago; in contrast, Rumex, Urticaceae, Cheno-Amaranthaceae, and Artemisia spp. have very low concentrations (< or = 2% yearly total pollens). The most significant allergenic pollen is that of grasses, with a prevalence of positive prick test results of 94%, followed by Olea europaea (61%), Plantago lagopus (53%), Platanus hybrida (52%), and Cupressus arizonica (20%). The population of Madrid is exposed to high concentrations of allergenic pollen from February to July, although the most intense period is from May to June. Grass pollens are the most important cause of pollinosis in this area.

  7. Resistant tissues of modern marchantioid liverworts resemble enigmatic Early Paleozoic microfossils

    PubMed Central

    Graham, Linda E.; Wilcox, Lee W.; Cook, Martha E.; Gensel, Patricia G.

    2004-01-01

    Absence of a substantial pretracheophyte fossil record for bryophytes (otherwise predicted by molecular systematics) poses a major problem in our understanding of earliest land-plant structure. In contrast, there exist enigmatic Cambrian–Devonian microfossils (aggregations of tubes or sheets of cells or possibly a combination of both) controversially interpreted as an extinct group of early land plants known as nematophytes. We used an innovative approach to explore these issues: comparison of tube and cell-sheet microfossils with experimentally degraded modern liverworts as analogues of ancient early land plants. Lower epidermal surface tissues, including rhizoids, of Marchantia polymorpha and Conocephalum conicum were resistant to breakdown after rotting for extended periods or high-temperature acid treatment (acetolysis), suggesting fossilization potential. Cell-sheet and rhizoid remains occurred separately or together depending on the degree of body degradation. Rhizoid break-off at the lower epidermal surface left rimmed pores at the centers of cell rosettes; these were similar in structure, diameter, and distribution to pores characterizing nematophyte cell-sheet microfossils known as Cosmochlaina. The range of Marchantia rhizoid diameters overlapped that of Cosmochlaina pores. Approximately 14% of dry biomass of Marchantia vegetative thalli and 40% of gametangiophores was resistant to acetolysis. Pre- and posttreatment cell-wall autofluorescence suggested the presence of phenolic compounds that likely protect lower epidermal tissues from soil microbe attack and provide dimensional stability to gametangiophores. Our results suggest that at least some microfossils identified as nematophytes may be the remains of early marchantioid liverworts similar in some ways to modern Marchantia and Conocephalum. PMID:15263095

  8. [Batas Nómadas in Madrid Salud: art and artists in professional community health teams].

    PubMed

    Castillejo, Mar; Fernández-Cedena, Jorge; Siles, Silvia; Claver, María Dolores; Ávila, Noemí

    2018-06-14

    This article describes the strategy of incorporating artists into the teams of community health in the city of Madrid, specifically in the Madrid Salud Centers. The artistic colletive, Batas Nómadas, formed by three artists expertized in visual arts, has developed performances and participatory aproach to explain the incorporation of art and artists in these teams of professionals of Madrid Salud. Batas Nómadas has carried out sessions in 14 work teams of the Madrid Salud Centers and has collected data in a creative way from the 179 professionals that have participated in these sessions. These actions have shown some needs in community health, and have noticed a meaningful reflection on the usefulness of the art to develop participative strategies into the Madrid Salud teams. Copyright © 2018. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.

  9. Earthquake Hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone Remains a Concern

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Frankel, A.D.; Applegate, D.; Tuttle, M.P.; Williams, R.A.

    2009-01-01

    There is broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for a major destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Many structures in Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo., and other communities in the central Mississippi River Valley region are vulnerable and at risk from severe ground shaking. This assessment is based on decades of research on New Madrid earthquakes and related phenomena by dozens of Federal, university, State, and consulting earth scientists. Considerable interest has developed recently from media reports that the New Madrid seismic zone may be shutting down. These reports stem from published research using global positioning system (GPS) instruments with results of geodetic measurements of strain in the Earth's crust. Because of a lack of measurable strain at the surface in some areas of the seismic zone over the past 14 years, arguments have been advanced that there is no buildup of stress at depth within the New Madrid seismic zone and that the zone may no longer pose a significant hazard. As part of the consensus-building process used to develop the national seismic hazard maps, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) convened a workshop of experts in 2006 to evaluate the latest findings in earthquake hazards in the Eastern United States. These experts considered the GPS data from New Madrid available at that time that also showed little to no ground movement at the surface. The experts did not find the GPS data to be a convincing reason to lower the assessment of earthquake hazard in the New Madrid region, especially in light of the many other types of data that are used to construct the hazard assessment, several of which are described here.

  10. Early modern human settlement of Europe north of the Alps occurred 43,500 years ago in a cold steppe-type environment

    PubMed Central

    Nigst, Philip R.; Haesaerts, Paul; Damblon, Freddy; Frank-Fellner, Christa; Mallol, Carolina; Viola, Bence; Götzinger, Michael; Niven, Laura; Trnka, Gerhard; Hublin, Jean-Jacques

    2014-01-01

    The first settlement of Europe by modern humans is thought to have occurred between 50,000 and 40,000 calendar years ago (cal B.P.). In Europe, modern human remains of this time period are scarce and often are not associated with archaeology or originate from old excavations with no contextual information. Hence, the behavior of the first modern humans in Europe is still unknown. Aurignacian assemblages—demonstrably made by modern humans—are commonly used as proxies for the presence of fully behaviorally and anatomically modern humans. The site of Willendorf II (Austria) is well known for its Early Upper Paleolithic horizons, which are among the oldest in Europe. However, their age and attribution to the Aurignacian remain an issue of debate. Here, we show that archaeological horizon 3 (AH 3) consists of faunal remains and Early Aurignacian lithic artifacts. By using stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental, and chronological data, AH 3 is ascribed to the onset of Greenland Interstadial 11, around 43,500 cal B.P., and thus is older than any other Aurignacian assemblage. Furthermore, the AH 3 assemblage overlaps with the latest directly radiocarbon-dated Neanderthal remains, suggesting that Neanderthal and modern human presence overlapped in Europe for some millennia, possibly at rather close geographical range. Most importantly, for the first time to our knowledge, we have a high-resolution environmental context for an Early Aurignacian site in Central Europe, demonstrating an early appearance of behaviorally modern humans in a medium-cold steppe-type environment with some boreal trees along valleys around 43,500 cal B.P. PMID:25246543

  11. Collecting Knowledge for the Family: Recipes, Gender and Practical Knowledge in the Early Modern English Household

    PubMed Central

    Leong, Elaine

    2013-01-01

    When Mary Cholmeley married Henry Fairfax in 1627, she carried to her new home in Yorkshire a leather-bound notebook filled with medical recipes. Over the next few decades, Mary and Henry, their children and various members of the Fairfax and Cholmeley families continually entered new medical and culinary information into this ‘treasury for health.’ Consequently, as it stands now, the manuscript can be read both as a repository of household medical knowledge and as a family archive. Focusing on two Fairfax ‘family books,’ this essay traces on the process through which early modern recipe books were created. In particular, it explores the role of the family collective in compiling books of knowledge. In contrast to past studies where household recipe books have largely been described as the products of exclusively female endeavors, I argue that the majority of early modern recipe collections were created by family collectives and that the members of these collectives worked in collaboration across spatial, geographical and temporal boundaries. This new reading of recipe books as testaments of the interests and needs of particular families encourages renewed examination of the role played by gender in the transmission and production of knowledge in early modern households. PMID:23926360

  12. Collecting Knowledge for the Family: Recipes, Gender and Practical Knowledge in the Early Modern English Household.

    PubMed

    Leong, Elaine

    2013-05-01

    When Mary Cholmeley married Henry Fairfax in 1627, she carried to her new home in Yorkshire a leather-bound notebook filled with medical recipes. Over the next few decades, Mary and Henry, their children and various members of the Fairfax and Cholmeley families continually entered new medical and culinary information into this 'treasury for health.' Consequently, as it stands now, the manuscript can be read both as a repository of household medical knowledge and as a family archive. Focusing on two Fairfax 'family books,' this essay traces on the process through which early modern recipe books were created. In particular, it explores the role of the family collective in compiling books of knowledge. In contrast to past studies where household recipe books have largely been described as the products of exclusively female endeavors, I argue that the majority of early modern recipe collections were created by family collectives and that the members of these collectives worked in collaboration across spatial, geographical and temporal boundaries. This new reading of recipe books as testaments of the interests and needs of particular families encourages renewed examination of the role played by gender in the transmission and production of knowledge in early modern households.

  13. Madrid space station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fahnestock, R. J.; Renzetti, N. A.

    1975-01-01

    The Madrid space station, operated under bilateral agreements between the governments of the United States and Spain, is described in both Spanish and English. The space station utilizes two tracking and data acquisition networks: the Deep Space Network (DSN) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) operated under the direction of the Goddard Space Flight Center. The station, which is staffed by Spanish employees, comprises four facilities: Robledo 1, Cebreros, and Fresnedillas-Navalagamella, all with 26-meter-diameter antennas, and Robledo 2, with a 64-meter antenna.

  14. Late Pleistocene and Holocene paleoseismology of an intraplate seismic zone in a large alluvial valley, the New Madrid seismic zone, Central USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guccione, Margaret J.

    2005-10-01

    . Seven fault segments are recognized by microseismicity and geomorphology. Surface faulting has been recognized at three of these segments, Reelfoot fault, New Madrid North fault, and Bootheel fault. The Reelfoot fault is a compressive stepover along the strike-slip fault and has up to 11 m of surface relief ([Carlson, S.D., 2000. Formation and geomorphic history of Reelfoot Lake: insight into the New Madrid seismic zone. M.S. Thesis, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.A]) deforming abandoned and active Mississippi River channels ([Guccione, M.J., Mueller, K., Champion, J., Shepherd, S., Odhiambo, B., 2002b. Stream response to repeated co-seismic folding, Tiptonville dome, western Tennessee. Geomorphology 43 (2002), 313 349]). The New Madrid North fault apparently has only strike-slip motion and is recognized by modern microseismicity, geomorphic anomalies, and sand cataclasis ([Baldwin, J.N., Barron A.D., Kelson, K.I., Harris, J.B., Cashman, S., 2002. Preliminary paleoseismic and geophysical investigation of the North Farrenburg lineament: primary tectonic deformation associated with the New Madrid North Fault?. Seismological Research Letters 73, 393 413]). The Bootheel fault, which is not identified by the modern microseismicity, is associated with extensive liquefaction and offset channels ([Guccione, M.J., Marple, R., Autin, W.J., 2005, Evidence for Holocene displacements on the Bootheel fault (lineament) in southeastern Missouri: Seismotectonic implications for the New Madrid region. Geological Society of America Bulletin 117, 319 333]). The fault has dominantly strike-slip motion but also has a vertical component of slip. Other recognized surface deformation includes relatively low-relief folding at Big Lake/Manila high ([Guccione, M.J., VanArdale, R.B., Hehr, L.H., 2000. Origin and age of the Manila high and associated Big Lake “Sunklands”, New Madrid seismic zone, northeastern Arkansas. Geological Society of America Bulletin 112, 579 590

  15. Space Geodesy and the New Madrid Seismic Zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smalley, Robert; Ellis, Michael A.

    2008-07-01

    One of the most contentious issues related to earthquake hazards in the United States centers on the midcontinent and the origin, magnitudes, and likely recurrence intervals of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes that occurred there. The stakeholder groups in the debate (local and state governments, reinsurance companies, American businesses, and the scientific community) are similar to the stakeholder groups in regions more famous for large earthquakes. However, debate about New Madrid seismic hazard has been fiercer because of the lack of two fundamental components of seismic hazard estimation: an explanatory model for large, midplate earthquakes; and sufficient or sufficiently precise data about the causes, effects, and histories of such earthquakes.

  16. Early psychological consequences of the March 11, 2004, terrorist attacks in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Muñoz, Manuel; Crespo, María; Pérez-Santos, Eloísa; Vázquez, José Juan

    2005-12-01

    On March 11, 2004, Al-Qaeda set off 10 bombs on several train routes in Madrid. 192 people were killed and 2,000 wounded. In this study, 1,179 questionnaires were administered Week 2 after the attacks to residents 18 years and over from the affected geographical areas. The questionnaire included items about sociodemographic variables and exposure to the attacks. Psychological effects were assessed as presence of acute stress and depressive symptomatology and functional impairment. 46.7% of the sample presented symptomatology of acute stress and 49.6% depressive symptoms. Among the symptoms of acute stress, the most frequent were re-experiencing (72.5%) and dissociative symptoms (71.8%). The chief predicting variables in symptomatology were being female, over 65 yr. old, and a habitual train user. The large number of affected people was refined with an item analysis and the consideration of severity of interference in psychosocial functioning.

  17. Hippocrates' complaint and the scientific ethos in early modern England.

    PubMed

    Yeo, Richard

    2018-04-01

    Among the elements of the modern scientific ethos, as identified by R.K. Merton and others, is the commitment of individual effort to a long-term inquiry that may not bring substantial results in a lifetime. The challenge this presents was encapsulated in the aphorism of the ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates of Kos: vita brevis, ars longa (life is short, art is long). This article explores how this complaint was answered in the early modern period by Francis Bacon's call for the inauguration of the sciences over several generations, thereby imagining a succession of lives added together over time. However, Bacon also explored another response to Hippocrates: the devotion of a 'whole life', whether brief or long, to science. The endorsement of long-term inquiry in combination with intensive lifetime involvement was embraced by some leading Fellows of the Royal Society, such as Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. The problem for individuals, however, was to find satisfaction in science despite concerns, in some fields, that current observations and experiments would not yield material able to be extended by future investigations.

  18. The Madrid School of Neurology (1885-1939).

    PubMed

    Giménez-Roldán, S

    2015-01-01

    The emergence of neurology in Madrid between 1885 and 1939 had well-defined characteristics. On foundations laid by Cajal and Río-Hortega, pioneers combined clinical practice with cutting-edge neurohistology and neuropathology research. Luis Simarro, trained in Paris, taught many talented students including Gayarre, Achúcarro and Lafora. The untimely death of Nicolás Achúcarro curtailed his promising career, but he still completed the clinicopathological study of the first American case of Alzheimer's disease. On returning to Spain, he studied glial cells, including rod cells. Rodríguez Lafora described progressive myoclonus epilepsy and completed experimental studies of corpus callosum lesions and clinical and neuropathology studies of senile dementia. He fled to Mexico at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Sanchís Banús, a sterling clinical neurologist, described the first cluster of Huntington's disease in Spain, and he and Río-Hortega joined efforts to determine that pallidal degeneration underlies rigidity in advanced stages of the disease. Just after the war, Alberca Llorente eruditely described inflammatory diseases of the neuraxis. Manuel Peraita studied "the neurology of hunger" with data collected during the siege of Madrid. Dionisio Nieto, like many exiled intellectuals, settled in Mexico DF, where he taught neurohistological methods and neuropsychiatry in the tradition of the Madrid School of Neurology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. A Step towards Clerical Preferment: Secondary School Teachers' Careers in Early Modern Sweden

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindmark, Daniel

    2004-01-01

    This article investigates the function served by embarking on a teaching career in the Latin school system for recruitment to the clergy in early modern Sweden. The study is restricted to the eighty-nine teachers serving at Pitea Grammar School in Northern Sweden in the period from 1650 to 1849. The investigation pays considerable attention to the…

  20. 20 cool facts about the New Madrid Seismic Zone-Commemorating the bicentennial of the New Madrid earthquake sequence, December 1811-February 1812 [poster

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Williams, R.A.; McCallister, N.S.; Dart, R.L.

    2011-01-01

    This poster summarizes a few of the more significant facts about the series of large earthquakes that struck the New Madrid seismic zone of southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, and adjacent parts of Tennessee and Kentucky from December 1811 to February 1812. Three earthquakes in this sequence had a magnitude (M) of 7.0 or greater. The first earthquake occurred on December 16, 1811, at 2:15 a.m.; the second on January 23, 1812, at 9 a.m.; and the third on February 7, 1812, at 3:45 a.m. These three earthquakes were among the largest to strike North America since European settlement. The mainshocks were followed by many hundreds of aftershocks that occurred over the next decade. Many of the aftershocks were major earthquakes themselves. The area that was strongly shaken by the three main shocks was 2-3 times as large as the strongly shaken area of the 1964 M9.2 Alaskan earthquake and 10 times as large as that of the 1906 M7.8 San Francisco earthquake. Geologic studies show that the 1811-1812 sequence was not an isolated event in the New Madrid region. The 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence was preceded by at least two other similar sequences in about A.D. 1450 and A.D. 900. Research also indicates that other large earthquakes have occurred in the region surrounding the main New Madrid seismicity trends in the past 5,000 years or so.

  1. Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and implications for the dispersal of modern humans.

    PubMed

    Anikovich, M V; Sinitsyn, A A; Hoffecker, John F; Holliday, Vance T; Popov, V V; Lisitsyn, S N; Forman, Steven L; Levkovskaya, G M; Pospelova, G A; Kuz'mina, I E; Burova, N D; Goldberg, Paul; Macphail, Richard I; Giaccio, Biagio; Praslov, N D

    2007-01-12

    Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating and magnetic stratigraphy indicate Upper Paleolithic occupation-probably representing modern humans-at archaeological sites on the Don River in Russia 45,000 to 42,000 years ago. The oldest levels at Kostenki underlie a volcanic ash horizon identified as the Campanian Ignimbrite Y5 tephra that is dated elsewhere to about 40,000 years ago. The occupation layers contain bone and ivory artifacts, including possible figurative art, and fossil shells imported more than 500 kilometers. Thus, modern humans appeared on the central plain of Eastern Europe as early as anywhere else in northern Eurasia.

  2. Voluntarist theology and early-modern science: The matter of the divine power, absolute and ordained.

    PubMed

    Oakley, Francis

    2018-03-01

    This paper is an intervention in the debate inaugurated by Peter Harrison in 2002 when he called into question the validity of what has come to be called 'the voluntarism and early-modern science thesis'. Though it subsequently drew support from such historians of science as J. E. McGuire, Margaret Osler, and Betty-Joe Teeter Dobbs, the origins of the thesis are usually traced back to articles published in 1934 and 1961 respectively by the philosopher Michael Foster and the historian of ideas Francis Oakley. Central to Harrison's critique of the thesis are claims he made about the meaning of the scholastic distinction between the potentia dei absoluta et ordinata and the role it played in the thinking of early-modern theologians and natural philosophers. This paper calls directly into question the accuracy of Harrison's claims on that very matter.

  3. [Mental interiority in the early-modern age. The "Cartesian theater"].

    PubMed

    Gillot, Pascale

    2010-01-01

    This paper looks into the notion of mental interiority in the early-modern age and, more specifically, into the Cartesian conception of the mind as an "inner theater". The main claim emphasizes a close connexion at work between the representative theory of the mind, associated with internalism, on the one hand, and a "neuropsychological" view on the other hand. Cartesian mentalism, in so far as it is based upon a disjunction between representation and resemblance, can therefore not be separated from the general project, already at work in the Dioptrique, of an intra-cerebral localization of the mental.

  4. Translation, Hybridization, and Modernization: John Dewey and Children's Literature in Early Twentieth Century China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xu, Xu

    2013-01-01

    This essay examines how John Dewey's child-centered educational philosophy was adopted and adapted in the early twentieth century in China to create a Chinese children's literature. Chinese intellectuals applied Dewey's educational philosophy, which values children's interests and needs, to formulate a new concept of modern childhood that…

  5. The Modern Value of Early Writings in Medicine and Dentistry.

    PubMed

    Peck, Sheldon

    2016-01-01

    This article illustrates three examples supporting the modern value of early writings in dentistry and medicine. First, by studying cases described in works published long before the era of genetic science, we are able to develop new hypotheses about familial conditions and their genetic roots. Tooth transposition is presented as an example. Second, old writings may lead us to valuable historical insights and perspectives in medicine that can be revealed only in retrospective analysis. An example of this kind of historical analysis uncovers why dentistry became unnaturally separated from mainstream medicine in the 19th century. Third, early writings become keys to unlocking forgotten knowledge that enriches our understanding of historically significant people and events. The discovery of Norman Kingsley's long forgotten pyrographic paintings after Rembrandt portraits is used as an example. Libraries, the traditional custodians of these valued old texts, must continue to be supported, and not undermined by the paperless digital revolution. Copyright American Academy of the History of Dentistry.

  6. The earthquake potential of the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tuttle, Martitia P.; Schweig, Eugene S.; Sims, John D.; Lafferty, Robert H.; Wolf, Lorraine W.; Haynes, Marion L.

    2002-01-01

    The fault system responsible for New Madrid seismicity has generated temporally clustered very large earthquakes in A.D. 900 ± 100 years and A.D. 1450 ± 150 years as well as in 1811–1812. Given the uncertainties in dating liquefaction features, the time between the past three New Madrid events may be as short as 200 years and as long as 800 years, with an average of 500 years. This advance in understanding the Late Holocene history of the New Madrid seismic zone and thus, the contemporary tectonic behavior of the associated fault system was made through studies of hundreds of earthquake-induced liquefaction features at more than 250 sites across the New Madrid region. We have found evidence that prehistoric sand blows, like those that formed during the 1811–1812 earthquakes, are probably compound structures resulting from multiple earthquakes closely clustered in time or earthquake sequences. From the spatial distribution and size of sand blows and their sedimentary units, we infer the source zones and estimate the magnitudes of earthquakes within each sequence and thereby characterize the detailed behavior of the fault system. It appears that fault rupture was complex and that the central branch of the seismic zone produced very large earthquakes during the A.D. 900 and A.D. 1450 events as well as in 1811–1812. On the basis of a minimum recurrence rate of 200 years, we are now entering the period during which the next 1811–1812-type event could occur.

  7. "None Must Meddle Betueene Man and Wife": assessing family and the fluidity of public and private in early modern Scotland.

    PubMed

    Nugent, Janay

    2010-01-01

    The physical and ideological boundaries between public and private in early modern Scotland were constantly contested, resulting in a shifting reality of what was public and private. This fluidity has been recognized by historians, but how, when, and why the shifting took place is not as clear. The moral church courts (Kirk Sessions) of Reformation Scotland allow a unique opportunity to begin to understand the largely elusive boundaries between public and private in the early modern era.

  8. Cross cultural analysis of factors associated with age at natural menopause among Latin-American immigrants to Madrid and their Spanish neighbors.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Alcalá, Irene; Sievert, Lynnette Leidy; Obermeyer, Carla Makhlouf; Reher, David Sven

    2013-01-01

    In this study, age at menopause was examined in relation to demographic and life style factors among Latin-American immigrants to Madrid and their Spanish counterparts. Respondents were drawn from the Decisions at Menopause Study (2002-2003) and from a recent sample of Latin-American immigrants to Madrid (2010-2011). The final sample included 484 women after excluding women with induced menopause and use of HT. Probit analyses and Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate median age at menopause and to identify factors associated with an early age at menopause. Median estimated age at natural menopause was 52.0 years (51.2-53.0) for Spanish women and 50.5 years (49.9-51.2) for Latin-American women. Immigrant women were more likely to reach menopause at an earlier age after controlling for confounding factors. Nulliparity and lower levels of education were associated with an earlier age at menopause. A higher body mass index was associated with a later age at menopause in the Spanish model. Among the Latin-American sample, women from the Dominican Republic and women who underwent menopause before migrating were more likely to reach menopause at an earlier age. The results reported here demonstrate that early life events, including place of birth, and later life events, such as timing of migration, were associated with age at menopause. This study highlights the importance of taking into account differences in the age of onset of menopause in the multicultural population of Madrid when considering the health of women at midlife and beyond. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Age-specific excess mortality patterns and transmissibility during the 1889-1890 influenza pandemic in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Ramiro, Diego; Garcia, Sara; Casado, Yolanda; Cilek, Laura; Chowell, Gerardo

    2018-05-01

    Although the 1889-1890 influenza pandemic was one of the most important epidemic events of the 19th century, little is known about the mortality impact of this pandemic based on detailed respiratory mortality data sets. We estimated excess mortality rates for the 1889-1890 pandemic in Madrid from high-resolution respiratory and all-cause individual-level mortality data retrieved from the Gazeta de Madrid, the Official Bulletin of the Spanish government. We also generated estimates of the reproduction number from the early growth phase of the pandemic. The main pandemic wave in Madrid was evident from respiratory and all-cause mortality rates during the winter of 1889-1890. Our estimates of excess mortality for this pandemic were 58.3 per 10,000 for all-cause mortality and 44.5 per 10,000 for respiratory mortality. Age-specific excess mortality rates displayed a J-shape pattern, with school children aged 5-14 years experiencing the lowest respiratory excess death rates (8.8 excess respiratory deaths per 10,000), whereas older populations aged greater than or equal to 70 years had the highest rates (367.9 per 10,000). Although seniors experienced the highest absolute excess death rates, the standardized mortality ratio was highest among young adults aged 15-24 years. The early growth phase of the pandemic displayed dynamics consistent with an exponentially growing transmission process. Using the generalized-growth method, we estimated the reproduction number in the range of 1.2-1.3 assuming a 3-day mean generation interval and of 1.3-1.5 assuming a 4-day mean generation interval. Our study adds to our understanding of the mortality impact and transmissibility of the 1889-1890 influenza pandemic using detailed individual-level mortality data sets. More quantitative studies are needed to quantify the variability of the mortality impact of this understudied pandemic at regional and global scales. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Map showing seismicity and sandblows in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rhea, B. Susan; Tarr, Arthur C.; Wheeler, Russell L.

    1994-01-01

    This is one of a series of five seismotectic maps of the seismically active New Madrid, Missouri, area (table 1; Wheeler and others, 1992). The map area centers near the sites of three great earthquakes that struck during the winter of 1811-12 (Fuller, 1912; Nuttli, 1973). These earthquakes and continuing subsequent seismicity rank the New Madrid area with Cherlevoix, Quebec, as the two most seismically active areas in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The threat posed by New Madrid seismicity to the central United States makes the area the focus of many investigations (for examples, Heyl and McKeown, 1978; McKeown and Pakiser, 1982; Algemissen and Hopper, 1984; Hamilton and Johnston, 1990; Applied Technology Council, 1991; Johnston and others, 1992). The map area includes the most intense seismic activity in the New Madrid region. A seismotectic map shows some of the geologic and geophysical information needed to assess seismic hazard (Hadley and Devine, 1974; Pavoni, 1985). A previous seismotectonic map of the central Mississippi River valley (Heyl and McKeown, 1978) has had wide use for planning field surveys, as a base map for plotting data collected during single investigations, and for compiling a range of information. Since 1978 numcrous researchers have greatly advanced our knowledge of the geology and geophysics of the central Mississippi Valley. The New Madrid seismotectonic map folio updates approximately the south-central sixth of the central Mississippi Valley seismotectonic map of Heyl and McKeown (1978).

  11. A geochemical study of overbank sediments in an urban area (Madrid, Spain).

    PubMed

    Adánez Sanjuán, Paula; Llamas Borrajo, Juan F; Locutura Rupérez, Juan; García Cortés, Angel

    2014-12-01

    Overbank and stream sediments have been studied in the Community of Madrid. Four vertical profiles have been sampled corresponding to Guadarrama, Jarama, and finally Manzanares River, where two profiles have been studied upstream (El Pardo profile) and downstream (Rivas profile) Madrid city. Sieved samples (<63 µm) were subjected to total (ICP-MS/ICP-OES and INAA) and partial analysis (ICP-MS). AMS radiocarbon dating techniques revealed a young age (170 ± 40 years BP) at 2.40-2.65 m depth for Rivas profile. It has not been possible to detect pristine or pre-industrial overbank sediments, since in the rest of the studied profiles, anthropogenic wastes were found even in the lower levels. Three main sources of sediment have been detected in the area. Granitic and arkosic geology, located in the northern part of Madrid (U, Th, W, K, Na, or rare earth elements); clays located in the southeast of Madrid (Ni, Cr, or V), and finally an anthropogenic source has been identified (Au, Ag, Pb, Zn, or Sb) in Rivas profile. The influence of the anthropogenic activity has been established based on the contents distribution of contaminant elements in the profile. This can be associated to the growth of industrial activities and population in the city of Madrid during the last decades. The comparison of the profiles by a k-means cluster analysis showed some similarities for these samples that could have analogous sources (anthropogenic and geological).

  12. Origin of Clothing Lice Indicates Early Clothing Use by Anatomically Modern Humans in Africa

    PubMed Central

    Toups, Melissa A.; Kitchen, Andrew; Light, Jessica E.; Reed, David L.

    2011-01-01

    Clothing use is an important modern behavior that contributed to the successful expansion of humans into higher latitudes and cold climates. Previous research suggests that clothing use originated anywhere between 40,000 and 3 Ma, though there is little direct archaeological, fossil, or genetic evidence to support more specific estimates. Since clothing lice evolved from head louse ancestors once humans adopted clothing, dating the emergence of clothing lice may provide more specific estimates of the origin of clothing use. Here, we use a Bayesian coalescent modeling approach to estimate that clothing lice diverged from head louse ancestors at least by 83,000 and possibly as early as 170,000 years ago. Our analysis suggests that the use of clothing likely originated with anatomically modern humans in Africa and reinforces a broad trend of modern human developments in Africa during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. PMID:20823373

  13. Juan Ruiz De Alarcón: Impairment as Empowerment in Early Modern Spain

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Gloria Bodtorf

    2016-01-01

    Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, a seventeenth-century writer and native of New Spain, so excelled at the craft of writing "comedias" that he is recognized as one of the great writers of early modern Spain. In his personal life Ruiz de Alarcón struggled with a significant bodily impairment, a large hump on both his back and front, which made him…

  14. Clinical ethics protocols in the clinical ethics committees of Madrid.

    PubMed

    Herreros, Benjamin; Ramnath, Venktesh R; Bishop, Laura; Pintor, Emilio; Martín, María Dolores; Sánchez-González, Miguel A

    2014-03-01

    Currently, The nature and scope of Clinical Ethics Protocols (CEPs) in Madrid (Spain) are not well understood. The main objective is to describe the features of 'guideline/recommendation' type CEPs that have been or are being developed by existing Clinical Ethics Committees (CECs) in Madrid. Secondary objectives include characterisation of those CECs that have been the most prolific in reference to CEP creation and implementation and identification of any trends in future CEP development. We collected CEPs produced and in process by CECs accredited in the public hospitals in Madrid, Spain, from 1996 to 2008. CECs developed 30 CEPs, with 10 more in process. The most common topic is refusal of treatment (seven CEPs developed; two in process). If CEPs addressing terminal illness, Do-Not-Resuscitate orders and advance directives are placed into a separate 'ethical problems at the end of life' category, this CEP subject emerges as the most common (eight developed; four in process). There is a relationship between the age of the CEC and the development of CEPs (the oldest CECs have developed more CEPs). CECs now seem to be more likely to engage in CEP development. The CECs in Madrid, Spain, have developed a significant number of CEPs (30 in total and 10 in process) and there is a trend towards continued development. The most frequent topics are ethical problems at the end of life and refusal of treatment by the patient.

  15. Faulting at Thebes Gap, Mo. -Ill. : Implications for New Madrid tectonism

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Harrison, R.W.; Schultz, A.P.

    1992-01-01

    Recent geologic mapping in the Thebes Gap area has identified numerous NNE- and NE-striking faults having a long-lived and complex structural history. The faults are located in an area of moderate recent seismicity at the northern margin of the Mississippi embayment, approximately 45 km north of the New Madrid seismic zone. Earliest deformation occurred along dextral strike-slip faults constrained as post-Devonian and pre-Cretaceous. Uplift and erosion of all Carboniferous strata suggest that this faulting is related to development of the Pascola arch (Ouachita orogeny). This early deformation is characterized by strongly faulted and folded Ordovician through Devonian rocks overlain inmore » places with angular unconformity by undeformed Cretaceous strata. Elsewhere, younger deformation involves Paleozoic, Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene formations. These units have experienced both minor high-angle normal faulting and major, dextral strike-slip faulting. Quaternary-Tertiary Mounds Gravel is also involved in the latest episode of strike-slip deformation. Enechelon north-south folds, antithetic R[prime] shears, and drag folds indicate right-lateral motion. Characteristic positive and negative flower structures are commonly revealed in cross section. Right-stepping fault strands have produced pull-apart basins where Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Cretaceous, and Tertiary units are downdropped several hundreds of meters and occur in chaotic orientations. Similar fault orientations and kinematics, as well as recent seismicity and close proximity, clearly suggest a structural relationship between deformation at Thebes Gap and tectonism associated with the New Madrid area.« less

  16. Glass and Alchemy in Early Modern Europe: An Analytical Study of Glassware from the Oberstockstall Laboratory in Austria.

    PubMed

    Veronesi, Umberto; Martinón-Torres, Marcos

    2018-06-18

    Glass distillation equipment from an early modern alchemical laboratory was analyzed for its technology of manufacture and potential origin. Chemical data show that the assemblage can be divided into sodium-rich, colorless distillation vessels made with glass from Venice or its European imitation, and potassium-rich dark-brown non-specialized forms produced within the technological tradition of forest glass typical for central and north-western Europe. These results complete our understanding of the supply of technical apparatus at one of the best-preserved alchemical laboratories and highlight an early awareness of the need for high-quality instruments to guarantee the successful outcome of specialized chemical operations. This study demonstrates the potential of archaeological science to inform historical research around the practice of early chemistry and the development of modern science. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. School Jailhouse: Discipline, Space and the Materiality of School Morale in Early-Modern Sweden

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norlin, Björn

    2016-01-01

    This paper uses a specific phenomenon of early-modern education in Sweden, the school jail, as a point of departure for a broader analysis of educational policy in the areas of discipline and moral instruction. The paper demonstrates how the jail evolved as a part of a wider network of objects, pedagogical technologies and social routines in this…

  18. Weekday and weekend patterns of physical activity and sedentary time among Liverpool and Madrid youth.

    PubMed

    Ramirez-Rico, Elena; Hilland, Toni A; Foweather, Lawrence; Fernández-Garcia, Emilia; Fairclough, Stuart J

    2014-01-01

    Levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour among English and Spanish youth are high and vary within different regions of each country. Little though is known about these during specific periods of the day. The purpose of this study was to describe physical activity (PA) and sedentary time during segments of the day and week, and compare these critical contexts between youth in the Liverpool and Madrid areas of England and Spain, respectively. PA was objectively assessed in 235 Liverpool- and 241 Madrid youth (aged 10-14 years) who wore accelerometers for seven consecutive days. Minutes of sedentary time, moderate PA, vigorous PA and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were calculated for weekdays, weekend days, school time, non-school time and after-school. Between-country differences were analysed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Madrid youth spent significantly more time in sedentary activities than their Liverpool counterparts. Madrid youth engaged in more minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (MPA) than Liverpool youth during weekdays, school time and non-school time (P<0.01). Liverpool children recorded more time in vigorous physical activity (VPA) than Madrid peers during week days and weekend days (P<0.01) and during school time and after-school periods (P<0.01). The MVPA was significantly higher among Madrid youth during non-school time (P<0.01). Around 25% of all youth achieved recommended levels of MVPA. Low levels of MVPA and systematic differences in sedentary time, MPA and VPA exist between Liverpool and Madrid youth. Interventions targeted at the least-active children during weekends, after-school and non-school periods within the cultural contexts common to each city are required.

  19. The Home Network: Identity and Materiality in Early Modern and Modern Ulster

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whalen, Kathryn M.

    This dissertation looks at three categories of ceramics and the creation of a hybrid culture during the Early Modern and Modern period in Ireland. During these time periods Ireland was a part of the English global colonial enterprises, and was the site of many legal and cultural changes due to its subordinate position in the hierarchy of socio-political and economic phenomenon that characterize the pinnacle of British global power. This study looks to understand how these powers articulated with England's one European colony, Ireland, and if that articulation has similarities to other colonial cultures across time and space. To study the possibility of hybridity between the Irish and English inhabitants of Ireland during the Post-Medieval Period, three categories of ceramics have been analyzed. Fine earthenwares in the form of tablewares and tea sets were macroscopically analyzed for patterns, age, and place of origin. Coarse earthenwares were subjected to X-ray florescence to look for patterns in the spectral data to see if a point of origin could be ascribed to them. And lastly, white ball clay pipe fragments were both macroscopically analyzed for makers' marks and subjected to X-ray florescence to verify their point of origin. The relationship between where these artifacts come from- if they are local productions or imports- and where they were disposed of- either across the landscaper or only associated with households of particular ethnicities- says something about how people negotiate their ethnic identities in colonial settings. As people in Ireland adopt the English style of tea drinking and start to use English mass-produced fine earthenwares, it disrupts the local cottage industry of coarse earthenware manufacturing. What this study seeks to know is if there is a difference in the adoption of English tea drinking, and if the purchasing of certain types of ceramic vessels contributes to the performance of ethnic identity in a colonial setting.

  20. [Cost comparison of temporary sickness absence in 2006 between Barcelona and Madrid provinces, Spain].

    PubMed

    Ballesteros Polo, Mónica; Serra Pujadas, Consol; Miguel Martínez, José; Plana Almuni, Manel; Delclos, George L; Benavides, Fernando G

    2009-01-01

    Sickness absence due to non work-related conditions is a major public health issue with important socio-economic implications, and is not homogenously distributed in Spain. The objective of this study is to compare cost differences of temporary sickness absence between Barcelona and Madrid. A study was carried out based on incident cases of temporary sickness absence of more than fifteen days of duration, followed to case closure, in a retrospective cohort of workers in 2006. The study population consisted of workers of companies covered by the general regime of the Social Security System, and managed by an insurance company based in the provinces of Barcelona and Madrid in the year 2006. We compared the incidence, median duration and daily income base between Barcelona and Madrid, adjusting by sex, age and economic sector, using statistical models that take into account recurrent events in the period. 24.527 cases of temporary sickness absence were identified, 62% of which originated in Barcelona. The mean cost was 33% higher in Barcelona with respect to Madrid (2.589 euros vs 1941 euros). The incidence was 22% higher in Barcelona than Madrid (1,22, IC95%: 1,10-1,36) and mean daily income base per episode was 7,80 euros higher (IC95% :7,20-8,40). In the duration the time ratio was: 1,03 ( IC95%: 1,01-1,05). The higher incidence and daily income base of temporary sickness absence in Barcelona with respect to Madrid may explain the higher costs observed in the former.

  1. Assessing an early modern Fenland population: Whittlesey (Cambridgeshire).

    PubMed

    Falvey, Heather

    2014-01-01

    Improvement writers argued that drainage would bring prosperity and population growth to fenland communities; locals counter-argued that their communities were already thriving. The detailed surviving records from early modern Whittlesey, in the Isle of Ely, are analysed here to test the accuracy of these opposing claims. Using the returns of the 1523 Lay Subsidy, the 1563 ecclesiastical census, the Lady Day 1674 Hearth Tax records and the 1676 Compton Census, together with bishops' transcripts and probate inventories, this article finds that although the population did indeed increase after drainage, the pre-drainage population was also increasing. The Michaelmas 1664 Hearth Tax records are analysed to uncover something of the character of the inhabitants and the 1674 Lady Day returns are then used to test the relative wealth of the community compared with that of sub-regions throughout England identified by Tom Arkell. Finally, there is a discussion of Whittlesey's housing stock.

  2. Bootheel lineament: A possible coseismic fault of the great New Madrid earthquakes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schweig, E.S. III; Marple, R.T.

    1991-10-01

    A remote sensing examination of the New Madrid seismic zone has revealed a feature, the Bootheel lineament, that may be the surface expression of one of the coseismic faults of the great New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. The lineament extends about 135 km in a north-northeast direction through northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri. The morphology and pattern of the lineament suggest that it reflects a fault with strike-slip displacement. Field data indicate that liquefied sand was injected along the lineament, probably in 1811 and 1812. The Bootheel lineament does not coincide with any of the major arms ofmore » New Madrid seismicity, possibly indicating that the current seismicity does not precisely reflect the faults that ruptured in 1811 and 1812.« less

  3. A seismic hazard uncertainty analysis for the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cramer, C.H.

    2001-01-01

    A review of the scientific issues relevant to characterizing earthquake sources in the New Madrid seismic zone has led to the development of a logic tree of possible alternative parameters. A variability analysis, using Monte Carlo sampling of this consensus logic tree, is presented and discussed. The analysis shows that for 2%-exceedence-in-50-year hazard, the best-estimate seismic hazard map is similar to previously published seismic hazard maps for the area. For peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration at 0.2 and 1.0 s (0.2 and 1.0 s Sa), the coefficient of variation (COV) representing the knowledge-based uncertainty in seismic hazard can exceed 0.6 over the New Madrid seismic zone and diminishes to about 0.1 away from areas of seismic activity. Sensitivity analyses show that the largest contributor to PGA, 0.2 and 1.0 s Sa seismic hazard variability is the uncertainty in the location of future 1811-1812 New Madrid sized earthquakes. This is followed by the variability due to the choice of ground motion attenuation relation, the magnitude for the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes, and the recurrence interval for M>6.5 events. Seismic hazard is not very sensitive to the variability in seismogenic width and length. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

  4. From Apprentice to Master: Social Disciplining and Surgical Education in Early Modern London, 1570-1640

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chamberland, Celeste

    2013-01-01

    Due to its ascendancy as the administrative and commercial center of early modern England, London experienced sustained growth in the latter half of the sixteenth century, as waves of rural immigrants sought to enhance their material conditions by tapping into the city's bustling occupational and civic networks. The resultant crowded urban…

  5. The Rhetoric of Bonds, Alliances, and Identities: Interrogating Social Networks in Early Modern English Drama

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cady, Christina J.

    2010-01-01

    The household and family have received considerable interest in studies of early modern English drama, but less attention has been paid to how writers represent intimate affective bonds on the stage. Emotion is intangible; yet many writers convincingly convey the intensity of emotional bonds through rhetoric. Rhetoric is a mainstay in…

  6. The Effects of the "Welcome Schools" Program in Madrid, Spain: An Ethnographic Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    del Olmo, Margarita

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to share the conclusions of a recent ethnographic study carried out in Madrid from 2005 to 2008 to analyze the effects of a program implemented by the Community of Madrid, Spain, to address diversity in schools. The Program was given an English name--"Welcome Schools"--and was aimed at preparing children recently…

  7. Early Pleistocene third metacarpal from Kenya and the evolution of modern human-like hand morphology

    PubMed Central

    Ward, Carol V.; Tocheri, Matthew W.; Plavcan, J. Michael; Brown, Francis H.; Manthi, Fredrick Kyalo

    2014-01-01

    Despite discoveries of relatively complete hands from two early hominin species (Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus sediba) and partial hands from another (Australopithecus afarensis), fundamental questions remain about the evolution of human-like hand anatomy and function. These questions are driven by the paucity of hand fossils in the hominin fossil record between 800,000 and 1.8 My old, a time interval well documented for the emergence and subsequent proliferation of Acheulian technology (shaped bifacial stone tools). Modern and Middle to Late Pleistocene humans share a suite of derived features in the thumb, wrist, and radial carpometacarpal joints that is noticeably absent in early hominins. Here we show that one of the most distinctive features of this suite in the Middle Pleistocene to recent human hand, the third metacarpal styloid process, was present ∼1.42 Mya in an East African hominin from Kaitio, West Turkana, Kenya. This fossil thus provides the earliest unambiguous evidence for the evolution of a key shared derived characteristic of modern human and Neandertal hand morphology and suggests that the distinctive complex of radial carpometacarpal joint features in the human hand arose early in the evolution of the genus Homo and probably in Homo erectus sensu lato. PMID:24344276

  8. Children's Physic: Medical Perceptions and Treatment of Sick Children in Early Modern England, c. 1580-1720.

    PubMed

    Newton, Hannah

    2010-12-01

    Historians of medicine, childhood and paediatrics have often assumed that early modern doctors neither treated children, nor adapted their medicines to suit the peculiar temperaments of the young. Through an examination of medical textbooks and doctors' casebooks, this article refutes these assumptions. It argues that medical authors and practising doctors regularly treated children, and were careful to tailor their remedies to complement the distinctive constitutions of children. Thus, this article proposes that a concept of 'children's physic' existed in early modern England. This term refers to the notion that children were physiologically distinct, requiring special medical care. Children's physic was rooted in the ancient traditions of Hippocratic and Galenic medicine: it was the child's humoral make-up that underpinned all medical ideas about children's bodies, minds, diseases and treatments. Children abounded in the humour blood, which made them humid and weak, and in need of medicines of a particularly gentle nature.

  9. Elementary Education and the Practices of Literacy in Catholic Girls' Schools in Early Modern Germany

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rutz, Andreas

    2012-01-01

    Girls' schools in the early modern era were largely run by nuns and can therefore be distinguished as Catholic institutions of learning. These schools flourished in the Catholic parts of Europe since the turn of the seventeenth century. Despite their focus on religious education, elementary skills such as reading, writing and sometimes arithmetic…

  10. Investigations of the New Madrid, Missouri, earthquake region

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McKeown, F.A.; Pakiser, L.C.

    1982-01-01

    This professional paper contains reports of both the US Geological Survey and other investigations that represent the present state of knowledge of the seismicity and geology of the New Madrid region. The individual reports are abstracted separately.

  11. Cocaine abuse or dependency and other pyschiatric disorders. Madrid study on dual pathology.

    PubMed

    Arias, Francisco; Szerman, Nestor; Vega, Pablo; Mesias, Beatriz; Basurte, Ignacio; Morant, Consuelo; Ochoa, Enriqueta; Poyo, Félix; Babin, Francisco

    2013-01-01

    The main objective of this study was to analyse the cocaine addict subgroup from the Madrid study of prevalence of dual disorders in community mental health and substance misuse services. The sample consisted of 837 outpatients from Madrid, Spain. We compared 488 subjects who had a lifetime diagnosis of cocaine abuse or dependence, and 222 subjects who did not have a cocaine substance use disorder. We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview to evaluate axis I mental disorders, and the Personality Disorder Questionnaire to evaluate personality disorders. Almost three-quarters (73.4%) of cocaine addicts had a current dual disorder. Most prevalent were mood and anxiety disorders. Almost half (49.6%) had a personality disorder. Most of them (94.9%) had other substance use disorders. Cocaine addicts did not have higher prevalence rates of dual pathology than addicts with no cocaine abuse or dependence. Cocaine addicts were associated to a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, agoraphobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and they had an early age of onset of alcohol and cannabis use. Dual pathology is no higher in cocaine addicts in treatment than in addicts who do not use cocaine, however cocaine addicts started other drugs earlier, and were associated with specific mental disorders. Copyright © 2012 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  12. The construction of the idea of the city in Early Modern Europe: Pérez de Herrera and Nicolas Delamare.

    PubMed

    Fraile, Pedro

    2010-01-01

    With the economic and social changes in Europe at the end of the sixteenth century and the formation and consolidation of an urban network throughout the continent, questions such as poverty, sanitation, and hygiene began to pose acute problems in the cities of the age. A new school of thought, known in Spain as Ciencia de Policía and in the Mediterranean area as Policy Science, proposed solutions for these problems and tested them through practical interventions inside the urban setting. In this article the author compares the work of two thinkers: Cristóbal Pérez de Herrera, a Spaniard, and Nicolas Delamare, a Frenchman. Writing in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Pérez de Herrera examined the organization of Madrid, the newly founded (though still not firmly established) capital of Spain. Delamare based his study on the Paris of the early eighteenth century. The author stresses the coincidences in some of the ideas of both thinkers and shows how their writings begin to embody a new idea of the city, many aspects of which have survived until the present day.

  13. GUMNET - A new long-term monitoring initiative in the Guadarrama Mountains, Madrid, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rath, Volker; Fidel González Rouco, J.; Yagüe Anguis, Carlos

    2014-05-01

    We are announcing a new monitoring network in the Guadarrama Mountains north of Madrid, which is planned to be operational in early 2015. This network integrates atmospheric measurements as well as subsurface observations. It aims at improving the characterization of atmosphere-ground interactions in mountainous terrain, the hydrometeorology of the region, climatic change, and related research lines. It will also provide the meteorological and climate data which form the necessary background information for biological, agricultural and hydrological investigations in this area. Currently, the initiative is supported by research groups from the Complutense and Polytechnical Universities of Madrid (UCM and UPM), the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), the Spanish National Meteorological Agency (AEMET), and finally the Parque Nacional de la Sierra de Guadarrama (PNSG). This infrastructure forms part of the Campus of Excellence Moncloa, and is supposed to become a focus of local as well as of international research. However, it is not associated with a particular project: data will in principle be available to the scientific and public communities. Also, the integration of new instruments (long or short term) will be welcome. The starting setup is as following: A group of WMO-compatible meteorological station in the central area of the massif will be installed, which include also a subsurface component of boreholes (≡20 m depth), where temperature and moisture will be measured. This core group is complemented by a reference site near El Escorial (including a fixed and a mobile tower for micrometeorological investigations). This setup is embedded in a network of meteorological stations run partly by AEMET and partly by the PNSG, which will provide the information necessary for the characterization of regional meteorology and climate. Finally, part of the data will be made available quasi-online on a central web server in

  14. [Plan for improving pharmacy indicators in a primary health area of Madrid. Description and results].

    PubMed

    Izquierdo-Palomares, José Manuel; Carretón, María José Almodóvar; Fernández, Luís Carlos Saiz; Gómez, Raquel Siguín; Gómez, Carlos López; Elustondo, Sofía Garrido

    2011-03-01

    To evaluate the results of a plan for improving pharmacy indicators in a Primary Care (PC) Health Area. Quasi-experimental study with a control group. The differences between the pre-intervention (Jan-Dec 2007) and post-intervention (Jan-Dec 2008) periods were evaluated. Intervention group: Primary Care doctors from PC Area 7 of the Community of Madrid (n=397). the rest of PC doctors of the Community of Madrid (n=4428). A multi-focus plan in which the main activities were: sessions in the health centres with the worst results, involvement of those responsible for the Rational Use of Drugs, interviews with the doctors with the most improvable indicators, recognition of those with good indicators, and preparing short notes on drugs. Prescription and notification indicators associated with the safety of drugs. In relation to Madrid, the absolute improvements of Area 7 in the accumulated indicators, %Generic drugs, %Statins, %ARAII y %Omeprazole were 0.29; 1.17; 0.61 and 0.37 percentage points, respectively. DHD Osteoporosis equalled the improvement of Madrid. In Area 7, the increase in notifications of suspected serious ADRs was 180% and number of ADR notifications of ADRs was 233%, better than the Madrid data (48% and 21%). The notification of medication errors showed similar increases in both groups (PC Area 7 1567% vs. Madrid PC 1633%). Implementing a multi-focus improvement plan with feasible and specific actions can be a useful tool for improving pharmacy indicators. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  15. Epidemiological role of dogs since the human leishmaniosis outbreak in Madrid.

    PubMed

    Miró, Guadalupe; Müller, Aurora; Montoya, Ana; Checa, Rocía; Marino, Valentina; Marino, Eloy; Fuster, Fernando; Escacena, Cristina; Descalzo, Miguel Angel; Gálvez, Rosa

    2017-04-26

    Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) has been in the spotlight since the 2009 outbreak of human leishmaniosis in Madrid. In the framework of the Leishmaniosis Surveillance Programme set up in Madrid, this study examines Leishmania-specific seroprevalences in stray dogs for the outbreak area and rest of the Madrid region over the period spanning from the outbreak to the present (2009-2016). These data are of interest because stray dogs could be sentinels for disease surveillance in endemic areas. Since 2011, we have also been monitoring owned dogs in the outbreak area. Over the study period, Leishmania infantum seroprevalence was determined in 2,123 stray dogs from the outbreak and non-outbreak areas. A serological study was also performed for owned dogs in the outbreak area: high-risk dogs such as hunting or farm dogs (n = 1,722) and pets (n = 1372). All dogs were examined and blood was collected. The variables recorded for each animal were: breed, age, sex, and clinical history indicating if the animal was healthy or clinically suspected of having any disease, and if they showed a clinical picture compatible with CanL. Seroprevalences of L. infantum in stray dogs were similar in the two areas examined: 4.7% (20 out of 346) in the outbreak area and 5.4% (96 out of 1,777) in the remaining Madrid region (χ 2  = 0.080, P = 0.777). A significant association was found between seroprevalence and age (z = -6.319; P < 0.001). Seroprevalence in owned dogs in the outbreak area was 2.1% in high-risk dogs (37 out of 1,722) and 1.2% in pets (17 out of 1,372) (χ 2  = 3.561, P = 0.0591). Both stray and owned dogs do not seem to play an important role in maintaining the transmission cycle of L. infantum in the Madrid outbreak area. The stable seroprevalence of infection observed in sentinel dogs suggests the good clinical management and prevention of CanL by local practitioners in owned dogs.

  16. Early Cambrian origin of modern food webs: evidence from predator arrow worms.

    PubMed

    Vannier, J; Steiner, M; Renvoisé, E; Hu, S-X; Casanova, J-P

    2007-03-07

    Although palaeontological evidence from exceptional biota demonstrates the existence of diverse marine communities in the Early Cambrian (approx. 540-520 Myr ago), little is known concerning the functioning of the marine ecosystem, especially its trophic structure and the full range of ecological niches colonized by the fauna. The presence of a diverse zooplankton in Early Cambrian oceans is still an open issue. Here we provide compelling evidence that chaetognaths, an important element of modern zooplankton, were present in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota with morphologies almost identical to Recent forms. New information obtained from the lowermost Cambrian of China added to previous studies provide convincing evidence that protoconodont-bearing animals also belonged to chaetognaths. Chaetognaths were probably widespread and diverse in the earliest Cambrian. The obvious raptorial function of their circumoral apparatuses (grasping spines) places them among the earliest active predator metazoans. Morphology, body ratios and distribution suggest that the ancestral chaetognaths were planktonic with possible ecological preferences for hyperbenthic niches close to the sea bottom. Our results point to the early introduction of prey-predator relationships into the pelagic realm, and to the increase of trophic complexity (three-level structure) during the Precambrian-Cambrian transition, thus laying the foundations of present-day marine food chains.

  17. Early Cambrian origin of modern food webs: evidence from predator arrow worms

    PubMed Central

    Vannier, J; Steiner, M; Renvoisé, E; Hu, S.-X; Casanova, J.-P

    2006-01-01

    Although palaeontological evidence from exceptional biota demonstrates the existence of diverse marine communities in the Early Cambrian (approx. 540–520 Myr ago), little is known concerning the functioning of the marine ecosystem, especially its trophic structure and the full range of ecological niches colonized by the fauna. The presence of a diverse zooplankton in Early Cambrian oceans is still an open issue. Here we provide compelling evidence that chaetognaths, an important element of modern zooplankton, were present in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota with morphologies almost identical to Recent forms. New information obtained from the lowermost Cambrian of China added to previous studies provide convincing evidence that protoconodont-bearing animals also belonged to chaetognaths. Chaetognaths were probably widespread and diverse in the earliest Cambrian. The obvious raptorial function of their circumoral apparatuses (grasping spines) places them among the earliest active predator metazoans. Morphology, body ratios and distribution suggest that the ancestral chaetognaths were planktonic with possible ecological preferences for hyperbenthic niches close to the sea bottom. Our results point to the early introduction of prey–predator relationships into the pelagic realm, and to the increase of trophic complexity (three-level structure) during the Precambrian–Cambrian transition, thus laying the foundations of present-day marine food chains. PMID:17254986

  18. Volcanic ash layers illuminate the resilience of Neanderthals and early modern humans to natural hazards

    PubMed Central

    Lowe, John; Barton, Nick; Blockley, Simon; Ramsey, Christopher Bronk; Cullen, Victoria L.; Davies, William; Gamble, Clive; Grant, Katharine; Hardiman, Mark; Housley, Rupert; Lane, Christine S.; Lee, Sharen; Lewis, Mark; MacLeod, Alison; Menzies, Martin; Müller, Wolfgang; Pollard, Mark; Price, Catherine; Roberts, Andrew P.; Rohling, Eelco J.; Satow, Chris; Smith, Victoria C.; Stringer, Chris B.; Tomlinson, Emma L.; White, Dustin; Albert, Paul; Arienzo, Ilenia; Barker, Graeme; Borić, Dušan; Carandente, Antonio; Civetta, Lucia; Ferrier, Catherine; Guadelli, Jean-Luc; Karkanas, Panagiotis; Koumouzelis, Margarita; Müller, Ulrich C.; Orsi, Giovanni; Pross, Jörg; Rosi, Mauro; Shalamanov-Korobar, Ljiljiana; Sirakov, Nikolay; Tzedakis, Polychronis C.

    2012-01-01

    Marked changes in human dispersal and development during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition have been attributed to massive volcanic eruption and/or severe climatic deterioration. We test this concept using records of volcanic ash layers of the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption dated to ca. 40,000 y ago (40 ka B.P.). The distribution of the Campanian Ignimbrite has been enhanced by the discovery of cryptotephra deposits (volcanic ash layers that are not visible to the naked eye) in archaeological cave sequences. They enable us to synchronize archaeological and paleoclimatic records through the period of transition from Neanderthal to the earliest anatomically modern human populations in Europe. Our results confirm that the combined effects of a major volcanic eruption and severe climatic cooling failed to have lasting impacts on Neanderthals or early modern humans in Europe. We infer that modern humans proved a greater competitive threat to indigenous populations than natural disasters. PMID:22826222

  19. Volcanic ash layers illuminate the resilience of Neanderthals and early modern humans to natural hazards.

    PubMed

    Lowe, John; Barton, Nick; Blockley, Simon; Ramsey, Christopher Bronk; Cullen, Victoria L; Davies, William; Gamble, Clive; Grant, Katharine; Hardiman, Mark; Housley, Rupert; Lane, Christine S; Lee, Sharen; Lewis, Mark; MacLeod, Alison; Menzies, Martin; Müller, Wolfgang; Pollard, Mark; Price, Catherine; Roberts, Andrew P; Rohling, Eelco J; Satow, Chris; Smith, Victoria C; Stringer, Chris B; Tomlinson, Emma L; White, Dustin; Albert, Paul; Arienzo, Ilenia; Barker, Graeme; Boric, Dusan; Carandente, Antonio; Civetta, Lucia; Ferrier, Catherine; Guadelli, Jean-Luc; Karkanas, Panagiotis; Koumouzelis, Margarita; Müller, Ulrich C; Orsi, Giovanni; Pross, Jörg; Rosi, Mauro; Shalamanov-Korobar, Ljiljiana; Sirakov, Nikolay; Tzedakis, Polychronis C

    2012-08-21

    Marked changes in human dispersal and development during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition have been attributed to massive volcanic eruption and/or severe climatic deterioration. We test this concept using records of volcanic ash layers of the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption dated to ca. 40,000 y ago (40 ka B.P.). The distribution of the Campanian Ignimbrite has been enhanced by the discovery of cryptotephra deposits (volcanic ash layers that are not visible to the naked eye) in archaeological cave sequences. They enable us to synchronize archaeological and paleoclimatic records through the period of transition from Neanderthal to the earliest anatomically modern human populations in Europe. Our results confirm that the combined effects of a major volcanic eruption and severe climatic cooling failed to have lasting impacts on Neanderthals or early modern humans in Europe. We infer that modern humans proved a greater competitive threat to indigenous populations than natural disasters.

  20. Metaphors and images of cancer in early modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Stolberg, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Drawing on learned medical writing about cancer and on nonmedical texts that used cancer as a metaphor for hateful cultural, social, religious, or political phenomena that warranted drastic measures, this article traces the metaphors and images that framed the perception and experience of cancer in the early modern period. It finds that cancer was closely associated with notions of impurity and a visible destruction of the body's surface and was diagnosed primarily in women, as breast and uterine cancer. Putrid, corrosive cancerous humor was thought not only to accumulate and eat its way into the surrounding flesh but also to spread, like the seeds of a plant, "infecting" the whole body. This infectious quality, the putrid secretions, and the often horrendous smell emanating from cancer victims raised fears, in turn, of contagion and were taken to justify a separation of cancer patients from the rest of society.

  1. Tracing sexual identities in "old age": gender and seniority in advice literature of the early-modern and modern periods.

    PubMed

    van Tilburg, Marja

    2009-10-01

    Thus far, historians have interpreted representations of elderly women with reference to women's roles or to women's positions in society. This article proposes a different approach toward gender: to relate representations of the aged to the sexual identities of both men and women. This article analyzes representations of old age in conduct books of the early-modern period and the nineteenth century. By drawing a comparison, the eighteenth-century change of "identity regime" in European culture is brought to the fore. The article points to the influence of sexual identities on the representations of senior persons in advice literature both in Dutch and translated into Dutch.

  2. Policy and Practice in Madrid Multilingual Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pastor, Ana Maria Relano

    2009-01-01

    This article focuses on Spain's most recent implementing of education policies designed to address the needs of immigrant students. It overviews how the latest education policies do not meet the needs of a diverse body of students, drawing on information provided in focus group interviews from several Madrid schools, as well as from other official…

  3. Promoting free flow in the networks: Reimagining the body in early modern Suzhou.

    PubMed

    Scheid, Volker

    2017-06-01

    The history of Chinese medicine is still widely imagined in terms dictated by the discourse of modernity, that is as 'traditional' and 'Chinese.' And yet, so as to be intelligible to us moderns, it must simultaneously be framed through categories that make it comparable somehow to the 'West' and the 'modern' from which it is said to be essentially different. This is accomplished, for instance, by viewing Chinese medicine as fundamentally shaped by cosmological thinking, as focusing on process rather than matter, and as forever hampered by attachments to the past even when it tries to innovate. At the same time, it is described as pursuing its objectives in ways that make sense in 'our' terms, too, such as the goal of creating physiological homeostasis through methods of supplementation and drainage. In this paper, I seek to move beyond this kind of analysis through a two-pronged approach. First, by focusing on the concept of tong - a character that calls forth images of free flow, connectivity, relatedness and understanding - I foreground an important aspect of Chinese medical thinking and practice that has virtually been ignored by Western historians of medicine and science. Second, by exploring how the influential physician Ye Tianshi (1664-1746) employed tong to advance medical thinking and practice at a crucial moment of change in the history of Chinese medicine, I demonstrate that physicians in early modern China moved towards new understandings of the body readily intelligible by modern biomedical anatomy. I argue that this mode of analysis allows us to transcend the limitations inherent in the current historiography of Chinese medicine: because it allows for comparison to emerge from our subject matter rather than imposing our imaginaries onto it in advance.

  4. Wombs, Worms and Wolves: Constructing Cancer in Early Modern England.

    PubMed

    Skuse, Alanna

    2014-11-01

    This essay examines medical and popular attitudes to cancer in the early modern period, c .1580-1720. Cancer, it is argued, was understood as a cruel and usually incurable disease, diagnosable by a well-defined set of symptoms understood to correspond to its etymological root, karkinos (the crab). It was primarily understood as produced by an imbalance of the humours, with women being particularly vulnerable. However, such explanations proved inadequate to make sense of the condition's malignancy, and medical writers frequently constructed cancer as quasi-sentient, zoomorphising the disease as an eating worm or wolf. In turn, these constructions materially influenced medical practice, in which practitioners swung between anxiety over 'aggravating' the disease and an adversarial approach which fostered the use of radical and dangerous 'cures' including caustics and surgery.

  5. Wombs, Worms and Wolves: Constructing Cancer in Early Modern England

    PubMed Central

    Skuse, Alanna

    2014-01-01

    This essay examines medical and popular attitudes to cancer in the early modern period, c.1580–1720. Cancer, it is argued, was understood as a cruel and usually incurable disease, diagnosable by a well-defined set of symptoms understood to correspond to its etymological root, karkinos (the crab). It was primarily understood as produced by an imbalance of the humours, with women being particularly vulnerable. However, such explanations proved inadequate to make sense of the condition's malignancy, and medical writers frequently constructed cancer as quasi-sentient, zoomorphising the disease as an eating worm or wolf. In turn, these constructions materially influenced medical practice, in which practitioners swung between anxiety over ‘aggravating’ the disease and an adversarial approach which fostered the use of radical and dangerous ‘cures’ including caustics and surgery. PMID:25352720

  6. A nearly modern amphibious bird from the Early Cretaceous of northwestern China.

    PubMed

    You, Hai-Lu; Lamanna, Matthew C; Harris, Jerald D; Chiappe, Luis M; O'connor, Jingmai; Ji, Shu-An; Lü, Jun-Chang; Yuan, Chong-Xi; Li, Da-Qing; Zhang, Xing; Lacovara, Kenneth J; Dodson, Peter; Ji, Qiang

    2006-06-16

    Three-dimensional specimens of the volant fossil bird Gansus yumenensis from the Early Cretaceous Xiagou Formation of northwestern China demonstrate that this taxon possesses advanced anatomical features previously known only in Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic ornithuran birds. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Gansus within the Ornithurae, making it the oldest known member of the clade. The Xiagou Formation preserves the oldest known ornithuromorph-dominated avian assemblage. The anatomy of Gansus, like that of other non-neornithean (nonmodern) ornithuran birds, indicates specialization for an amphibious life-style, supporting the hypothesis that modern birds originated in aquatic or littoral niches.

  7. Early Pliocene onset of modern Nordic Seas circulation related to ocean gateway changes.

    PubMed

    De Schepper, Stijn; Schreck, Michael; Beck, Kristina Marie; Matthiessen, Jens; Fahl, Kirsten; Mangerud, Gunn

    2015-10-28

    The globally warm climate of the early Pliocene gradually cooled from 4 million years ago, synchronous with decreasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. In contrast, palaeoceanographic records indicate that the Nordic Seas cooled during the earliest Pliocene, before global cooling. However, a lack of knowledge regarding the precise timing of Nordic Seas cooling has limited our understanding of the governing mechanisms. Here, using marine palynology, we show that cooling in the Nordic Seas was coincident with the first trans-Arctic migration of cool-water Pacific mollusks around 4.5 million years ago, and followed by the development of a modern-like Nordic Seas surface circulation. Nordic Seas cooling precedes global cooling by 500,000 years; as such, we propose that reconfiguration of the Bering Strait and Central American Seaway triggered the development of a modern circulation in the Nordic Seas, which is essential for North Atlantic Deep Water formation and a precursor for more widespread Greenland glaciation in the late Pliocene.

  8. Dense lower crust elevates long-term earthquake rates in the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Levandowski, William Brower; Boyd, Oliver; Ramirez-Guzman, Leonardo

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge of the local state of stress is critical in appraising intraplate seismic hazard. Inverting earthquake moment tensors, we demonstrate that principal stress directions in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) differ significantly from those in the surrounding region. Faults in the NMSZ that are incompatible with slip in the regional stress field are favorably oriented relative to local stress. We jointly analyze seismic velocity, gravity, and topography to develop a 3-D crustal and upper mantle density model, revealing uniquely dense lower crust beneath the NMSZ. Finite element simulations then estimate the stress tensor due to gravitational body forces, which sums with regional stress. The anomalous lower crust both elevates gravity-derived stress at seismogenic depths in the NMSZ and rotates it to interfere more constructively with far-field stress, producing a regionally maximal deviatoric stress coincident with the highest concentration of modern seismicity. Moreover, predicted principal stress directions mirror variations (observed independently in moment tensors) at the NMSZ and across the region.

  9. Valuation of social and health effects of transport-related air pollution in Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Monzón, Andrés; Guerrero, María-José

    2004-12-01

    Social impacts of pollutants from mobile sources are a key element in urban design and traffic planning. One of the most relevant impacts is health effects associated with high pollution periods. Madrid is a city that suffers chronic congestion levels and some periods of very stable atmospheric conditions; as a result, pollution levels exceed air quality standards for certain pollutants. This paper focuses on the social evaluation of transport-related emissions. A new methodology to evaluate those impacts in monetary terms has been designed and applied to Madrid. The method takes into account costs associated with losses in working time, mortality and human suffering; calculated using an impact pathway approach linked to CORINAIR emissions. This also allows the calculation of social costs associated with greenhouse gas impacts. As costs have been calculated individually by effect and mode of transport, they can be used to design pricing policies based on real social costs. This paper concludes that the health and social costs of transport-related air pollution in Madrid is 357 Meuro. In these circumstances, the recent public health tax applied in Madrid is clearly correct and sensible with a fair pricing policy on car use.

  10. Hepatitis B virus infection and vaccine-induced immunity in Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Pedraza-Flechas, Ana María; García-Comas, Luis; Ordobás-Gavín, María; Sanz-Moreno, Juan Carlos; Ramos-Blázquez, Belén; Astray-Mochales, Jenaro; Moreno-Guillén, Santiago

    2014-01-01

    To estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and vaccine-induced immunity in the region of Madrid, and to analyze their evolution over time. An observational, analytical, cross-sectional study was carried out in the population aged 16-80 years between 2008 and 2009. This was the last of four seroprevalence surveys in the region of Madrid. The prevalence of HBV infection and vaccine-induced immunity was estimated using multivariate logistic models and were compared with the prevalences in the 1989, 1993 and 1999 surveys. In the population aged 16-80 years, the prevalence of HBV infection was 11.0% (95% CI: 9.8-12.3) and that of chronic infection was 0.7% (95% CI: 0.5-1.1). The prevalence of vaccine-induced immunity in the population aged 16-20 years was 73.0% (95% CI: 70.0-76.0). Compared with previous surveys, there was a decrease in the prevalence of HBV infection. Based on the prevalence of chronic infection (<1%), Madrid is a region with low HBV endemicity. Preventive strategies against HBV should especially target the immigrant population. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Espana.

  11. St. John’s Bayou Cultural Resources Survey and Testing in Scott, Mississippi and New Madrid Counties, Missouri

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-04-01

    the New Madrid earthquakes . These quakes ravaged the central Mississippi River valley between December 16, 1811 and February 7, 1812; followed by many...The effect of the earthquake on the town of New Madrid was devastating. Most of the structures in the town were leveled after the first tremors, and...end of the war by burning the Methodist Church and a number of other buildings (J. Price, Morrow and C. Price 1978:132). By the 1870s, New Madrid

  12. [Validity and concordance of electronic health records in primary care (AP-Madrid) for surveillance of diabetes mellitus. PREDIMERC study].

    PubMed

    Gil Montalbán, Elisa; Ortiz Marrón, Honorato; López-Gay Lucio-Villegas, Dulce; Zorrilla Torrás, Belén; Arrieta Blanco, Francisco; Nogales Aguado, Pedro

    2014-01-01

    To assess the validity and concordance of diabetes data in the electronic health records of primary care (Madrid-PC) by comparing with those from the PREDIMERC study. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and kappa index of diabetes cases recorded in the health records of Madrid-PC were calculated by using data from PREDIMERC as the gold standard. The prevalence of diabetes was also determined according to each data source. The sensitivity of diabetes recorded in Madrid-PC was 74%, the specificity was 98.8%, the positive predictive value was 87.9%, the negative predictive value was 97.3%, and the kappa index was 0.78. The prevalence of diabetes recorded in Madrid-PC was 6.7% versus 8.1% by PREDIMERC, where known diabetes was 6.3%. The electronic health records of primary care are a valid source for epidemiological surveillance of diabetes in Madrid. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  13. Development of a structured sensory honey analysis: application to artisanal Madrid honeys.

    PubMed

    González, M M; de Lorenzo, C; Pérez, R A

    2010-02-01

    In this work a methodology to evaluate the sensory properties of honeys has been developed. The sensory analysis was carried out by means of a quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) method, based on several reference scales, for the coverage of the designed range for each descriptor. The peculiarity of this sensory analysis is that the reference scales have been constituted by common foodstuffs agreed upon by consensus of the panel. The main sensory attributes evaluated in the analyses were: adhesiveness, viscosity, bitterness, aroma, sweetness, acidity, color and granularity. Both the intensity and persistence of honey aromas have also been estimated, together with the classification of the identified aromatic attributes into different groups. The method was applied to 55 artisanal honeys from Madrid (Spain) with the following results: (i) the developed sensory profile sheet allowed a satisfactory description of Madrid honeys; (ii) correlations between sensory attributes of three broad groups of Madrid honeys were obtained and (iii) aroma persistence, sweetness, bitterness, color and granularity appeared as the main sensorial characteristics of honey with discrimination power between floral and honeydew honeys.

  14. Book review: Mapping gendered routes and spaces in the early modern world

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Varanka, Dalia E.

    2016-01-01

    This book encapsulates and extends many seminal ideas presented at the eighth “Attending to Early Modern Women” conference held at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in June 2012. Merry Wiesner-Hanks has done a masterful job editing these papers within a central theme of the interaction of spatial domains with gender-based phenomena. The fifteen chapters of this book are organized into four sections: “Framework,” discussing theoretical concepts; “Embodied Environments,” focusing on physicality; “Communities and Networks” of social patterns; and “Exchanges” across geographic space. Together, a global society shaped by gender and sexuality and intersected by race and class emerges.

  15. Tectonic study of the extension of the New Madrid fault zone near its intersection with the 38th parallel lineament

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Braile, L.W.; Hinze, W.J.; Sexton, J.L.

    1982-06-01

    Gravity, magnetic, geologic, and seismicity data have been combined in a seismotectonic analysis of the New Madrid seismic zone. Previous studies have presented evidence for several rift zones in this area (Upper Mississippi enmbayment), including the Reelfoot rift, a late precambrian-early Paleozoic failed arm which extends north-northeast from the ancient continental margin. We suggest that the northern terminus of the Reelfoot rift forms a rift complex, with arms extending northeast into southwestern Indiana, northwest along the Mississippi River, and east into western Kentucky, which appears to correlate well with the seismicity in the area. This correlation suggests that faults associatedmore » with this rift complex are being reactivated in the contemporary stress field (east-northeast compression). If this interpretation is valid, it represents a seismotectonic model which can be used to predict the extent of future seismicity in the New Madrid seismic zone. The proposed rift complex also provides a coherent model for the tectonic development of this region of the North American midcontinent.« less

  16. Evolution in the use of natural building stone in Madrid, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fort, R.; Alvarez de Buergo, M.; Perez-Monserrat, E. M.; Varas-Muriel, M. J.; Gomez-Heras, M.; Freire, D. M.

    2012-04-01

    The first natural building stone used in Madrid was the flint, from the 9th to the 12th century. It was first used by the Arabs and there are some nice examples left, such as the Arab Wall in the very centre of Madrid. It was a hard and very resistant material, and the end of its use probably had more to do with the fact that was a really difficult stone to work, cut, shape and carve with due to its hardness and compactness, than with its suitability and availability as a building stone. This was the main reason to start using other type of materials, such as the Cretaceous limestones and dolostones- Redueña stone-; although their quarries were not as close to the city as the flintstones were, a Roman road made possible to bring this material to the city. The Redueña stone then became the most frequent used building stone in the city (used a longer time ago in the quarries areas): nice colour, easy to extract and to work and availability were some of the reasons for it, lasting its predominance until the 17th century. At the same time, more or less, the use of granitic materials started, abundant in the Central System range that limits the North of the Madrid province. This material - traditionally known as Berroqueña stone- never stopped to be used in built heritage since then. Although there are many different quarries, until the 17th century, granites from the Zarzalejo area (Center-West area of the Guadarrama mountain range) were most used, and also those from the Alpedrete area (Center-East area of the mentioned range) during mainly the 18th century It was not until this century when the advances in underground mining extraction and the construction of a bridge crossing the Tajo river, allowed the use of Colmenar stone in the city of Madrid, a limestone located at the Southeast of Madrid. It is a white, little porous and resistant material, which, together with the granite, became the traditional building stones of Madrid. This limestone shows excellent

  17. High-Resolution Seismic Reflection Imaging of the Reelfoot Fault, New Madrid, Missouri

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosandich, B.; Harris, J. B.; Woolery, E. W.

    2017-12-01

    Earthquakes in the Lower Mississippi Valley are mainly concentrated in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and are associated with reactivated faults of the Reelfoot Rift. Determining the relationship between the seismogenic faults (in crystalline basement rocks) and deformation at the Earth's surface and in the shallow subsurface has remained an active research topic for decades. An integrated seismic data set, including compressional (P-) wave and shear (S-) wave seismic reflection profiles, was collected in New Madrid, Missouri, across the "New Madrid" segment of the Reelfoot Fault, whose most significant rupture produced the M 7.5, February 7, 1812, New Madrid earthquake. The seismic reflection profiles (215 m long) were centered on the updip projection of the fault, which is associated with a surface drainage feature (Des Cyprie Slough) located at the base of a prominent east-facing escarpment. The seismic reflection profiles were collected using 48-channel (P-wave) and 24-channel (S-wave) towable landsteamer acquisition equipment. Seismic energy was generated by five vertical impacts of a 1.8-kg sledgehammer on a small aluminum plate for the P-wave data and five horizontal impacts of the sledgehammer on a 10-kg steel I-beam for the S-wave data. Interpretation of the profiles shows a west-dipping reverse fault (Reelfoot Fault) that propagates upward from Paleozoic sedimentary rocks (>500 m deep) to near-surface Quaternary sediments (<10 m deep). The hanging wall of the fault is anticlinally folded, a structural setting almost identical to that imaged on the Kentucky Bend and Reelfoot Lake segments (of the Reelfoot Fault) to the south.

  18. Development of GIS Database for New Madrid Seismic Zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Birhanemeskel, Y. T.; Vlahovic, G.; Arroucau, P.; Malhotra, R.; Powell, C. A.

    2010-12-01

    The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) of the central Mississippi river valley is currently the most seismically active region in the central and eastern United States. A number of earthquakes occurred in NMSZ between 1811 and 1812, of which three major earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 7 destroyed the town of New Madrid, Missouri. Intraplate seismicity like the New Madrid seismicity is difficult to explain in the framework of plate tectonics and requires analyzing various geological, geophysical and seismological data to better understand its causes. ArcGIS® 9.3.1 software with license type ArcEditor was used to build a geodatabase containing multiple layers that are useful for the study of intraplate seismicity. These layers include earthquake locations, gravity and magnetic anomalies, lithology, topography, velocity anomalies as resolved by arrival time tomography and geological structures like intrusions and faults. The data for these layers were obtained from the U.S Geological Survey, from the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis, TN, and from paper maps. Zipped files of various formats (.xls, .shp, .txt, .tar, etc) were downloaded and converted to a format compatible with ArcGIS. To keep compatibility of the data, editing of the attribute table of the raw data was completed before importing the data to Arc Catalog. Geo-referencing and digitizing processes were also done to import layers of contour lines and geological structures with correct vector information from papers maps. Layers were clipped in order to make sure that they fit the spatial extent of the study area (from 34°S to 40°N in latitude and from 93°W to 86°W in longitude). The New Madrid seismicity will be analyzed by looking for possible relationships that exist between the data layers using various spatial and geostatistical tools. For example the distribution of earthquakes will be analyzed with respect to the potential field and velocity

  19. Partnering to change the world for people with haemophilia: 7th Haemophilia Global Summit, Madrid, Spain 22-24 September 2016.

    PubMed

    Dolan, Gerry

    2017-10-01

    The 7th Haemophilia Global Summit was held in Madrid, Spain, in September 2016. With a programme designed, for the 6th consecutive year, by a Scientific Steering Committee of haemophilia experts, the aim of the summit was to share optimal management strategies for haemophilia at all life stages and to provide an opportunity for specialists from across the haemophilia multidisciplinary care team to engage in discussion and debate with leading international experts on current and future areas of research. Topics covered ranged from the optimisation of haemophilia management, emerging issues in clinical care, practical approaches and future perspectives, in addition to patient engagement and empowerment in modern haemophilia care. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Floods of the Maros river in the early modern and modern period (16th-20th centuries)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiss, Andrea

    2016-04-01

    In the poster presentation a series of historical and recent floods of the Maros river, with special emphasis on the flood events occurred on the lower sections, are presented. Similar to the Hungarian flood databases of the Middle-Danube and Lower-Tisza, the main sources of investigations are the institutional (legal-administrative) documentary evidence (e.g. Szeged and Makó town council protocols and related administrative documentation, Csanád County meeting protocols) mainly from the late 17th-early 18th century onwards. However, in case of the Maros river there is an increased importance of narrative sources, with special emphasis on the early modern period (16th-17th century): in this case the (mainly Transylvanian) narratives (chronicles, diaries, memoires etc.) written by aristocrats, other noblemen and town citizens have particular importance. In the presentation the frequency of detected flood events, from the mid-16th century onwards (with an outlook on sporadic medieval evidence), is provided; moreover, a 3-scaled magnitude classification and a seasonality analysis are also presented. Floods of the Maros river, especially those of the lower river sections, often cannot be understood and discussed without the floods of the (Lower-)Tisza; thus, a comparison of the two flood series are also a subject of discussion. Unlike the Lower-Tisza, the Maros is prone to winter and early spring ice jam floods: since the floods that belonged to this type (similar to those of the Middle-Danube at Budapest) were the most destructive among the flood events of the river, this flood type, and the greatest flood events (e.g. 1751-1752, 1784) are also presented in more detail.

  1. Unexpected Early Triassic marine ecosystem and the rise of the Modern evolutionary fauna

    PubMed Central

    Brayard, Arnaud; Krumenacker, L. J.; Botting, Joseph P.; Jenks, James F.; Bylund, Kevin G.; Fara, Emmanuel; Vennin, Emmanuelle; Olivier, Nicolas; Goudemand, Nicolas; Saucède, Thomas; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Romano, Carlo; Doguzhaeva, Larisa; Thuy, Ben; Hautmann, Michael; Stephen, Daniel A.; Thomazo, Christophe; Escarguel, Gilles

    2017-01-01

    In the wake of the end-Permian mass extinction, the Early Triassic (~251.9 to 247 million years ago) is portrayed as an environmentally unstable interval characterized by several biotic crises and heavily depauperate marine benthic ecosystems. We describe a new fossil assemblage—the Paris Biota—from the earliest Spathian (middle Olenekian, ~250.6 million years ago) of the Bear Lake area, southeastern Idaho, USA. This highly diversified assemblage documents a remarkably complex marine ecosystem including at least seven phyla and 20 distinct metazoan orders, along with algae. Most unexpectedly, it combines early Paleozoic and middle Mesozoic taxa previously unknown from the Triassic strata, among which are primitive Cambrian-Ordovician leptomitid sponges (a 200–million year Lazarus taxon) and gladius-bearing coleoid cephalopods, a poorly documented group before the Jurassic (~50 million years after the Early Triassic). Additionally, the crinoid and ophiuroid specimens show derived anatomical characters that were thought to have evolved much later. Unlike previous works that suggested a sluggish postcrisis recovery and a low diversity for the Early Triassic benthic organisms, the unexpected composition of this exceptional assemblage points toward an early and rapid post-Permian diversification for these clades. Overall, it illustrates a phylogenetically diverse, functionally complex, and trophically multileveled marine ecosystem, from primary producers up to top predators and potential scavengers. Hence, the Paris Biota highlights the key evolutionary position of Early Triassic fossil ecosystems in the transition from the Paleozoic to the Modern marine evolutionary fauna at the dawn of the Mesozoic era. PMID:28246643

  2. Unexpected Early Triassic marine ecosystem and the rise of the Modern evolutionary fauna.

    PubMed

    Brayard, Arnaud; Krumenacker, L J; Botting, Joseph P; Jenks, James F; Bylund, Kevin G; Fara, Emmanuel; Vennin, Emmanuelle; Olivier, Nicolas; Goudemand, Nicolas; Saucède, Thomas; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Romano, Carlo; Doguzhaeva, Larisa; Thuy, Ben; Hautmann, Michael; Stephen, Daniel A; Thomazo, Christophe; Escarguel, Gilles

    2017-02-01

    In the wake of the end-Permian mass extinction, the Early Triassic (~251.9 to 247 million years ago) is portrayed as an environmentally unstable interval characterized by several biotic crises and heavily depauperate marine benthic ecosystems. We describe a new fossil assemblage-the Paris Biota-from the earliest Spathian (middle Olenekian, ~250.6 million years ago) of the Bear Lake area, southeastern Idaho, USA. This highly diversified assemblage documents a remarkably complex marine ecosystem including at least seven phyla and 20 distinct metazoan orders, along with algae. Most unexpectedly, it combines early Paleozoic and middle Mesozoic taxa previously unknown from the Triassic strata, among which are primitive Cambrian-Ordovician leptomitid sponges (a 200-million year Lazarus taxon) and gladius-bearing coleoid cephalopods, a poorly documented group before the Jurassic (~50 million years after the Early Triassic). Additionally, the crinoid and ophiuroid specimens show derived anatomical characters that were thought to have evolved much later. Unlike previous works that suggested a sluggish postcrisis recovery and a low diversity for the Early Triassic benthic organisms, the unexpected composition of this exceptional assemblage points toward an early and rapid post-Permian diversification for these clades. Overall, it illustrates a phylogenetically diverse, functionally complex, and trophically multileveled marine ecosystem, from primary producers up to top predators and potential scavengers. Hence, the Paris Biota highlights the key evolutionary position of Early Triassic fossil ecosystems in the transition from the Paleozoic to the Modern marine evolutionary fauna at the dawn of the Mesozoic era.

  3. Children’s Physic: Medical Perceptions and Treatment of Sick Children in Early Modern England, c. 1580–1720

    PubMed Central

    Newton, Hannah

    2015-01-01

    Summary Historians of medicine, childhood and paediatrics have often assumed that early modern doctors neither treated children, nor adapted their medicines to suit the peculiar temperaments of the young. Through an examination of medical textbooks and doctors’ casebooks, this article refutes these assumptions. It argues that medical authors and practising doctors regularly treated children, and were careful to tailor their remedies to complement the distinctive constitutions of children. Thus, this article proposes that a concept of ‘children’s physic’ existed in early modern England. This term refers to the notion that children were physiologically distinct, requiring special medical care. Children’s physic was rooted in the ancient traditions of Hippocratic and Galenic medicine: it was the child’s humoral make-up that underpinned all medical ideas about children’s bodies, minds, diseases and treatments. Children abounded in the humour blood, which made them humid and weak, and in need of medicines of a particularly gentle nature. PMID:26306061

  4. Historical DNA reveals the demographic history of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in medieval and early modern Iceland

    PubMed Central

    Ólafsdóttir, Guðbjörg Ásta; Westfall, Kristen M.; Edvardsson, Ragnar; Pálsson, Snæbjörn

    2014-01-01

    Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) vertebrae from archaeological sites were used to study the history of the Icelandic Atlantic cod population in the time period of 1500–1990. Specifically, we used coalescence modelling to estimate population size and fluctuations from the sequence diversity at the cytochrome b (cytb) and Pantophysin I (PanI) loci. The models are consistent with an expanding population during the warm medieval period, large historical effective population size (NE), a marked bottleneck event at 1400–1500 and a decrease in NE in early modern times. The model results are corroborated by the reduction of haplotype and nucleotide variation over time and pairwise population distance as a significant portion of nucleotide variation partitioned across the 1550 time mark. The mean age of the historical fished stock is high in medieval times with a truncation in age in early modern times. The population size crash coincides with a period of known cooling in the North Atlantic, and we conclude that the collapse may be related to climate or climate-induced ecosystem change. PMID:24403343

  5. Historical DNA reveals the demographic history of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in medieval and early modern Iceland.

    PubMed

    Ólafsdóttir, Guðbjörg Ásta; Westfall, Kristen M; Edvardsson, Ragnar; Pálsson, Snæbjörn

    2014-02-22

    Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) vertebrae from archaeological sites were used to study the history of the Icelandic Atlantic cod population in the time period of 1500-1990. Specifically, we used coalescence modelling to estimate population size and fluctuations from the sequence diversity at the cytochrome b (cytb) and Pantophysin I (PanI) loci. The models are consistent with an expanding population during the warm medieval period, large historical effective population size (NE), a marked bottleneck event at 1400-1500 and a decrease in NE in early modern times. The model results are corroborated by the reduction of haplotype and nucleotide variation over time and pairwise population distance as a significant portion of nucleotide variation partitioned across the 1550 time mark. The mean age of the historical fished stock is high in medieval times with a truncation in age in early modern times. The population size crash coincides with a period of known cooling in the North Atlantic, and we conclude that the collapse may be related to climate or climate-induced ecosystem change.

  6. Charles Richard de Beauregard and the treatment of blennorrhagic urethral stenosis in Madrid in the 18th century: Advertising, secrecy and deception.

    PubMed

    Gómiz, J J; Galindo, I

    2015-12-01

    Describe the introduction of the treatment for blennorrhagic urethral stenosis in the city of Madrid in the 18th century by the French surgeon Charles de Beauregard, the formulations employed in the preparation of his personal «bougies», the advertising in the press, their marketing and distribution. Nonsystematic review of the Madrid newspaper Gaceta de Madrid y Diario curioso, erudito, económico y comercial (Madrid Gazette, curious, erudite, financial and commercial) between 1759 and 1790. Review of the medical literature of the 18th century preserved in the Fondo Antiguo of the Biblioteca Histórica of Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Historical Resource of the Historical Library of the Complutense University of Madrid). A Google search of «Charles Richard de Beauregard». Charles de Beauregard focused his professional work mainly on the treatment of the urethral sequela of blennorrhagia, phimosis and paraphimosis. He introduced to 18th century Spanish society (with purported originality and clear commercial interests) therapeutic methods based on lead acetate that had already been developed in France by Thomas Goulard. The urethral sequela of diseases such as blennorrhagic urethritis, stenotic phimosis and paraphimosis were highly prevalent in 18th century Madrid and required complex solutions for the practice of urology of that era. Charles de Beauregard introduced innovative but not original treatments that were invasive but not bloody and that provided him with fame and social prestige. He advertised his professional activity and marketed his therapeutic products through advertisements submitted to the daily press (Madrid Gazette, Gaceta de Madrid). Copyright © 2015 AEU. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  7. Trenching in the New Madrid seismic zone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1990-01-01

    Trenching studies of the San Andreas fault have been of great value to geologists in California for determining not only the prehistoric occurrences of earthquakes on the fault but also the age of these movements. In the New Madrid seismic zone, US Geological Survey scientists have been trenching across suspected faults to try to assess earthquake frequency in the Central US. The following photographs document these trenching studies.

  8. A joint local and teleseismic tomography study of the Mississippi Embayment and New Madrid Seismic Zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nyamwandha, Cecilia A.; Powell, Christine A.; Langston, Charles A.

    2016-05-01

    Detailed, upper mantle P and S wave velocity (Vp and Vs) models are developed for the northern Mississippi Embayment (ME), a major physiographic feature in the Central United States (U.S.) and the location of the active New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). This study incorporates local earthquake and teleseismic data from the New Madrid Seismic Network, the Earthscope Transportable Array, and the FlexArray Northern Embayment Lithospheric Experiment stations. The Vp and Vs solutions contain anomalies with similar magnitudes and spatial distributions. High velocities are present in the lower crust beneath the NMSZ. A pronounced low-velocity anomaly of ~ -3%--5% is imaged at depths of 100-250 km. High-velocity anomalies of ~ +3%-+4% are observed at depths of 80-160 km and are located along the sides and top of the low-velocity anomaly. The low-velocity anomaly is attributed to the presence of hot fluids upwelling from a flat slab segment stalled in the transition zone below the Central U.S.; the thinned and weakened ME lithosphere, still at slightly higher temperatures from the passage of the Bermuda hotspot in mid-Cretaceous, provides an optimal pathway for the ascent of the fluids. The observed high-velocity anomalies are attributed to the presence of mafic rocks emplaced beneath the ME during initial rifting in the early Paleozoic and to remnants of the depleted, lower portion of the lithosphere.

  9. Recurrent intraplate tectonism in the New Madrid seismic zone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zoback, M.D.; Hamilton, R.M.; Crone, A.J.

    1980-08-29

    For the first time, New Madrid seismicity can be linked to specific structural features that have been reactivated through geologic time. Extensive seismic reflection profiling reveals major faults coincident with the main earthquake trends in the area and with structural deformation apparently caused by repeated episodes of igneous activity.

  10. The fourfold Democritus on the stage of early modern science.

    PubMed

    Lüthy, C

    2000-09-01

    The renewed success of ancient atomism in the seventeenth century has baffled historians not only because of the lack of empirical evidence in its favor but also because of the exotic heterogeneity of the models that were proposed under its name. This essay argues that one of the more intriguing reasons for the motley appearance of early modern atomism is that Democritus, with whose name this doctrine was most commonly associated, was a figure of similar incoherence. There existed in fact no fewer than four quite different Democriti of Abdera and as many literary traditions: the atomist, the "laughing philosopher," the moralizing anatomist, and the alchemist. Around the year 1600 the doctrines of these literary figures, three of whom had no tangible connection with atomism, began to merge into further hybrid personae, some of whom possessed notable scientific potential. This essay offers the story of how these Democriti contributed to the rise of incompatible "atomisms."

  11. New Madrid seismic zone recurrence intervals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schweig, E.S.; Ellis, M.A.

    1993-03-01

    Frequency-magnitude relations in the New Madrid seismic zone suggest that great earthquakes should occur every 700--1,200 yrs, implying relatively high strain rates. These estimates are supported by some geological and GPS results. Recurrence intervals of this order should have produced about 50 km of strike-slip offset since Miocene time. No subsurface evidence for such large displacements is known within the seismic zone. Moreover, the irregular fault pattern forming a compressive step that one sees today is not compatible with large displacements. There are at least three possible interpretations of the observations of short recurrence intervals and high strain rates, butmore » apparently youthful fault geometry and lack of major post-Miocene deformation. One is that the seismological and geodetic evidence are misleading. A second possibility is that activity in the region is cyclic. That is, the geological and geodetic observations that suggest relatively short recurrence intervals reflect a time of high, but geologically temporary, pore-fluid pressure. Zoback and Zoback have suggested such a model for intraplate seismicity in general. Alternatively, the New Madrid seismic zone is geologically young feature that has been active for only the last few tens of thousands of years. In support of this, observe an irregular fault geometry associated with a unstable compressive step, a series of en echelon and discontinuous lineaments that may define the position of a youthful linking fault, and the general absence of significant post-Eocene faulting or topography.« less

  12. Thematic mapping, land use, geological structure and water resources in central Spain. [north of Madrid

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Delascuevas, N. (Principal Investigator)

    1976-01-01

    The author has identified the following significant results. A method for a rapid updating of cartography at scale 1:200,000 was established. An annular tectonic structure was detected north of Madrid which was named Structural Halo of Guadalix, since its center is situated in the locality of Guadalix de la Sierra. This circular complex has from 30 to 40 km of radius and its influences at its most extreme edges reach Madrid.

  13. Modern turtle origins: the oldest known cryptodire.

    PubMed

    Gaffney, E S; Hutchison, J H; Jenkins, F A; Meeker, L J

    1987-07-17

    The discovery of a turtle in the Early Jurassic(185 million years before present) Kayenta Formation of northeastern Arizona provides significant evidence about the origin of modern turtles. This new taxon possesses many of the primitive features expected in the hypothetical common ancestor of pleurodires and cryptodires, the two groups of modern turtles. It is identified as the oldest known cryptodire because of the presence of a distinctive cryptodiran jaw mechanism consisting of a trochlea over the otic chamber that redirects the line of action of the adductor muscle. Aquatic habits appear to have developed very early in turtle evolution. Kayentachelys extends the known record of cryptodires back at least 45 million years and documents a very early stage in the evolution of modern turtles.

  14. New Madrid Seismic Zone: a test case for naturally induced seismicity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nava, S.J.

    1983-09-01

    Induced seismicity caused by man-made events, such as the filling of reservoirs has been well documented. In contrast, naturally induced seismicity has received little attention. It has been shown that a fluctuation of as little as several bars can trigger reservoir induced earthquakes. Naturally occurring phenomena generate similar fluctuations and could trigger earthquakes where the faults in ambient stress field are suitably oriented and close to failure. The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) presents an ideal test case for the study of naturally induced seismicity. The ideal data set for a study of triggering effects must contain a statistically significantmore » number of events, a constant accumulated strain, and a limited focal region. New Madrid earthquakes are well documented from 1974 to the present, down to a magnitude approx. 1.8. They lie in a distinct fault pattern and occur as a reaction to the regional stress regime. A statistical correlation was made between the earthquakes and a variety of different types of loads, to see if New Madrid seismicity could be triggered by natural fluctuations. The types of triggers investigated ranged from solid earth tides to variations in barometric pressure, rainfall, and stages of the Mississippi River. This analysis becomes complex because each factor investigated creates individual stresses, as well as having imbedded in it a reaction to other factors.« less

  15. Studying geodesy and earthquake hazard in and around the New Madrid Seismic Zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boyd, Oliver Salz; Magistrale, Harold

    2011-01-01

    Workshop on New Madrid Geodesy and the Challenges of Understanding Intraplate Earthquakes; Norwood, Massachusetts, 4 March 2011 Twenty-six researchers gathered for a workshop sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and FM Global to discuss geodesy in and around the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) and its relation to earthquake hazards. The group addressed the challenge of reconciling current geodetic measurements, which show low present-day surface strain rates, with paleoseismic evidence of recent, relatively frequent, major earthquakes in the region. The workshop presentations and conclusions will be available in a forthcoming USGS open-file report (http://pubs.usgs.gov).

  16. Investigating early modern Ottoman consumer culture in the light of Bursa probate inventories.

    PubMed

    Karababa, Eminegül

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates the development of early modern Ottoman consumer culture. In particular, the democratization of consumption, which is a significant indicator of the development of western consumer cultures, is examined in relation to Ottoman society. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century probate inventories of the town of Bursa combined with literary and official sources are used in order to identify democratization of consumption and the macro conditions shaping this development. Findings demonstrate that commercialization, international trade, urbanization which created a fluid social structure, and the ability of the state to negotiate with guilds were possible contextual specificities which encouraged the democratization of consumption in the Bursa context.

  17. Insecticide ADME for support of early-phase discovery: combining classical and modern techniques.

    PubMed

    David, Michael D

    2017-04-01

    The two factors that determine an insecticide's potency are its binding to a target site (intrinsic activity) and the ability of its active form to reach the target site (bioavailability). Bioavailability is dictated by the compound's stability and transport kinetics, which are determined by both physical and biochemical characteristics. At BASF Global Insecticide Research, we characterize bioavailability in early research with an ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion) approach, combining classical and modern techniques. For biochemical assessment of metabolism, we purify native insect enzymes using classical techniques, and recombinantly express individual insect enzymes that are known to be relevant in insecticide metabolism and resistance. For analytical characterization of an experimental insecticide and its metabolites, we conduct classical radiotracer translocation studies when a radiolabel is available. In discovery, where typically no radiolabel has been synthesized, we utilize modern high-resolution mass spectrometry to probe complex systems for the test compounds and its metabolites. By using these combined approaches, we can rapidly compare the ADME properties of sets of new experimental insecticides and aid in the design of structures with an improved potential to advance in the research pipeline. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  18. Physical Activity in Early and Modern Populations. Papers from the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Physical Education (59th, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 11-13, 1987). No. 21.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malina, Robert M., Ed.; Eckert, Helen M., Ed.

    Eleven conference papers explore physical activity in ancient societies as well as human adaptation of physical activities in modern society. The following papers are included: (1) "Physical Activity in Early and Modern Populations: An Evolutionary View" (Robert M. Malina); (2) "How Active Were Early Populations? or Squeezing the Fossil Record"…

  19. Strike-slip faulting at Thebes Gap, Missouri and Illinois; implications for New Madrid tectonism

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Harrison, Richard W.; Schultz, Art

    1994-01-01

    Numerous NNE and NE striking strike-slip faults and associated normal faults, folds, and transtensional grabens occur in the Thebes Gap area of Missouri and Illinois. These structures developed along the northwestern margin of the buried Reelfoot rift of Precambrian-Cambrian age at the northern edge of the Mississippi embayment. They have had a long-lived and complex structural history. This is an area of recent moderate seismicity, approximately 45 km north of the New Madrid seismic zone. Stratigraphic evidence suggests that these faults were active during the Middle Ordovician. They were subsequently reactivated between the Early Devonian and Late Cretaceous, probably in response to both the Acadian and Ouachita orogenies. Deformation during this period was characterized by strongly faulted and folded Ordovician through Devonian rocks. In places, these deformed rocks are overlain with angular unconformity by undeformed Cretaceous strata. Fault motion is interpreted as dominantly strike slip. A still younger period of reactivation involved Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic formations as young as the Miocene or Pliocene Mounds Gravel. These formations have experienced both minor high-angle normal faulting and subsequent major, right-lateral strike-slip faulting. En echelon north-south folds, ENE striking normal faults, regional fracture patterns, and drag folds indicate the right-lateral motion for this major episode of faulting which predates deposition of Quaternary loess. Several nondefinitive lines of evidence suggest Quaternary faulting. Similar fault orientations and kinematics, as well as recent seismicity and proximity, clearly suggest a structural relationship between deformation at Thebes Gap and tectonism associated with the New Madrid area.

  20. General Population Knowledge about Extreme Heat: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Lisbon and Madrid.

    PubMed

    Gil Cuesta, Julita; van Loenhout, Joris Adriaan Frank; Colaço, Maria da Conceição; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

    2017-01-28

    Extreme heat is associated with an increased mortality and morbidity. National heat plans have been implemented to minimize the effect of extreme heat. The population's awareness and knowledge of national heat plans and extreme heat is essential to improve the community's behavior and adaptation. A general population survey was conducted in Lisbon and in Madrid to assess this knowledge. We used a questionnaire to interview passers-by. Results were compared between Lisbon and Madrid and between locals and foreigners, using Pearson Chi-square tests and Fisher's exact test. We conducted 260 interviews in six locations of different socio-economic backgrounds in each city. The most frequently mentioned extreme heat-related risk groups were the elderly (79.2%), children (49.6%) and babies (21.5%). The most frequently reported protective measures were increased fluid intake (73.1%) and avoiding exposure to the sun (50.8%). Knowledge about the heat plan was higher in Lisbon (37.2%) than in Madrid (25.2%) ( p -value = 0.03). Foreigners had less knowledge of risk groups compared to locals. Heat plans were not widely known in Madrid and Lisbon. Nonetheless, knowledge of practical concepts to face extreme heat, such as certain risk groups and protective measures, was found. Our results were similar to comparable surveys where specific respondents' groups were identified as less knowledgeable. This highlighted the importance of addressing these groups when communicating public health messages on heat. Foreigners should be specifically targeted to increase their awareness.

  1. Public health consequences of terrorism on maternal-child health in New York City and Madrid.

    PubMed

    Sherrieb, Kathleen; Norris, Fran H

    2013-06-01

    Past research provides evidence for trajectories of health and wellness among individuals following disasters that follow specific pathways of resilience, resistance, recovery, or continued dysfunction. These individual responses are influenced by event type and pre-event capacities. This study was designed to utilize the trajectories of health model to determine if it translates to population health. We identified terrorist attacks that could potentially impact population health rather than only selected individuals within the areas of the attacks. We chose to examine a time series of population birth outcomes before and after the terrorist events of the New York City (NYC) World Trade Center (WTC) attacks of 2001 and the Madrid, Spain train bombings of 2004 to determine if the events affected maternal-child health of those cities and, if so, for how long. For percentages of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm births, we found no significant effects from the WTC attacks in NYC and transient but significant effects on rates of LBW and preterm births following the bombings in Madrid. We did find a significant positive and sustained effect on infant mortality rate in NYC following the WTC attacks but no similar effect in Madrid. There were no effects on any of the indicator variables in the comparison regions of New York state and the remainder of Spain. Thus, population maternal-health in New York and Madrid showed unique adverse effects after the terrorist attacks in those cities. Short-term effects on LBW and preterm birth rates in Madrid and long-term effects on infant mortality rates in NYC were found when quarterly data were analyzed from 1990 through 2008/2009. These findings raise questions about chronic changes in the population's quality of life following catastrophic terrorist attacks. Public health should be monitored and interventions designed to address chronic stress, environmental, and socioeconomic threats beyond the acute aftermath of events.

  2. Appendicular robusticity and the paleobiology of modern human emergence.

    PubMed

    Trinkaus, E

    1997-11-25

    The emergence of modern humans in the Late Pleistocene, whatever its phylogenetic history, was characterized by a series of behaviorally important shifts reflected in aspects of human hard tissue biology and the archeological record. To elucidate these shifts further, diaphyseal cross-sectional morphology was analyzed by using cross-sectional areas and second moments of area of the mid-distal humerus and midshaft femur. The humeral diaphysis indicates a gradual reduction in habitual load levels from Eurasian late archaic, to Early Upper Paleolithic early modern, to Middle Upper Paleolithic early modern hominids, with the Levantine Middle Paleolithic early modern humans being a gracile anomalous outlier. The femoral diaphysis, once variation in ecogeographically patterned body proportions is taken into account, indicates no changes across the pre-30,000 years B.P. samples in habitual locomotor load levels, followed by a modest decrease through the Middle Upper Paleolithic.

  3. "This base stallion trade": he-whores and male sexuality on the early modern stage.

    PubMed

    Panek, Jennifer

    2010-01-01

    Recent scholarship on early modern male sexuality has stressed the threat that sexual relations with women were believed to pose to manhood. Focusing on such plays as Middleton's Your Five Gallants (c. 1608), Fletcher and Massinger's The Custom of The Country (c.1620), and Davenant's The Just Italian (1630), this paper analyzes representations of male prostitutes for women to argue that cultural attitudes toward male sexual performance were more complex and self-contradictory than generally acknowledged. The patriarchal codes that warned against effeminating sexual desire and advocated parsimonious seminal “spending” are undermined by their own inherent corollary: the most masculine man is one who can demonstrate unlimited seminal capacity. Furthermore, it has been posited that the early modern period marked the beginning of a shift from “reproductive” to “performative” constructions of manhood, in which the manhood-affirming aspects of male sexuality gradually became unmoored from their traditional association with bloodlines and attached instead to penetrative sexual conquest. The class implications of this shift inform patriarchal anxieties about the superior sexual stamina of servant-class men and their bodily “service” to elite women. Representing a fantasy of empowering male sexuality that relies on detaching virile performance from effeminating desire—a physiologically absurd notion—and on providing sexual “service” while leaving intact both class and gender hierarchies, a successful he-whore like Middleton's Tailby or Davenant's Sciolto playfully challenges the dictates of patriarchal masculinity by fulfilling them in absurd and unorthodox ways. Ultimately, he illuminates just how untenable those dictates might be.

  4. Variability analysis of the reconstructed daily global solar radiation under all-sky and cloud-free conditions in Madrid during the period 1887-1950

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Antón, M.; Román, R.; Sanchez-Lorenzo, A.; Calbó, J.; Vaquero, J. M.

    2017-07-01

    This study focuses on the analysis of the daily global solar radiation (GSR) reconstructed from sunshine duration measurements at Madrid (Spain) from 1887 to 1950. Additionally, cloud cover information recorded simultaneously by human observations for the study period was also analyzed and used to select cloud-free days. First, the day-to-day variability of reconstructed GSR data was evaluated, finding a strong relationship between GSR and cloudiness. The second step was to analyze the long-term evolution of the GSR data which exhibited two clear trends with opposite sign: a marked negative trend of - 36 kJ/m2 per year for 1887-1915 period and a moderate positive trend of + 13 kJ/m2 per year for 1916-1950 period, both statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Therefore, there is evidence of "early dimming" and "early brightening" periods in the reconstructed GSR data for all-sky conditions in Madrid from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. Unlike the long-term evolution of GSR data, cloud cover showed non-statistically significant trends for the two analyzed sub-periods, 1887-1915 and 1916-1950. Finally, GSR trends were analyzed exclusively under cloud-free conditions in summer by means of the determination of the clearness index for those days with all cloud cover observations equal to zero oktas. The long-term evolution of the clearness index was in accordance with the "early dimming" and "early brightening" periods, showing smaller trends but still statistically significant. This result points out that aerosol load variability could have had a non-negligible influence on the long-term evolution of GSR even as far as from the late 19th century.

  5. OH 83: A new early modern human fossil cranium from the Ndutu beds of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.

    PubMed

    Reiner, Whitney B; Masao, Fidelis; Sholts, Sabrina B; Songita, Agustino Venance; Stanistreet, Ian; Stollhofen, Harald; Taylor, R E; Hlusko, Leslea J

    2017-11-01

    Herein we introduce a newly recovered partial calvaria, OH 83, from the upper Ndutu Beds of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. We present the geological context of its discovery and a comparative analysis of its morphology, placing OH 83 within the context of our current understanding of the origins and evolution of Homo sapiens. We comparatively assessed the morphology of OH 83 using quantitative and qualitative data from penecontemporaneous fossils and the W.W. Howells modern human craniometric dataset. OH 83 is geologically dated to ca. 60-32 ka. Its morphology is indicative of an early modern human, falling at the low end of the range of variation for post-orbital cranial breadth, the high end of the range for bifrontal breadth, and near average in frontal length. There have been numerous attempts to use cranial anatomy to define the species Homo sapiens and identify it in the fossil record. These efforts have not met wide agreement by the scientific community due, in part, to the mosaic patterns of cranial variation represented by the fossils. The variable, mosaic pattern of trait expression in the crania of Middle and Late Pleistocene fossils implies that morphological modernity did not occur at once. However, OH 83 demonstrates that by ca. 60-32 ka modern humans in Africa included individuals that are at the fairly small and gracile range of modern human cranial variation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Evidence for large prehistoric earthquakes in the northern New Madrid Seismic Zone, central United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Li, Y.; Schweig, E.S.; Tuttle, M.P.; Ellis, M.A.

    1998-01-01

    We surveyed the area north of New Madris, Missouri, for prehistoric liquefaction deposits and uncovered two new sites with evidence of pre-1811 earthquakes. At one site, located about 20 km northeast of New Madrid, Missouri, radiocarbon dating indicates that an upper sand blow was probably deposited after A.D. 1510 and a lower sand blow was deposited prior to A.D. 1040. A sand blow at another site about 45 km northeast of New Madrid, Missouri, is dated as likely being deposited between A.D.55 and A.D. 1620 and represents the northernmost recognized expression of prehistoric liquefaction likely related to the New Madrid seismic zone. This study, taken together with other data, supports the occurrence of at least two earthquakes strong enough to indcue liquefaction or faulting before A.D. 1811, and after A.D. 400. One earthquake probably occurred around AD 900 and a second earthquake occurred around A.D. 1350. The data are not yet sufficient to estimate the magnitudes of the causative earthquakes for these liquefaction deposits although we conclude that all of the earthquakes are at least moment magnitude M ~6.8, the size of the 1895 Charleston, Missouri, earthquake. A more rigorous estimate of the number and sizes of prehistoric earthquakes in the New Madrid sesmic zone awaits evaluation of additional sites.

  7. Globalization, National Identity, and Citizenship Education: China's Search for Modernization and a Modern Chinese Citizenry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Law, Wing-Wah

    2013-01-01

    Since the early 20th century, numerous scholars have proposed theories and models describing, interpreting, and suggesting the development paths countries have taken or should take. None of these, however, can fully explain China's efforts, mainly through education and citizenship education, to modernize itself and foster a modern citizenry since…

  8. [Physical structure, human resources, and health care quality indicators in public hospital emergency departments in the autonomous communities of Madrid and Catalonia: a comparative study].

    PubMed

    Del Arco Galán, Carmen; Rodríguez Miranda, Belén; González Del Castillo, Juan; Carballo, César; Bibiano Guillén, Carlos; Artillo, Santiago; Miró, Òscar; Martín-Sánchez, F Javier

    2017-01-01

    To compare the general, structural, and organizational characteristics of public hospital emergency departments in the Spanish autonomous communities of Madrid and Catalonia. Descriptive survey-based study covering 3 areas of inquiry: general hospital features (18 questions), structural features of the emergency department (14 questions), and organizational and work-related policies of the emergency department (30 questions). Hospitals were grouped according to complexity: local hospitals (level 1), high-technology or referral hospitals (levels 2-3). We studied 26 hospital departments in Madrid (21, levels 2-3; 5, level 1) and 55 in Catalonia (24, levels 2-3; 31, level 1). Hospitals in Madrid are in newer buildings (P=.002), have more beds on conventional wards and in critical care units (P<.001, both comparisons), are more often affiliated with a university (P<.001), and serve larger populations (P=.027). The emergency departments in Madrid have larger surface areas available for clinical care and more cubicles for preliminary evaluations and observation beds (P=.001, all comparisons). Hospitals in Madrid also attended a larger median number of emergencies (P<.001). More physicians were employed in Catalonia overall, but the numbers of physician- and nurse-hours per hospital were higher in Madrid, where it was more usual for physicians to work exclusively in the emergency department (92.5% in Madrid vs 56.8% in Catalonia, P<.001). However, fewer of the employed physicians had permanent contracts in Madrid (30.5% vs 75.1% in Catalonia, P<.001). The ratio of resident physicians to staff physicians differs between the 2 communities on afternoon/evening, night, and holiday shifts (3:1 in Madrid; 1:1 in Catalonia). The physical and functional structures of hospital emergency departments in the communities of Madrid and Catalonia differ significantly. The differences cannot be attributed exclusively to geographic location.

  9. Socio-cultural factors in dental diseases in the Medieval and early Modern Age of northern Spain.

    PubMed

    Lopez, Belen; Pardiñas, Antonio F; Garcia-Vazquez, Eva; Dopico, Eduardo

    2012-02-01

    The aim of this study is to present, discuss and compare the results of pathological conditions in teeth from skeletal remains found in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) in four Medieval cemeteries (late 15th century) and three cemeteries from the Modern Age (late 18th century). The final objective was to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic and cultural changes that took place during the early Modern Age in Spain, on oral health. Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss were considered as indicators of dental disease. A significant increase of both dental caries and antemortem tooth loss occurred in Modern Age individuals when compared to Medieval values, as reported for other regions. Increased trade with other continents may explain this deterioration of dental health, as food exchanges (mainly with America) contributed to diet changes for the overall population, including higher carbohydrate consumption (introduction of potatoes) at the expense of other vegetables. A sex-specific increase of dental disease with age, and a significantly higher prevalence of carious lesions in Modern Age females than in males, were also found. These changes can be explained by women having had limited access to dental care after the Middle-Modern Age transition, as a consequence of socio-cultural and political changes. In these changes, an increasing influence of the Catholic Church in Spanish society has to be noted, as it can contribute to the explanation of the unequal dental health of men and women. Women were socially excluded from dental care by regulations inspired by religious precepts. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  10. Geophysical-geological studies of possible extensions of the New Madrid Fault Zone. Annual report for 1983. Volume 2

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hinze, W.J.; Braile, L.W.; Keller, G.R.

    1985-04-01

    Recent geophysical investigations have shown that the seismicity of the New Madrid, Missouri seismogenic region is correlative with an ancient rift complex suggesting that the anomalous seismicity is the result of the localization of the regional compressive stress pattern by basement structures. Preliminary evidence indicates that this inferred basement rift complex extends beyond the immediate realm of the intense New Madrid region microseismicity. An integrated geophysical/geological research program is being conducted to evaluate the rift complex hypothesis as an explanation for the earthquake activity in the New Madrid area and its extensions, to refine our knowledge of the structure andmore » physical properties of the rift complex, and to investigate the possible northern extensions of the New Madrid Fault zone, especially the possible northeastern connection to the Anna, Ohio seismic region. Investigation of the northeast extension of the New Madrid Rift Complex into eastern Indiana, north of 39/sup 0/N latitude, has focused upon the acquisition and preparation of arrays of gravity and magnetic anomaly data sets. Another possible arm of the New Madrid Rift Complex, the St. Louis Arm, which extends northwesterly from southern Illinois along the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri, is being studied by an integrated geophysical, seismicity and geological investigation. However, during 1983, special emphasis was placed upon integration of gravity and magnetic anomaly data from the Anna, Ohio seismogenic region with basement lithologic and seismicity information to investigate the possible relationship of basement geology to the seismicity of the Anna area. Interpretation of these data indicate the occurrence of several major lithologic/structural features in the crust of the Anna area. Current seismicity in this region appears to be related to an ancient rift structure and possibly its contact with a low density pluton. 18 refs., 37 figs.« less

  11. Dental enamel defects in German medieval and early-modern-age populations.

    PubMed

    Lang, J; Birkenbeil, S; Bock, S; Heinrich-Weltzien, R; Kromeyer-Hauschild, K

    2016-11-01

    Aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and type of developmental defects of enamel (DDE) in a medieval and an early-modern-age population from Thuringia, Germany. Sixty-six skeletons subdivided into 31 single burials (12 th /13 th c.) and 35 individuals buried in groups (15 th /16 th c.) were examined. DDE were classified on 1,246 teeth according to the DDE index. Molar-incisor-hypomineralisation (MIH), a special type of DDE, was recorded according to the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) criteria. DDE was found in 89.4% of the individuals (single burials 90.3% and group burials 88.6%). Hypoplastic pits were the most frequent defect in primary teeth and linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) in permanent teeth. 13 individuals (24.1%) showed at least one hypomineralised permanent tooth, 12.2% had MIH on at least one first permanent molar and 10.0% in permanent incisors. Second primary molars were affected in 8.0% of the children and juveniles. No individual suffered from affected molars and incisors in combination. Endogenous factors like nutritional deficiencies and health problems in early childhood could have been aetiological reasons of DDE and MIH. The frequency of DDE and MIH might have been masked by extended carious lesions, dental wear and ante-mortem tooth loss.

  12. Early postdisaster health outreach to modern families: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Haga, Jon Magnus; Stene, Lise Eilin; Wentzel-Larsen, Tore; Thoresen, Siri; Dyb, Grete

    2015-12-17

    This study investigated whether the early outreach programme following the Utøya massacre reached out to the parents of the young survivors. Additionally, we explored whether specialised mental healthcare services were provided to parents presenting elevated levels of PTSD and depression reactions. Cross-sectional survey, face-to-face interviews and questionnaires. Norway, aftermath of the Utøya massacre, 4-7 months postdisaster. Following the Utøya massacre, proactive early outreach programmes were launched in all municipalities that were affected, facilitating access to appropriate healthcare services. A total of 453 parents of the Utøya survivors aged 13-33 years took part. Overall, 59.8% of the survivors were represented by one or more parent in our study. Engagement with the proactive early outreach programme (psychosocial crisis teams and contact persons in the municipalities), utilisation of healthcare services (general practitioner and specialised mental healthcare services) and mental distress (UCLA PTSD-RI and HSCL-8). A majority of the participants reported contact with the proactive early outreach programme (crisis team, 73.9%; and contact person, 73.0%). Failure of outreach to parents was significantly associated with non-intact family structure (crisis team: OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.72, p=0.032) and non-Norwegian origin (crisis team: OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.14 to 4.98, p=0.021). Gender of the parent was not significantly associated with failure of the outreach programme (p ≥ 0.075). Provision of specialised mental healthcare services was significantly associated with higher levels of PTSD (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.79, p<0.001) and depression (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.71 to 3.43, p<0.001) and not with the sociodemography (p ≥ 0.122). Proactive early outreach strategies may be helpful in identifying healthcare needs and facilitating access to the required services in a population struck by disaster. Our findings prompt increased attention to the complexity

  13. Genealogical relationships between early medieval and modern inhabitants of Piedmont.

    PubMed

    Vai, Stefania; Ghirotto, Silvia; Pilli, Elena; Tassi, Francesca; Lari, Martina; Rizzi, Ermanno; Matas-Lalueza, Laura; Ramirez, Oscar; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Achilli, Alessandro; Olivieri, Anna; Torroni, Antonio; Lancioni, Hovirag; Giostra, Caterina; Bedini, Elena; Pejrani Baricco, Luisella; Matullo, Giuseppe; Di Gaetano, Cornelia; Piazza, Alberto; Veeramah, Krishna; Geary, Patrick; Caramelli, David; Barbujani, Guido

    2015-01-01

    In the period between 400 to 800 AD, also known as the period of the Barbarian invasions, intense migration is documented in the historical record of Europe. However, little is known about the demographic impact of these historical movements, potentially ranging from negligible to substantial. As a pilot study in a broader project on Medieval Europe, we sampled 102 specimens from 5 burial sites in Northwestern Italy, archaeologically classified as belonging to Lombards or Longobards, a Germanic people ruling over a vast section of the Italian peninsula from 568 to 774. We successfully amplified and typed the mitochondrial hypervariable region I (HVR-I) of 28 individuals. Comparisons of genetic diversity with other ancient populations and haplotype networks did not suggest that these samples are heterogeneous, and hence allowed us to jointly compare them with three isolated contemporary populations, and with a modern sample of a large city, representing a control for the effects of recent immigration. We then generated by serial coalescent simulations 16 millions of genealogies, contrasting a model of genealogical continuity with one in which the contemporary samples are genealogically independent from the medieval sample. Analyses by Approximate Bayesian Computation showed that the latter model fits the data in most cases, with one exception, Trino Vercellese, in which the evidence was compatible with persistence up to the present time of genetic features observed among this early medieval population. We conclude that it is possible, in general, to detect evidence of genealogical ties between medieval and specific modern populations. However, only seldom did mitochondrial DNA data allow us to reject with confidence either model tested, which indicates that broader analyses, based on larger assemblages of samples and genetic markers, are needed to understand in detail the effects of medieval migration.

  14. Genealogical Relationships between Early Medieval and Modern Inhabitants of Piedmont

    PubMed Central

    Vai, Stefania; Ghirotto, Silvia; Pilli, Elena; Tassi, Francesca; Lari, Martina; Rizzi, Ermanno; Matas-Lalueza, Laura; Ramirez, Oscar; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Achilli, Alessandro; Olivieri, Anna; Torroni, Antonio; Lancioni, Hovirag; Giostra, Caterina; Bedini, Elena; Baricco, Luisella Pejrani; Matullo, Giuseppe; Di Gaetano, Cornelia; Piazza, Alberto; Veeramah, Krishna; Geary, Patrick; Caramelli, David; Barbujani, Guido

    2015-01-01

    In the period between 400 to 800 AD, also known as the period of the Barbarian invasions, intense migration is documented in the historical record of Europe. However, little is known about the demographic impact of these historical movements, potentially ranging from negligible to substantial. As a pilot study in a broader project on Medieval Europe, we sampled 102 specimens from 5 burial sites in Northwestern Italy, archaeologically classified as belonging to Lombards or Longobards, a Germanic people ruling over a vast section of the Italian peninsula from 568 to 774. We successfully amplified and typed the mitochondrial hypervariable region I (HVR-I) of 28 individuals. Comparisons of genetic diversity with other ancient populations and haplotype networks did not suggest that these samples are heterogeneous, and hence allowed us to jointly compare them with three isolated contemporary populations, and with a modern sample of a large city, representing a control for the effects of recent immigration. We then generated by serial coalescent simulations 16 millions of genealogies, contrasting a model of genealogical continuity with one in which the contemporary samples are genealogically independent from the medieval sample. Analyses by Approximate Bayesian Computation showed that the latter model fits the data in most cases, with one exception, Trino Vercellese, in which the evidence was compatible with persistence up to the present time of genetic features observed among this early medieval population. We conclude that it is possible, in general, to detect evidence of genealogical ties between medieval and specific modern populations. However, only seldom did mitochondrial DNA data allow us to reject with confidence either model tested, which indicates that broader analyses, based on larger assemblages of samples and genetic markers, are needed to understand in detail the effects of medieval migration. PMID:25635682

  15. CPT site characterization for seismic hazards in the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Liao, T.; Mayne, P.W.; Tuttle, M.P.; Schweig, E.S.; Van Arsdale, R.B.

    2002-01-01

    A series of cone penetration tests (CPTs) were conducted in the vicinity of the New Madrid seismic zone in central USA for quantifying seismic hazards, obtaining geotechnical soil properties, and conducting studies at liquefaction sites related to the 1811-1812 and prehistoric New Madrid earthquakes. The seismic piezocone provides four independent measurements for delineating the stratigraphy, liquefaction potential, and site amplification parameters. At the same location, two independent assessments of soil liquefaction susceptibility can be made using both the normalized tip resistance (qc1N) and shear wave velocity (Vs1). In lieu of traditional deterministic approaches, the CPT data can be processed using probability curves to assess the level and likelihood of future liquefaction occurrence. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Casebooks in early modern England: medicine, astrology, and written records.

    PubMed

    Kassell, Lauren

    2014-01-01

    Casebooks are the richest sources that we have for encounters between early modern medical practitioners and their patients. This article compares astrological and medical records across two centuries, focused on England, and charts developments in the ways in which practitioners kept records and reflected on their practices. Astrologers had a long history of working from particular moments, stellar configurations, and events to general rules. These practices required systematic notation. Physicians increasingly modeled themselves on Hippocrates, recording details of cases as the basis for reasoned expositions of the histories of disease. Medical records, as other scholars have demonstrated, shaped the production of medical knowledge. Instead, this article focuses on the nature of casebooks as artifacts of the medical encounter. It establishes that casebooks were serial records of practice, akin to diaries, testimonials, and registers; identifies extant English casebooks and the practices that led to their production and preservation; and concludes that the processes of writing, ordering, and preserving medical records are as important for understanding the medical encounter as the records themselves.

  17. [Modelling science. The ceroplastics of Ignacio Lacaba in the Colegio de Cirugía de San Carlos, Madrid].

    PubMed

    Morente, Maribel

    2016-01-01

    Models made of wax had enormous diffusion in the anatomical teaching of the 18th century. It transcended the borders of a science that impregnated with scientific knowledge the artistic expression of beauty. Based on this premise, the San Carlos Royal College of Surgery created in Madrid a large collection of anatomical models, which is currently maintained by the Javier Puerta Anatomy Museum in the School of Medicine at Madrid Complutense University. The collection began in 1786 with Ignacio Lacaba, the first dissector of the Surgery College of Madrid, whose artistic sensibility and deep knowledge of anatomy contributed and facilitated harmonization between the work of the wax sculptors and language and anatomical expression.

  18. Language Education and Institutional Change in a Madrid Multilingual School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pérez-Milans, Miguel; Patiño-Santos, Adriana

    2014-01-01

    This article examines the institutional transformations of language-in-education programmes in Madrid, linked to wider socio-economic processes of change. Drawing on a research team's ethnographic revisit, we explore how wider processes are impacting everyday discursive practices in the Bridging Class (BC) programme, first implemented in 2003 to…

  19. Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Operator Performance Metrics for Control Room Modernization: A Practical Guide for Early Design Evaluation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ronald Boring; Roger Lew; Thomas Ulrich

    2014-03-01

    As control rooms are modernized with new digital systems at nuclear power plants, it is necessary to evaluate the operator performance using these systems as part of a verification and validation process. There are no standard, predefined metrics available for assessing what is satisfactory operator interaction with new systems, especially during the early design stages of a new system. This report identifies the process and metrics for evaluating human system interfaces as part of control room modernization. The report includes background information on design and evaluation, a thorough discussion of human performance measures, and a practical example of how themore » process and metrics have been used as part of a turbine control system upgrade during the formative stages of design. The process and metrics are geared toward generalizability to other applications and serve as a template for utilities undertaking their own control room modernization activities.« less

  20. ‘Very Sore Nights and Days’: The Child’s Experience of Illness in Early Modern England, c.1580–1720

    PubMed Central

    NEWTON, HANNAH

    2011-01-01

    Sick children were ubiquitous in early modern England, and yet they have received very little attention from historians. Taking the elusive perspective of the child, this article explores the physical, emotional, and spiritual experience of illness in England between approximately 1580 and 1720. What was it like being ill and suffering pain? How did the young respond emotionally to the anticipation of death? It is argued that children’s experiences were characterised by profound ambivalence: illness could be terrifying and distressing, but also a source of emotional and spiritual fulfilment and joy. This interpretation challenges the common assumption amongst medical historians that the experiences of early modern patients were utterly miserable. It also sheds light on children’s emotional feelings for their parents, a subject often overlooked in the historiography of childhood. The primary sources used in this article include diaries, autobiographies, letters, the biographies of pious children, printed possession cases, doctors’ casebooks, and theological treatises concerning the afterlife. PMID:21461308

  1. Modified Mercalli intensities (MMI) for large earthquakes near New Madrid, Missouri, in 1811-1812 and near Charleston, South Carolina, in 1886

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bakun, W.H.; Johnston, A.C.; Hopper, M.G.

    2002-01-01

    Large historical earthquakes occurred in the eastern United States on December 16, 1811 near New Madrid, MO, on January 23, 1812 near New Madrid, MO, on February 7, 1812 near New Madrid, MO, and on September 1, 1886 near Charleston, SC. Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) assignments for these earthquakes were used by Bakun et al. (submitted) to estimate the location and moment magnitude M of these earthquakes from MMI observations. The MMI assignments used by Bakun et al. (submitted) are listed in this report.

  2. 'A WONDERFULL MONSTER BORNE IN GERMANY': HAIRY GIRLS IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN GERMAN BOOK, COURT AND PERFORMANCE CULTURE.

    PubMed

    Katritzky, M A

    2014-09-24

    Human hirsuteness, or pathological hair growth, can be symptomatic of various conditions, including genetic mutation or inheritance, and some cancers and hormonal disturbances. Modern investigations into hirsuteness were initiated by nineteenth-century German physicians. Most early modern European cases of hypertrichosis (genetically determined all-over body and facial hair) involve German-speaking parentage or patronage, and are documented in German print culture. Through the Wild Man tradition, modern historians routinely link early modern reception of historical hypertrichosis cases to issues of ethnicity without, however, recognising early modern awareness of links between temporary hirsuteness and the pathological nexus of starvation and anorexia. Here, four cases of hirsute females are reconsidered with reference to this medical perspective, and to texts and images uncovered by my current research at the Herzog August Library and German archives. One concerns an Italian girl taken to Prague in 1355 by the Holy Roman Empress, Anna von Schweidnitz. Another focuses on Madeleine and Antonietta Gonzalez, daughters of the 'Wild Man' of Tenerife, documented at German courts in the 1580s. The third and fourth cases consider the medieval bearded Sankt Kümmernis (also known as St Wilgefortis or St Uncumber), and the seventeenth-century Bavarian fairground performer Barbara Urslerin. Krankhafter menschlicher Hirsutismus kann aufgrund unterschiedlicher Ursachen auftreten, zu denen u.a. genetische Veländerungen und Vererbung, verschiedene Krebserkrankungen und hormonelle Störungen gehören. Die moderne Hirsutismus-Forschung ist im 19. Jh. von deutschen Forschern initiiert worden. Die meisten europäischen frühneuzeitlichen Erscheinungen von Hypertrichose (dem genetisch bedingten Haarwuchs am gesamten Körper und im Gesicht) gehen auf deutschsprachige Eltern oder Förderer zurück und sind in Deutschland in den Druck gelangt. Bei Untersuchungen des Motivs des Wilden

  3. Training the intelligent eye: understanding illustrations in early modern astronomy texts.

    PubMed

    Crowther, Kathleen M; Barker, Peter

    2013-09-01

    Throughout the early modern period, the most widely read astronomical textbooks were Johannes de Sacrobosco's De sphaera and the Theorica planetarum, ultimately in the new form introduced by Georg Peurbach. This essay argues that the images in these texts were intended to develop an "intelligent eye." Students were trained to transform representations of specific heavenly phenomena into moving mental images of the structure of the cosmos. Only by learning the techniques of mental visualization and manipulation could the student "see" in the mind's eye the structure and motions of the cosmos. While anyone could look up at the heavens, only those who had acquired the intelligent eye could comprehend the divinely created order of the universe. Further, the essay demonstrates that the visual program of the Sphaera and Theorica texts played a significant and hitherto unrecognized role in later scientific work. Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler all utilized the same types of images in their own texts to explicate their ideas about the cosmos.

  4. Philosophy of experiment in early modern England: the case of Bacon, Boyle and Hooke.

    PubMed

    Anstey, Peter R

    2014-01-01

    Serious philosophical reflection on the nature of experiment began in earnest in the seventeenth century. This paper expounds the most influential philosophy of experiment in seventeenth-century England, the Bacon-Boyle-Hooke view of experiment. It is argued that this can only be understood in the context of the new experimental philosophy practised according to the Baconian theory of natural history. The distinctive typology of experiments of this view is discussed, as well as its account of the relation between experiment and theory. This leads into an assessment of other recent discussions of early modern experiment, namely, those of David Gooding, Thomas Kuhn, J.E. Tiles and Peter Dear.

  5. Bilingual Baby: Foreign Language Intervention in Madrid's Infant Education Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferjan Ramirez, Naja; Kuhl, Patricia

    2017-01-01

    The first years of life represent a unique window of opportunity for foreign language learning. However, key questions are: How much and what kind of foreign language exposure is needed to ignite learning? We conducted a foreign language (English) intervention in four public Infant Education Centers in Madrid, Spain. Intervention children (N =…

  6. [Mobility Exposure Measures in Serious Road Traffic Injuries in Madrid, Spain].

    PubMed

    Velázquez Buendía, Luis; Domínguez-Berjón, María Felicitas; Esteban-Vasallo, María D; Gènova Maleras, Ricard; Zoni, Ana Clara

    2015-01-01

    The search of suitable indicators for estimating the risk of road traffic injuries is nowadays a relevant topic. The objective of this study was to carry out a comparative description of mortality and inhospital morbidity by age and sex, using population rates and mobility exposure related indicators. Cross sectional study in the Community of Madrid, 2003-2005. Population rates and mortality and morbidity rates per billion of persons-kilometers travelled and per million of persons-hours travelled were estimated and compared by age and sex. The Minimum Basic Hospital Discharge Data Set, the 2004 Mobility House Survey of the Community of Madrid and the mortality register of the Statistic Institute of the Community of Madrid were used as information sources. 7,413 hospital discharges and 1,046 deaths were identified. Morbidity and mortality population rates in men were 62.24 and 9.20 respectively, and in women 23.80 and 2.97 per 100,000 inhabitants, being the highest rates those for men aged 16-24 years (119.27 hospital discharges and 12.00 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants). Women of 65 years and older showed the highest mobility related rates: 649.78 hospital discharges and 96.72 deaths per 10(9) km, and 13.11 hospital discharges and 1.95 deaths per 10(6) travelled hours. Morbidity and mortality were higher in men for the three indicators. Rates referred to mobility exposure, faced to population rates, decrease mortality and morbidity due to road traffic injuries in men and young ages and increase both in advanced ages.

  7. New Madrid seismotectonic study. Summary of activities from 1977 through 1981

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buschbach, T.C.

    1983-03-01

    This report summarizes a five year coordinated program of geological, geophysical, seismological studies in the New Madrid area. The program was designed to define the structural setting and tectonic history of the area in order to realistically evaluate earthquake risks in the siting of nuclear facilities. Interpretation of gravity, magnetic, and seismic reflection investigations in the New Madrid area indicate a spatial correspondence of the seismic activity to an ancient rift. Regional studies show that this rift extends to the southwest and to the northeast where it becomes part of a much more extensive rift complex. Two models have beenmore » proposed to account for the interpreted structure and seismicity in the New Madrid area. One model suggests that the ancient rift is a zone of weakness in the crust along which regional, largely horizontal, stresses are relieved. Presumably this has occurred repeatedly throughout the Phanerozoic. Another model has the rift being reactivated by local, largely vertically-derived forces which are derived from a thermal perturbation within the upper mantle. Field studies, drill holes, trenching, seismic surveys, and detailed gravity studies have shown that only small-scale or no movements have occurred along any of the faults studied since the beginning of Quaternary time. However, studies of the geomorphology of the area suggest that minor amounts of warping have occurred in parts of the region since the Pleistocene terraces were formed. Also, faults with displacements of up to 3 meters, folds, and sandblows were identified in a trench excavated across the Tiptonville (Reelfoot) scarp in northwestern Tennessee.« less

  8. Habitos Alimentarios e Higiene Dental en una Poblacion Preescolar de Madrid.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lafarga, R. Tarazona; And Others

    1991-01-01

    Nutriment habits and oral hygiene in a preschool population in Madrid were studied by stratification in public or private schools. Significant differences were found only with regard to consumption of fish. Vegetable and fruit consumption was low in both groups, but not statistically significant. (SH)

  9. Comparison of Mental Health Treatment Adequacy and Costs in Public Hospitals in Boston and Madrid.

    PubMed

    Carmona, Rodrigo; Cook, Benjamin Lê; Baca-García, Enrique; Chavez, Ligia; Alvarez, Kiara; Iza, Miren; Alegría, Margarita

    2018-03-07

    Analyses of healthcare expenditures and adequacy are needed to identify cost-effective policies and practices that improve mental healthcare quality. Data are from 2010 to 2012 electronic health records from three hospital psychiatry departments in Madrid (n = 29,944 person-years) and three in Boston (n = 14,109 person-years). Two-part multivariate generalized linear regression and logistic regression models were estimated to identify site differences in mental healthcare expenditures and quality of care. Annual total average treatment expenditures were $4442.14 in Boston and $2277.48 in Madrid. Boston patients used inpatient services more frequently and had higher 30-day re-admission rates (23.7 vs. 8.7%) despite higher rates of minimally adequate care (49.5 vs. 34.8%). Patients in Madrid were more likely to receive psychotropic medication, had fewer inpatient stays and readmissions, and had lower expenditures, but had lower rates of minimally adequate care. Differences in insurance and healthcare system policies and mental health professional roles may explain these dissimilarities.

  10. The evolution of modern human brain shape

    PubMed Central

    Neubauer, Simon; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Gunz, Philipp

    2018-01-01

    Modern humans have large and globular brains that distinguish them from their extinct Homo relatives. The characteristic globularity develops during a prenatal and early postnatal period of rapid brain growth critical for neural wiring and cognitive development. However, it remains unknown when and how brain globularity evolved and how it relates to evolutionary brain size increase. On the basis of computed tomographic scans and geometric morphometric analyses, we analyzed endocranial casts of Homo sapiens fossils (N = 20) from different time periods. Our data show that, 300,000 years ago, brain size in early H. sapiens already fell within the range of present-day humans. Brain shape, however, evolved gradually within the H. sapiens lineage, reaching present-day human variation between about 100,000 and 35,000 years ago. This process started only after other key features of craniofacial morphology appeared modern and paralleled the emergence of behavioral modernity as seen from the archeological record. Our findings are consistent with important genetic changes affecting early brain development within the H. sapiens lineage since the origin of the species and before the transition to the Later Stone Age and the Upper Paleolithic that mark full behavioral modernity. PMID:29376123

  11. The evolution of modern human brain shape.

    PubMed

    Neubauer, Simon; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Gunz, Philipp

    2018-01-01

    Modern humans have large and globular brains that distinguish them from their extinct Homo relatives. The characteristic globularity develops during a prenatal and early postnatal period of rapid brain growth critical for neural wiring and cognitive development. However, it remains unknown when and how brain globularity evolved and how it relates to evolutionary brain size increase. On the basis of computed tomographic scans and geometric morphometric analyses, we analyzed endocranial casts of Homo sapiens fossils ( N = 20) from different time periods. Our data show that, 300,000 years ago, brain size in early H. sapiens already fell within the range of present-day humans. Brain shape, however, evolved gradually within the H. sapiens lineage, reaching present-day human variation between about 100,000 and 35,000 years ago. This process started only after other key features of craniofacial morphology appeared modern and paralleled the emergence of behavioral modernity as seen from the archeological record. Our findings are consistent with important genetic changes affecting early brain development within the H. sapiens lineage since the origin of the species and before the transition to the Later Stone Age and the Upper Paleolithic that mark full behavioral modernity.

  12. Assessment of noise exposure during commuting in the Madrid subway.

    PubMed

    Tabacchi, M; Pavón, I; Ausejo, M; Asensio, C; Recuero, M

    2011-09-01

    Because noise-induced hearing impairment is the result not only of occupational noise exposure but also of total daily noise exposure, it is important to take the non-occupational exposure of individuals (during commuting to and from their jobs, at home, and during recreational activities) into account. Mass transit is one of the main contributors to non-occupational noise exposure. We developed a new methodology to estimate a representative commuting noise exposure. The methodology was put into practice for the Madrid subway because of all Spanish subway systems it covers the highest percentage of worker journeys (22.6%). The results of the application highlight that, for Madrid subway passengers, noise exposure level normalized to a nominal 8 hr (L(Ex,8h-cj) ) depends strongly on the type of train, the presence of squealing noise, and the public address audio system, ranging from 68.6 dBA to 72.8 dBA. These values play an important role in a more complete evaluation of a relationship between noise dose and worker health response.

  13. Interference from the Robledo DSN Transmitters to Central Madrid IMT-2000/UMTS System through Terrain Diffraction at S-Band

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ho, Christian M.; Sue, Miles K.; Peng, Ted K.; Smith, Ernest K.

    2002-01-01

    This study evaluates the possible interference from DSN Robledo 70-m transmitter with Madrid IMT-2000/UMTS wireless users in Spain as both systems will share the same frequency band. Using the effective earth radius, the 50 km terrain profile between Robledo and Madrid is modified and reconstructed. The diffraction propagation losses due to mountain peaks are calculated for the receivers in Madrid urban area. The mountains along the path are simplified into a rounded knife-edge and a rounded obstacle. The results show that for a near surface receiver (1.5 m above the ground) in Madrid, interference signal powers received are less than -135 dBm, which is far below the -109 dBm, the IMT-2000 wireless phone threshold. When a receiver is located at about 40 m above the ground (e.g., the top of Clock Tower of Cibeles Palace), diffraction will generate interference power less than -115 dBm. We find that our calculation results are basically consistent with those from the Longley-Rice model, while the latter has smaller loss because of the low resolution terrain profile used. As a comparison, we also find that the measurements of interference powers of -121.2 dBm at the top of Clock tower is in the range of the estimation. We conclude that the interference through the diffraction mechanism will not cause any problem to IMT-2000/UMTS users at near the surface of Madrid urban area.

  14. The impact of New Public Management on efficiency: an analysis of Madrid's hospitals.

    PubMed

    Alonso, José M; Clifton, Judith; Díaz-Fuentes, Daniel

    2015-03-01

    Madrid has recently become the site of one of the most controversial cases of public healthcare reform in the European Union. Despite the fact that the introduction of New Public Management (NPM) into Madrid hospitals has been vigorous, little scholarship has been done to test whether NPM actually led to technical efficiency. This paper is one of the first attempts to do so. We deploy a bootstrapped data envelopment analysis to compare efficiency scores in traditionally managed hospitals and those operating with new management formulas. We do not find evidence that NPM hospitals are more efficient than traditionally managed ones. Moreover, our results suggest that what actually matters may be the management itself, rather than the management model. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Geoarchaeological evidence of strong prehistoric earthquakes in the New Madrid (Missouri) seismic zone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Saucier, R.T.

    1991-04-01

    Sand blows and fissures that cover >10,500 km{sup 2} in northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri attest to the severity of the 1811-1812 earthquake series in the New Madrid seismic zone. However, except for one occurence near New Madrid, Missouri, the region has been devoid of any evidence of other major shocks for at least 1.3 ka prior to 1811 and possibly for >9 ka. Stratigraphic relations and radiocarbon dating at a recently excavated archaeological site near East Prairie, Missouri, have revealed liquifaction phenomena attributable to a shock dated to within about 100 yr prior to A.D. 539 and a probablemore » second one dated between about A.D. 539 and 991.« less

  16. The Modern Religious Language of Education: Rousseau's "Emile"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osterwalder, Fritz

    2012-01-01

    The Republican education, its concepts, theories, and form of discourse belong to the shared European heritage of the pre-modern Age. The pedagogy of humanism and its effects on the early Modern Age are represented by Republicanism. Even if Republicanism found a political continuation in liberalism and democratism of the Modern Age, the same…

  17. MICROMECHANICS AND MICROSTRUCTURE EVOLUTION: Modeling, Simulation and Experiments. Held in Madrid, Spain on 12-16 September 2005

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-10-30

    acknowledges funding from the ‘‘ Programa Torres Quevedo’’ of the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. References [1] Nix WD. Metall Mater Trans A...University of Madrid E. T. S. de Ingenieros de Caminos Madrid 28040 Spain 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER N/A 10. SPONSOR...Rodney * Génie Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux (UMR CNRS 5010), Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, 101 rue de la Physique, 38402

  18. Micromechanics and Microstructure Evolution: Modeling, Simulation and Experiments. Conference Held in Madrid, Spain, 12-16 Sep 2005

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-10-30

    acknowledges funding from the ‘‘ Programa Torres Quevedo’’ of the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. References [1] Nix WD. Metall Mater Trans A...University of Madrid E. T. S. de Ingenieros de Caminos Madrid 28040 Spain 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER N/A 10. SPONSOR...Rodney * Génie Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux (UMR CNRS 5010), Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, 101 rue de la Physique, 38402

  19. The Live Chicken Treatment for Buboes: Trying a Plague Cure in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Heinrichs, Erik A

    2017-01-01

    This article traces a seven-hundred-year history of one puzzling treatment for plague buboes that used the rumps of chickens to draw out the bubo's poisons. It traces the origin of the recipe to Avicenna's Canon and explores how medieval and early modern physicians altered the treatment and explained its workings up to the early eighteenth century. Much of the analysis focuses on the variants of the recipe that German physicians created as they adapted or elaborated on older recipes. This article argues that most variations of the treatment likely resulted from physicians trying ideas on paper, rather than in practice, as they attempted to unlock the mysteries of the plague's underlying poisons. Starting in the sixteenth century, however, evidence suggests that practice began to play an important role in the adaptation and interpretation of the "live chicken" recipes.

  20. (See symbol in text) in early modern discussions of the passions: Stoicism, Christianity and natural history.

    PubMed

    Kraye, Jill

    2012-01-01

    This paper examines the reception of the Stoic theory of the passions in the early modern period, highlighting various differences between the way notions such as (see symbol in text) (complete freedom from passions) and(see symbol in text) (pre-passions) were handled and interpreted by Continental and English authors. Both groups were concerned about the compatibility of Stoicism with Christianity, but came to opposing conclusions; and while the Continental scholars drew primarily on ancient philosophical texts, the English ones relied, in addition, on experience and observation, developing a natural history of the passions.

  1. Spatio-temporal patterns of high summer ozone events in the Madrid Basin, Central Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reche, C.; Moreno, T.; Amato, F.; Pandolfi, M.; Pérez, J.; de la Paz, D.; Diaz, E.; Gómez-Moreno, F. J.; Pujadas, M.; Artíñano, B.; Reina, F.; Orio, A.; Pallarés, M.; Escudero, M.; Tapia, O.; Crespo, E.; Vargas, R.; Alastuey, A.; Querol, X.

    2018-07-01

    Complex spatial and temporal patterns of ground-level O3 and NO2 concentrations have been revealed across an important southern European O3 exceedance area (Madrid Basin, central Spain). Data were obtained from 102 diffusion tube sites and 49 monitoring stations (25 urban/suburban, 12 urban/suburban-traffic, 7 remote, 3 rural, 2 urban-industrial) located through a wide area inside and beyond the city. This new, high-density database confirms that current locations of monitoring stations in the Madrid networks are well positioned to record representative levels of O3 across the area. Two air quality monitoring stations were identified as reference measurement points, based on their lower O3 and NO2 concentrations, and used as a proxy for regional and hemispheric background levels. Although a main regional contribution was evidenced, emissions of local precursors within the Madrid urban plume play a key role in the generation of O3 exceedances, which are higher and occur earlier near the city than at rural sites, where the effect of NO titration is lower. Despite the fact that weekend emissions of O3 precursors in Madrid are typically lower than on weekdays, mainly due to fewer road traffic emissions, there is little difference in average values of weekday and weekend O3. However, more subtle "weekend effect" differences are revealed by probability density analysis, with high O3 and low NO2 at the highest temperature range (30-35° C) at weekends reflecting lower NO titration. This analysis highlights the importance of NO timing with respect to the photochemical activity timing. The complexity of these O3 pollution patterns in and around the city is dependent on an ever-changing interplay between weather conditions, emission sources, and the timescale required for pollutant transport, chemical processing and recirculation in an evolving contaminated airmass.

  2. ‘A Wonderfull Monster Borne in Germany’: Hairy Girls in Medieval and Early Modern German Book, Court and Performance Culture*

    PubMed Central

    Katritzky, MA

    2014-01-01

    Human hirsuteness, or pathological hair growth, can be symptomatic of various conditions, including genetic mutation or inheritance, and some cancers and hormonal disturbances. Modern investigations into hirsuteness were initiated by nineteenth-century German physicians. Most early modern European cases of hypertrichosis (genetically determined all-over body and facial hair) involve German-speaking parentage or patronage, and are documented in German print culture. Through the Wild Man tradition, modern historians routinely link early modern reception of historical hypertrichosis cases to issues of ethnicity without, however, recognising early modern awareness of links between temporary hirsuteness and the pathological nexus of starvation and anorexia. Here, four cases of hirsute females are reconsidered with reference to this medical perspective, and to texts and images uncovered by my current research at the Herzog August Library and German archives. One concerns an Italian girl taken to Prague in 1355 by the Holy Roman Empress, Anna von Schweidnitz. Another focuses on Madeleine and Antonietta Gonzalez, daughters of the ‘Wild Man’ of Tenerife, documented at German courts in the 1580s. The third and fourth cases consider the medieval bearded Sankt Kümmernis (also known as St Wilgefortis or St Uncumber), and the seventeenth-century Bavarian fairground performer Barbara Urslerin. Krankhafter menschlicher Hirsutismus kann aufgrund unterschiedlicher Ursachen auftreten, zu denen u.a. genetische Veränderungen und Vererbung, verschiedene Krebserkrankungen und hormonelle Störungen gehören. Die moderne Hirsutismus-Forschung ist im 19. Jh. von deutschen Forschern initiiert worden. Die meisten europäischen frühneuzeitlichen Erscheinungen von Hypertrichose (dem genetisch bedingten Haarwuchs am gesamten Körper und im Gesicht) gehen auf deutschsprachige Eltern oder Förderer zurück und sind in Deutschland in den Druck gelangt. Bei Untersuchungen des Motivs des

  3. A 5MV Tandetron to Universidad Autonoma de Madrid

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tengblad, Olof

    1999-11-16

    A 5MV Tandetron accelerator is being projected for the Center of Material Analysis of the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. The accelerator will be dedicated to Material Science but it meant to be open to all fields of science and industry that can profit from this kind of installations. Estimated construction time and delivery of the accelerator implies that the first experiments can be performed in the spring 2001.

  4. Circles of Confidence in Correspondence: Modeling Confidentiality and Secrecy in Knowledge Exchange Networks of Letters and Drawings in the Early Modern Period.

    PubMed

    van den Heuvel, Charles; Weingart, Scott B; Spelt, Nils; Nellen, Henk

    2016-01-01

    Science in the early modern world depended on openness in scholarly communication. On the other hand, a web of commercial, political, and religious conflicts required broad measures of secrecy and confidentiality; similar measures were integral to scholarly rivalries and plagiarism. This paper analyzes confidentiality and secrecy in intellectual and technological knowledge exchange via letters and drawings. We argue that existing approaches to understanding knowledge exchange in early modern Europe--which focus on the Republic of Letters as a unified entity of corresponding scholars--can be improved upon by analyzing multilayered networks of communication. We describe a data model to analyze circles of confidence and cultures of secrecy in intellectual and technological knowledge exchanges. Finally, we discuss the outcomes of a first experiment focusing on the question of how personal and professional/official relationships interact with confidentiality and secrecy, based on a case study of the correspondence of Hugo Grotius.

  5. Tuberculosis and immigration in an area of southwest Madrid.

    PubMed

    Calderón Hernáiz, R; Ruiz Giardín, J M; Cabello Clotet, N; Canora Lebrato, J

    2016-04-01

    To describe differences between Spanish and immigrant tuberculosis (TB) cases. Retrospective descriptive study of Spanish and immigrant TB patients diagnosed in a Madrid hospital from 2004 to 2013. A total of 322 patients were analysed, 183 Spanish-born and 139 immigrants (sub-Saharan Africa 32.4%, Morocco 28.8%, Latin America 20.1% and Eastern Europe 17.3%). Immigrants were younger and had a higher rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (P < 0.05). Spanish TB patients were often smokers and immunosuppressed (not HIV) (P < 0.001). No differences in symptoms and site of disease were detected. A higher proportion with isoniazid (INH) resistance was observed among immigrants (14.6% vs. 3.8%, P < 0.05), regardless of country of origin. Being an immigrant was an independent risk factor for INH resistance (OR 4.8, 95%CI 1.3-17.9). There is currently no consensus on whether or not it would be appropriate to treat Spanish and immigrant patients with different regimens. Being an immigrant is a clear risk factor for INH resistance. According to our results, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of changing treatment protocols in Madrid, Spain. It is also important to introduce specific strategies for the management of TB among immigrants.

  6. [Comparative study of habits in students before and during the university in northwest area of Madrid].

    PubMed

    Iglesias López, María Teresa; Cuesta Santa Teresa, Elvira; Sáez Crespo, Antonio

    2014-11-12

    In most Western countries young people adopt lifestyles that adversely affect their health, thus increasing the risk of premature onset of chronic diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare patterns of habits in pre-university and university students in west-central area of Madrid. Descriptive longitudinal study with randomly selected students from Madrid in Madrid universities and schools-institutes. Accepting to participate 1590 students of both sex: 653 males (4,1%) and 937 women (58,9%). To facilitate the study were classified into ≤ 17 years (pre university) and ≥ 18 years (university). BMI, physical activity, alcohol consumption and negative habits with regard to food consumption was studied. Almost 80% have normal weight, are more active pre-university. Gender differences were observed, which should guide the actions of intervention in terms of physical activity or habits. It seems essential to make nutritional programs as well as psychosocial intervention in adolescents and youth to prevent and / or reduce alcohol consumption. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  7. Seismological investigation of earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone and the northeastern extent of the New Madrid seismic zone: Final report, September 1981-December 1986

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Herrmann, R.B.; Taylor, K.; Nguyen, B.

    1988-07-01

    Earthquake activity in the Central Mississippi Valley has been monitored by an eight station seismograph network in the Wabash River Valley of southeastern Illinois and by a six station seismograph network in the New Madrid seismic zone. This network is a major component of a larger network in the region, jointly sponsored by the NRC, USGS, universities and states. During the time period of the contract, October 1981 through December 1986, 1206 earthquakes were located in the Central Mississippi Valley, of which 808 were in the New Madrid, Missouri area. Significant earthquakes studied in detail occurred in northeastern Ohio onmore » January 31, 1986 and in southeastern Illinois on June 10, 1987. Focal mechanisms have been calculated for the 10 June 1987 southern Illinois earthquake using both P-wave first motions and long-period surface-wave spectral amplitude data. The long-period surface-wave and strong ground motion accelerogram recordings of the January 3, 1986, northeastern Ohio earthquake were used to estimate the focal mechanism and source time function of the source.reverse arrow« less

  8. Sex-related risks of trauma in medieval to early modern Denmark, and its relationship to change in interpersonal violence over time.

    PubMed

    Milner, G R; Boldsen, J L; Weise, S; Lauritsen, J M; Freund, U H

    2015-06-01

    Skeletons from three Danish cemeteries, Sortebrødre, Tirup, and St. Mikkel, that collectively held 822 adults (>15 years) and spanned the medieval to early modern periods (ca. AD 1100-1610) show that men, in general, experienced more bone fractures than women. Men were three times more likely to have healed cranial vault and ulnar shaft fractures than women, with many of these bones presumably broken in interpersonal violence. More women, however, broke distal radii, presumably often the result of falls. Both sexes suffered more cranial fractures than modern Danes, with the proportional difference for men and women being about the same. The difference in cranial trauma frequencies between historic-period and modern Danes has implications for a decline over the past several centuries in interpersonal violence that scholars in other disciplines have inferred from historical sources. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. ‘To[o] much eating stifles the child’: fat bodies and reproduction in early modern England†

    PubMed Central

    Toulalan, Sarah

    2013-01-01

    Abstract This article examines associations between fat bodies and reproductive dysfunction that were prevalent in medical, midwifery and other literature in early modern England. In a period when fertility and successful reproduction were regarded as hugely important for social, economic and political stability such associations further contributed to negative attitudes towards fat bodies that were fuelled by connection with the vices of sloth and gluttony. Fat bodies were categorized as inherently, constitutionally, less sexual and reproductively successful. Consequently they were perceived as unhealthy and unfit for their primary purpose once they had reached sexual maturity: marriage and the production of children. PMID:25960608

  10. Acanthamoeba spp. in Contact Lenses from Healthy Individuals from Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Gomes, Thiago Dos Santos; Magnet, Angela; Izquierdo, Fernando; Vaccaro, Lucianna; Redondo, Fernando; Bueno, Sara; Sánchez, Maria Luisa; Angulo, Santiago; Fenoy, Soledad; Hurtado, Carolina; Del Aguila, Carmen

    2016-01-01

    Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a painful and potentially blinding corneal infection caused by Acanthamoeba spp. In Madrid, environmental studies have demonstrated a high presence of these free-living amoebae in tap water. Since most of AK cases occur in contact lenses (CL) wearers with inadequate hygiene habits, the presence of Acanthamoeba in discarded CL has been studied and compared with other common etiological agents of keratitis, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. One hundred and seventy-seven healthy individuals from Madrid contributed their discarded CL and answered a questionnaire on hygiene habits. DNA was extracted from the CL solution and analyzed by real-time PCR for Acanthamoeba, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. These CL and their solutions were also cultured on non-nutrient agar to isolate Acanthamoeba. Among the 177 samples, Acanthamoeba DNA was detected in 87 (49.2%), P. aeruginosa DNA in 14 (7.9%) and S. aureus DNA in 19 (10.7%). Cultivable amoebae, however, were observed in only one sample (0.6%). This isolate was genotyped as T4. The habits reported by this CL owner included some recognized risk factors for AK, but in this study only the practice of "not cleaning the CL case" presented some statistical significant association with Acanthamoeba DNA presence. Detection of the investigated bacterial DNA did not demonstrate statistical significant association with the studied practices, but the presence of P. aeruginosa revealed a possible inhibition of Acanthamoeba in these samples. The PCR results suggest a high presence of Acanthamoeba spp. in healthy CL wearers from Madrid, but we can assume that CL solutions are properly disinfecting the CL since only 1.1% of the positive PCR samples correspond to viable amoebae and, after four years, only one participant reported stronger ocular problems. Nevertheless, more studies are necessary to corroborate this hypothesis.

  11. Perspectives on earthquake hazards in the New Madrid seismic zone, Missouri

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Thenhaus, P.C.

    1990-01-01

    A sequence of three great earthquakes struck the Central United States during the winter of 1811-1812 in the area of New Madrid, Missouri. they are considered to be the greatest earthquakes in the conterminous U.S because they were felt and caused damage at far greater distances than any other earthquakes in U.S history. The large population currently living within the damage area of these earthquakes means that widespread destruction and loss of life is likely if the sequence were repeated. In contrast to California, where the earthquakes are felt frequently, the damaging earthquakes that have occurred in the Easter U.S-in 155 (Cape Ann, Mass.), 1811-12 (New Madrid, Mo.), 1886 (Charleston S.C) ,and 1897 (Giles County, Va.- are generally regarded as only historical phenomena (fig. 1). The social memory of these earthquakes no longer exists. A fundamental problem in the Eastern U.S, therefore, is that the earthquake hazard is not generally considered today in land-use and civic planning. This article offers perspectives on the earthquake hazard of the New Madrid seismic zone through discussions of the geology of the Mississippi Embayment, the historical earthquakes that have occurred there, the earthquake risk, and the "tools" that geoscientists have to study the region. The so-called earthquake hazard is defined  by the characterization of the physical attributes of the geological structures that cause earthquakes, the estimation of the recurrence times of the earthquakes, the estimation of the recurrence times of the earthquakes, their potential size, and the expected ground motions. the term "earthquake risk," on the other hand, refers to aspects of the expected damage to manmade strctures and to lifelines as a result of the earthquake hazard.  

  12. Plant chromatin warms up in Madrid

    PubMed Central

    Jarillo, José A; Gaudin, Valerie; Hennig, Lars; Köhler, Claudia; Piñeiro, Manuel

    2014-01-01

    The 3rd European Workshop on Plant Chromatin (EWPC) was held on August 2013 in Madrid, Spain. A number of different topics on plant chromatin were presented during the meeting, including new factors mediating Polycomb Group protein function in plants, chromatin-mediated reprogramming in plant developmental transitions, the role of histone variants, and newly identified chromatin remodeling factors. The function of interactions between chromatin and transcription factors in the modulation of gene expression, the role of chromatin dynamics in the control of nuclear processes and the influence of environmental factors on chromatin organization were also reported. In this report, we highlight some of the new insights emerging in this growing area of research, presented at the 3rd EWPC. PMID:24504145

  13. Genetic Diversity of Spanish Melons (Cucumis melo L.) of the Madrid Provenance

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The genetic diversity of five Group Inodorus landraces having a historic presence in the town of Villaconejos, Spain (near Madrid) and four reference accessions (one accession Group Flexuosus) (Lopez-Sese et al, 2002), was assessed using the allelic variation at 19 SSR loci. Seventy-two polymorphic...

  14. Screening for several potential pathogens in feral pigeons (Columba livia) in Madrid

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Pathogens with the zoonotic potential to infect humans, such as Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli and Chlamydophila psittaci, can be found in feral pigeons (Columba livia). Given the high density of these birds in the public parks and gardens of most cities, they may pose a direct threat to public health. Methods A total of 118 pigeons were captured in three samplings carried out in 2006-2007 in public parks and gardens in Madrid, Spain. Standard haematological and morphological analyses were carried out on the pigeons. PCR was used to screen for the presence of Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli and Chlamydophila psittaci. Positive samples were confirmed by DNA sequencing. Results The analyses demonstrated a high prevalence of Chlamydophila psittaci (52.6%) and Campylobacter jejuni (69.1%) among the birds captured. In contrast, Campylobacter coli was rarely detected (1.1%). Conclusions Pigeons in Madrid can carry Chlamydophila psittaci and Campylobacter jejuni. They may be asymptomatic or subclinical carriers of both pathogens. PMID:20569487

  15. Happiness on the street: Overall happiness among homeless people in Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Panadero, Sonia; Guillén, Ana Isabel; Vázquez, José Juan

    2015-07-01

    This article tests a hypothesized model of overall happiness among homeless people in Spain. The research was conducted based on a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid (n = 235), all adults, who had spent the night before the interview in a shelter for homeless people, on the street or in other places not initially designed for sleeping, or who were in supervised accommodation for homeless people at the time of the interview. Information was gathered using a structured interview. The results obtained show that around half of the homeless people in Madrid said that they were happy. A positive meta-stereotype and a better perceived general health were associated with a higher overall happiness, while feelings of loneliness were associated with a lower overall happiness. Happiness also showed a significant effect on future expectations. Disabilities and handicaps had a significant effect on perceived general health, which was in turn associated with overall happiness among homeless people. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Hydrologically-driven crustal stresses and seismicity in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

    PubMed

    Craig, Timothy J; Chanard, Kristel; Calais, Eric

    2017-12-15

    The degree to which short-term non-tectonic processes, either natural and anthropogenic, influence the occurrence of earthquakes in active tectonic settings or 'stable' plate interiors, remains a subject of debate. Recent work in plate-boundary regions demonstrates the capacity for long-wavelength changes in continental water storage to produce observable surface deformation, induce crustal stresses and modulate seismicity rates. Here we show that a significant variation in the rate of microearthquakes in the intraplate New Madrid Seismic Zone at annual and multi-annual timescales coincides with hydrological loading in the upper Mississippi embayment. We demonstrate that this loading, which results in geodetically observed surface deformation, induces stresses within the lithosphere that, although of small amplitude, modulate the ongoing seismicity of the New Madrid region. Correspondence between surface deformation, hydrological loading and seismicity rates at both annual and multi-annual timescales indicates that seismicity variations are the direct result of elastic stresses induced by the water load.

  17. [Prevalence of indirect sharing of drug-injecting paraphernalia in Galicia, Madrid, Seville and Valencia [Spain

    PubMed

    Bravo, María J; Royuela, Luis; Barrio, Gregorio; Rodríguez-Arenas, María A; de la Fuente, Luis

    2004-01-01

    To study drug-injecting practices, particularly indirect sharing of injecting paraphernalia (ISIP), and sexual risk behavior. We performed a cross-sectional study of 1638 users of needle exchange programs (NEPs). Different types of ISIP were studied: taking diluted drugs in a syringe used by others, placing the needle in a recipient with other used needles, and reusing cleaning liquid previously used by others. The prevalence of injecting with syringes already used by others was 16% in Galicia, 4.7% in Madrid, 17.6% in Seville and 13.2% in Valencia (p < 0.001). With geographical variations, other types of ISIP (Galicia: 32.4%; Madrid: 28.5%; Seville: 42.6%; Valencia: 27.4% -p < 0.001-) were more frequent than injecting with syringes already used by others (Galicia: 32.4%; Madrid: 28.5%; Seville: 42.6%; Valencia: 27.4% -p < 0.001-). The percentage not injecting with syringes used by others but performing ISIP was 21.7%, 25.3%, 28.2% and 18.1% (p < 0.01) respectively. In all geographical areas, sexual risk practices were more prevalent with steady sex partners (68.6%, 72.0%, 77.8%, 72.8% [NS]) than with casual partners (36.6%, 40.9%, 37.9%, 23.9% [NS]). Among injectors with a stable partner, 81.3% in Galicia, 75.9% in Madrid, 86.1% in Seville and 79.7% in Valencia reported that his/her serological status was negative for HIV or was unknown (p < 0.001). ISIP is more prevalent than injection with syringes already used by others. For a substantial percentage of injectors, ISIP is the only risk practice. ISIP and the low use of condoms, particularly with steady partners, could be a contributory factor to the spread of HIV, hepatitis C virus, and hepatitis B virus infection.

  18. A multi-methodological approach to study the temporal and spatial distribution of air quality related to road transport emissions in Madrid, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perez, Pedro; Miranda, Regina

    2013-04-01

    The traffic-related atmospheric emissions, composition and transport of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air toxic pollutants (ATPs), are an important environmental problem that affect climate change and air pollution in Madrid, Spain. Carbon dioxide (CO2) affects the regional weather and particularly fine particle matter (PM) translocate to the people resulting in local health problems. As the main source of emissions comes from road transport, and subsequent combustion of fossil fuels, air quality deterioration may be elevated during weekdays and peak hours. We postulate that traffic-related air quality (CO2, methane CH4, PM, volatile organic compounds VOCs, nitrogen oxides NOx and carbon monoxide CO contents) impairs epidemiology in part via effects on health and disease development, likely increasing the external costs of transport in terms of climate change and air pollution. First, the paper intends to estimate the local air quality related to the road transport emissions of weeks over a domain covering Madrid (used as a case study). The local air quality model (LAQM) is based on gridded and shaped emission fields. The European Environmental Agency (EEA) COPERT modeling system will provide GHGs and ATPs gridded and shaped emission data and mobile source parameters, available for Madrid from preliminary emission inventory records of the Municipality of Madrid and from disaggregated traffic counts of the Traffic Engineering Company and the Metropolitan Company of Metro (METRO-Madrid). The paper intends to obtain estimates of GHGs and ATPs concentrations commensurate with available ground measurements, 24-hour average values, from the Municipality of Madrid. The comparison between estimated concentrations and measurements must show small errors (e.g. fractional error, fractional bias and coefficient of determination). The paper's expected results must determine spatial and temporal patterns in Madrid. The estimates will be used to cross check the primary local

  19. [Evaluation of weight, height and BMI in children, adolescents and young adults from the Community of Madrid].

    PubMed

    López de Lara, D; Santiago Paniagua, P; Tapia Ruiz, M; Rodríguez Mesa, M D; Gracia Bouthelier, R; Carrascosa Lezcano, A

    2010-12-01

    The data of four growth studies involving populations from Andalusia, Barcelona, Bilbao and Zaragoza have recently been reported as part of the Spanish Cross-sectional Growth Study 2008 (SCGS). With the aim of detecting possible differences between the population of the Madrid region and those of the SCGS, and by so-doing assess the applicability of the conclusions of this reference work to the Madrid region, a cross-sectional study of the latter was undertaken, recording the weight, height and body mass index (BMI). We have analyzed 6463 subjects (3055 females and 3408 males) aged 3-24 years. All subjects were healthy, Caucasian, and of Spanish origin. Differences between the results of the Madrid and SCGS studies were sought by multiple linear regression analysis of the log of the height, weight and BMI data adjusted for age and geographical area. The Tukey multiple comparisons test was used to analyse differences in age ranges. All calculations were performed using SAS v. 8.2 software. Means and standard deviations are provided for the weight, height and BMI of women and men; distributions by percentiles are also provided. No differences of clinical importance were seen in the weight, height or BMI between the subjects of the Madrid region and those of the SCGS. However, comparisons with the results of other studies performed more than 20 years ago revealed an increase in the weight and height values in all percentiles. In summary, the official Spanish SCGS reference data for 2008 are similar to those recorded for the Madrid region. Bearing in mind that recent cross-sectional studies undertaken in Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia, the Basque Country and the present work show no significant differences in mean weights, heights or BMIs in any age group, nor in the final height attained by adults, the Spanish population would appear to be anthropometrically homogeneous. The conclusions of the SCGS may therefore be applicable to the entire country. Copyright © 2010

  20. Expanding women's rural medical work in early modern Brittany: the Daughters of the Holy Spirit.

    PubMed

    McHugh, Tim

    2012-07-01

    During the eighteenth century, orders of nursing sisters took on an expanded role in the rural areas of Brittany. This article explores the impact of religious change on the medical activities of these women. While limits were placed on the medical practice of unlicensed individuals, areas of new opportunity for nuns as charitable practitioners were created by devout nobles throughout the eighteenth century. These nuns provided comprehensive care for the sick poor on their patrons' estates, acting not only as nurses, but also in lieu of physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries. This article argues that the medical knowledge and expertise of these sisters from the nursing orders were highly valued by the elites of early modern Brittany.

  1. Expanding Women's Rural Medical Work in Early Modern Brittany: The Daughters of the Holy Spirit

    PubMed Central

    McHugh, Tim

    2012-01-01

    During the eighteenth century, orders of nursing sisters took on an expanded role in the rural areas of Brittany. This article explores the impact of religious change on the medical activities of these women. While limits were placed on the medical practice of unlicensed individuals, areas of new opportunity for nuns as charitable practitioners were created by devout nobles throughout the eighteenth century. These nuns provided comprehensive care for the sick poor on their patrons' estates, acting not only as nurses, but also in lieu of physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries. This article argues that the medical knowledge and expertise of these sisters from the nursing orders were highly valued by the elites of early modern Brittany. PMID:21724643

  2. Recent origin of low trabecular bone density in modern humans

    PubMed Central

    Chirchir, Habiba; Kivell, Tracy L.; Ruff, Christopher B.; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Carlson, Kristian J.; Zipfel, Bernhard; Richmond, Brian G.

    2015-01-01

    Humans are unique, compared with our closest living relatives (chimpanzees) and early fossil hominins, in having an enlarged body size and lower limb joint surfaces in combination with a relatively gracile skeleton (i.e., lower bone mass for our body size). Some analyses have observed that in at least a few anatomical regions modern humans today appear to have relatively low trabecular density, but little is known about how that density varies throughout the human skeleton and across species or how and when the present trabecular patterns emerged over the course of human evolution. Here, we test the hypotheses that (i) recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the upper and lower limbs compared with other primate taxa and (ii) the reduction in trabecular density first occurred in early Homo erectus, consistent with the shift toward a modern human locomotor anatomy, or more recently in concert with diaphyseal gracilization in Holocene humans. We used peripheral quantitative CT and microtomography to measure trabecular bone of limb epiphyses (long bone articular ends) in modern humans and chimpanzees and in fossil hominins attributed to Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus/early Homo from Swartkrans, Homo neanderthalensis, and early Homo sapiens. Results show that only recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the limb joints. Extinct hominins, including pre-Holocene Homo sapiens, retain the high levels seen in nonhuman primates. Thus, the low trabecular density of the recent modern human skeleton evolved late in our evolutionary history, potentially resulting from increased sedentism and reliance on technological and cultural innovations. PMID:25535354

  3. Recent origin of low trabecular bone density in modern humans.

    PubMed

    Chirchir, Habiba; Kivell, Tracy L; Ruff, Christopher B; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Carlson, Kristian J; Zipfel, Bernhard; Richmond, Brian G

    2015-01-13

    Humans are unique, compared with our closest living relatives (chimpanzees) and early fossil hominins, in having an enlarged body size and lower limb joint surfaces in combination with a relatively gracile skeleton (i.e., lower bone mass for our body size). Some analyses have observed that in at least a few anatomical regions modern humans today appear to have relatively low trabecular density, but little is known about how that density varies throughout the human skeleton and across species or how and when the present trabecular patterns emerged over the course of human evolution. Here, we test the hypotheses that (i) recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the upper and lower limbs compared with other primate taxa and (ii) the reduction in trabecular density first occurred in early Homo erectus, consistent with the shift toward a modern human locomotor anatomy, or more recently in concert with diaphyseal gracilization in Holocene humans. We used peripheral quantitative CT and microtomography to measure trabecular bone of limb epiphyses (long bone articular ends) in modern humans and chimpanzees and in fossil hominins attributed to Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus/early Homo from Swartkrans, Homo neanderthalensis, and early Homo sapiens. Results show that only recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the limb joints. Extinct hominins, including pre-Holocene Homo sapiens, retain the high levels seen in nonhuman primates. Thus, the low trabecular density of the recent modern human skeleton evolved late in our evolutionary history, potentially resulting from increased sedentism and reliance on technological and cultural innovations.

  4. [Process and results of constructing a deprivation index for the districts of Madrid and Barcelona, Spain].

    PubMed

    Álvarez-del Arco, Débora; Vicente Sánchez, Marta; Alejos, Belén; Pascual, Cruz; Regidor, Enrique

    2013-01-01

    There are few economic indicators that take the neighbourhood as the unit of reference in our context. The aim of this article is to describe the process and results of secondary data collection and development of a deprivation index (DI) for the neighbourhoods of the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, discussing their utility for research on health inequalities. Initial DI conceptual framework contained different elements that characterize deprivation and for which we collected second-level variables. ID was adapted to the availability of variables and to the results of an exploratory analysis. Finally, a factor analysis was performed to validate the IP. We built a DI based on five dimensions for Madrid (economy, population and territory, housing, cars and demographics) and 4 for Barcelona (all except "demographics"). Neighbourhoods were grouped into quartiles according to their score for the DI (Q4: higher levels of deprivation). Premature mortality rates and premature mortality ratios adjusted by age were calculated for each quartile. The IP explained 55% of the observed variability in the indicators for Madrid and 69% for Barcelona. Premature mortality rate in Madrid for Q1 was 1.65 per 10³ in men and 0.92 per 10³ women and 2.81 per 10³ in men and 1.22 per 10³ in women residing in Q4. In Barcelona, the mortality rate was 2.33 per 10³ men and 1.15 per 10³ women in Q1 and 3.49 per 10³ in men and 1.52 per 103 in women living in Q4. Premature mortality rates showed higher premature mortality in the most deprived districts.

  5. Geophysical-geological studies of possible extensions of the New Madrid Fault Zone. Annual report, 1982. Vol. 1

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hinze, W.J.; Braile, L.W.; Keller, G.R.

    1983-05-01

    An integrated geophysical/geologic program is being conducted to evaluate the rift complex hypothesis as an explanation for the earthquake activity in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and its extensions, to refine our knowledge of the rift complex, and to investigate the possible northern extensions of the New Madrid Fault Zone, especially its possible connection to the Anna, Ohio seismogenic region. Drillhole basement lithologies are being investigated to aid in tectonic analysis and geophysical interpretation, particularly in the Anna, Ohio area. Gravity and magnetic modeling combined with limited seismic reflection studies in southwest Indiana are interpreted as confirming speculation that anmore » arm of the New Madrid Rift Complex extends northeasterly into Indiana. The geologic and geophysical evidence confirm that the basement lithology in the Anna, Ohio area is highly variable reflecting a complex geologic history. The data indicate that as many as three major Late Precambrian tectonic features intersect within the basement of the Anna area suggesting that the seismicity may be related to basement zones of weakness.« less

  6. Imported malaria in pregnancy in Madrid.

    PubMed

    Jiménez, Beatriz C; Cuadros-Tito, Pedro; Ruiz-Giardin, Jose M; Rojo-Marcos, Gerardo; Cuadros-González, Juan; Canalejo, Eduardo; Cabello, Noemi; San Martín, Juan V; Barrios, Ana M; Hinojosa, Juan; Molina, Laura

    2012-04-11

    Malaria in pregnancy is associated with maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality in endemic areas, but information on imported cases to non-endemic areas is scarce.The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of malaria in pregnancy in two general hospitals in Madrid, Spain. Retrospective descriptive study of laboratory-confirmed malaria in pregnant women at the Fuenlabrada University Hospital and the Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital, in Madrid, over a six- and 11-year period, respectively. Relevant epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data was obtained from medical records. There were 19 pregnant women among 346 malaria cases (5.4%). The average age was 27 years. The gestational age (trimester) was: 53% 3rd, 31% 1st, 16% 2nd. All but one were multigravidae. Three were HIV positive. All were sub-Saharan immigrants: two were recently arrived immigrants and seventeen (89%) had visited friends and relatives. None had taken prophylaxis nor seeked pre-travel advice. 16 symptomatic patients (fever in fourteen, asthenia in two), three asymptomatic. Median delay in diagnosis: 7.5 days. Laboratory tests: anaemia (cut off Hb level 11 g/dl) 78.9% (mild 31.6%, moderate 31.6%, severe 15.8%) thrombocytopaenia 73.7%, hypoglycaemia 10.5%. All cases were due to Plasmodium falciparum, one case of hyperparasitaemia. Quinine + clindamycin prescribed in 84%. no severe maternal complications or deaths, two abortions, fifteen term pregnancies, no low-birth-weight newborns, two patients were lost to follow-up. Though cases of malaria in pregnancy are uncommon, a most at risk group is clearly defined: young sub-Saharan mothers visiting friends and relatives without pre-travel counselling and recently-arrived immigrants. The most common adverse maternal and foetal effects were anaemia and stillbirth. Given that presentation can be asymptomatic, malaria should always be considered in patients with unexplained anaemia arriving from

  7. Spanish melons (Cucumis melo L.) of the Madrid provenance: A unique germplasm reservoir

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Melon (Cucumis melo L.) landraces of the Madrid provenance, Spain, have received national distinction for their high fruit quality and sensorial attributes. More specifically, a unique array of Group Inodorus landraces have been continuously cultivated and conserved by farmers in the municipality o...

  8. Involvement of citizens in hazardous waste management and use of recycling centres in the city of Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Díaz, María José; Martínez, Elvira; Piñeiro, Concepción; Palavecinos, Mireya; Benayas, Javier; Toribio, M Angeles

    2012-07-01

    In Spain, hazardous household waste management by citizens occurs via fixed recycling centres (FRC) and mobile recycling centres (MRC) which usually depend on local governments. This paper addresses a request by the Madrid City Council, in an attempt to improve the service it provides to the city of Madrid. The aim of the study involved analysing the information people possess in relation to hazardous waste and to the use of available equipment, and conducting a post-evaluation of the effectiveness of an environmental communication campaign conducted by the Madrid City Council and aimed at providing awareness of the existence of new FRCs and MRCs. To this end, a questionnaire was conducted with 5644 inhabitants of the city of Madrid. Qualitative data was categorized using content analysis followed by chi-squared tests, considering some socio-demographic characteristics of the sample, such as age or place of residence (district). Communication campaigns influenced citizen awareness of what constituted hazardous waste, of how to properly separate waste and of the existence of FRCs and MRCs. However, few citizens actually used FRCs or MRC (18% across four districts), a fact that might be related to a lack of knowledge of downstream waste treatment issues, or to self-limiting hindrances to householders, such as distance to recycling centres. It is recommended that future communication campaigns investigate householder needs and pre-conceptions in relation to recycling, as well as tailored education aimed at addressing the barriers, perceived or otherwise, facing citizens.

  9. Cultural Diversity in Compulsory Education: An Overview of the Context of Madrid (Spain)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jaurena, Ines Gil

    2010-01-01

    This paper examines educational practices in Spain and in particular Madrid. With this contextual frame as the starting point the following issues are discussed: the "official" conceptualization of cultural diversity, educational policies and resolutions related to cultural diversity, and school programs and resources facilitated by…

  10. [Design of a questionnaire on the knowledge and attitudes of the population of Madrid (Spain) facing the end-of-life].

    PubMed

    Ortiz-Gonçalves, Belén; Santiago-Sáez, Andrés; Albarrán Juan, Elena; Labajo González, Elena; Perea-Pérez, Bernardo

    2017-12-05

    To create and validate a questionnaire about knowledge and attitudes of the general population in Madrid (Spain) about life's end stage. A descriptive study designed as a structured self-administered questionnaire, validated by seven Madrid Health Service professional experts and assessed through a pilot study. The questionnaire consisted of 42 questions, divided into six modules: 1) decisions and psychological-physical care at life's end; 2) palliative care; 3) euthanasia and assisted suicide; 4) advance directives document; 5) spiritual factors; and 6) socio-demographic data. The questionnaire was a useful, indirect method to ascertain the opinion of life's end in the Autonomous Region of Madrid. If it were applied in primary health care and hospital care, comparisons could be made among users in different autonomous regions of Spain. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  11. Why the New Madrid earthquakes are M 7–8 and the Charleston earthquake is ∼M 7

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cramer, Chris H.; Boyd, Oliver

    2014-01-01

    Estimates of magnitudes of large historical earthquakes are an essential input to and can seriously affect seismic‐hazard estimates. The earthquake‐intensity observations, modified Mercalli intensities (MMI), and assigned magnitudes Mof the 1811–1812 New Madrid events have been reinterpreted several times in the last decade and have been a source of controversy in making seismic‐hazard estimates in the central United States. Observations support the concept that the larger the earthquake, the greater the maximum‐felt distance. For the same crustal attenuation and local soil conditions, magnitude should be the main influence on intensity values at large distances. We apply this concept by comparing the mean MMI at distances of 600–1200 km for each of the four largest New Madrid 1811–1812 earthquakes, the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake, the 1929 M 7.2 Grand Banks earthquake, and the 2001M 7.6 Bhuj, India, earthquake. We fit the intensity observations using the form MMI=A+C×dist−0.8×log(dist) to better define intensity attenuation in eastern North America (ENA). The intensity attenuation in cratonic India differs from ENA and is corrected to ENA using both the above estimate and published intensity relations. We evaluate source, marine geophysical, Q, and stress‐drop information, as well as a 1929 Milne–Shaw record at Chicago to confirm that the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake occurred in ENA crust. Our direct comparison of mean intensities beyond 600 km suggests M 7.5, 7.3, 7.7, and 6.9 for the three New Madrid 1811–1812 mainshocks and the largest aftershock and M 7.0 for the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake, with an estimated uncertainty of 0.3 units at the 95% confidence level (based on a Monte Carlo analysis). Our mean New Madrid and Charleston mainshock magnitudes are similar to those of Bakun and Hopper (2004) and are much higher than those of Hough and Page (2011) for New Madrid.

  12. Magnitude estimates of two large aftershocks of the 16 December 1811 New Madrid earthquake

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hough, S.E.; Martin, S.

    2002-01-01

    The three principal New Madrid mainshocks of 1811-1812 were followed by extensive aftershock sequences that included numerous felt events. Although no instrumental data are available for either the mainshocks or the aftershocks, available historical accounts do provide information that can be used to estimate magnitudes and locations for the large events. In this article we investigate two of the largest aftershocks: one near dawn following the first mainshock on 16 December 1811, and one near midday on 17 December 1811. We reinterpret original felt reports to obtain a set of 48 and 20 modified Mercalli intensity values of the two aftershocks, respectively. For the dawn aftershock, we infer a Mw of approximately 7.0 based on a comparison of its intensities with those of the smallest New Madrid mainshock. Based on a detailed account that appears to describe near-field ground motions, we further propose a new fault rupture scenario for the dawn aftershock. We suggest that the aftershock had a thrust mechanism and occurred on a southeastern limb of the Reelfoot fault. For the 17 December 1811 aftershock, we infer a Mw of approximately 6.1 ?? 0.2. This value is determined using the method of Bakun et al. (2002), which is based on a new calibration of intensity versus distance for earthquakes in central and eastern North America. The location of this event is not well constrained, but the available accounts suggest an epicenter beyond the southern end of the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

  13. [Tracing the map of medication errors outside the hospital environment in the Madrid Community].

    PubMed

    Taravilla-Cerdán, Belén; Larrubia-Muñoz, Olga; de la Corte-García, María; Cruz-Martos, Encarnación

    2011-12-01

    Preparation of a map of medication errors reported by health professionals outside hospitals within the framework of Medication Errors Reporting for the Community of Madrid during the period 2008-2009. Retrospective observational study. Notification database of medication errors in the Community of Madrid. Notifications sent to the web page: Safe Use of Medicines and Health Products of the Community of Madrid. Information on the originator of the report, date of incident, shift, type of error and causes, outcome, patient characteristics, stage, place where it was produced and detected, if the medication was administered, lot number, expiry date and the general nature of the drug and a brief description of the incident. There were 5470 medication errors analysed, of which 3412 came from outside hospitals (62%), occurring mainly in the prescription stage (56.92%) and being more reported pharmacists. No harm was done in 92.9% of cases, but there was harm in 4.8% and in 2.3% there was an error that could not be followed up. The centralization of information has led to the confirmation that the prescription is a vulnerable point in the chain of drug therapy. Cleaning up prescription databases, preventing the marketing of commercial presentations that give rise to confusion, enhanced information to professionals and patients, and establishing standardised procedures, and avoiding the use of ambiguous prescriptions, illegible, or abbreviations, are useful strategies to try to minimise these errors. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  14. Quantification of CO emissions from the city of Madrid using MOPITT satellite retrievals and WRF simulations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dekker, Iris N.; Houweling, Sander; Aben, Ilse; Röckmann, Thomas; Krol, Maarten; Martínez-Alonso, Sara; Deeter, Merritt N.; Worden, Helen M.

    2017-12-01

    The growth of mega-cities leads to air quality problems directly affecting the citizens. Satellite measurements are becoming of higher quality and quantity, which leads to more accurate satellite retrievals of enhanced air pollutant concentrations over large cities. In this paper, we compare and discuss both an existing and a new method for estimating urban-scale trends in CO emissions using multi-year retrievals from the MOPITT satellite instrument. The first method is mainly based on satellite data, and has the advantage of fewer assumptions, but also comes with uncertainties and limitations as shown in this paper. To improve the reliability of urban-to-regional scale emission trend estimation, we simulate MOPITT retrievals using the Weather Research and Forecast model with chemistry core (WRF-Chem). The difference between model and retrieval is used to optimize CO emissions in WRF-Chem, focusing on the city of Madrid, Spain. This method has the advantage over the existing method in that it allows both a trend analysis of CO concentrations and a quantification of CO emissions. Our analysis confirms that MOPITT is capable of detecting CO enhancements over Madrid, although significant differences remain between the yearly averaged model output and satellite measurements (R2 = 0.75) over the city. After optimization, we find Madrid CO emissions to be lower by 48 % for 2002 and by 17 % for 2006 compared with the EdgarV4.2 emission inventory. The MOPITT-derived emission adjustments lead to better agreement with the European emission inventory TNO-MAC-III for both years. This suggests that the downward trend in CO emissions over Madrid is overestimated in EdgarV4.2 and more realistically represented in TNO-MACC-III. However, our satellite and model based emission estimates have large uncertainties, around 20 % for 2002 and 50 % for 2006.

  15. Estimating Strain Accumulation in the New Madrid and Wabash Valley Seismic Zones

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Craig, T. J.; Calais, E.

    2014-12-01

    The mechanical behaviour -- and hence earthquake potential -- of faults in continental interiors is a question of critical importance for the resultant seismic hazard, but no consensus has yet been reached on this controversial topic. The debate has focused on the central and eastern United States, in particular the New Madrid Seismic Zone, struck by three magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes in 1811--1812, and to a lesser extent the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone just to the north. A key aspect of this issue is the rate at which strain is currently accruing on those faults in the plate interior, a quantity that remains debated. Understanding if the present-day strain rates indicate sufficient motion to account for the historical and paleoseismological earthquakes by steady-state fault behaviour, or if strain accumulation is time-dependent in this area, is critical for investigating the causative process driving this seismicity in the plate interior, and how regional strain reflects the interplay between stresses arising from different geological processes. Here we address this issue with an analysis of up to 14 years of continuous GPS data from a network of 200 sites in the central United States centred on the New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones. We find that high-quality sites in these regions show motions that are consistently within the 95% confidence limit of zero deformation relative to a rigid background. These results place an upper bound on regional strain accrual of 0.2 mm/yr and 0.5 mm/yr in the New Madrid and Wabash Valley Seismic Zones, respectively. These results, together with increasing evidence for temporal clustering and spatial migration of earthquake sequences in continental interiors, indicate that either tectonic loading rates or fault properties vary with time in the NMSZ and possibly plate-wide.

  16. [Current status of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion and continuous glucose monitoring systems in the Community of Madrid].

    PubMed

    Arranz Martín, Alfonso; Calle Pascual, Alfonso; Del Cañizo Gómez, Francisco Javier; González Albarrán, Olga; Lisbona Gil, Arturo; Botella Serrano, Marta; Pallardo Sánchez, Luis Felipe

    2015-04-01

    To analyze the available information about continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems in the public health care system of the Community of Madrid. A survey consisting of 31 items was sent to the 28 endocrinology department of the Madrid public hospitals. Items focused on CSII and CGM and included patients' registrations, as well as data regarding healthcare, administrative, and logistic aspects. Responses from a total of 20 hospitals where these procedures are used were received from March 2013 to May 2014. Data about pediatric patients were obtained from adult endocrinology departments, except for two hospitals which directly reported the information. A total of 1256 CSII pumps were recorded in the Madrid region, of which 1089 were used by adults, and the remaining 167 by pediatric patients. During 2013, 151 new CSII systems were implanted (12% of the total), while 14 pumps were withdrawn. Availability of human resources (medical assistance) and the number of staff practitioners experienced in management of these systems widely varied between hospitals. Eighty-five percent of hospitals used retrospective CGM systems, and 40% routinely placed them before starting an insulin pump. Thirteen hospitals (65%) used long-term, real-time CGM systems in selected cases (a total of 67 patients). Use of these technologies in diabetes is unequal between public health care hospitals in Madrid, and is still significantly lower as compared to other countries with similar incomes. However, there appears to be a trend to an increase in their use. Copyright © 2014 SEEN. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  17. Magnitudes and locations of the 1811-1812 New Madrid, Missouri, and the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquakes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bakun, W.H.; Hopper, M.G.

    2004-01-01

    We estimate locations and moment magnitudes M and their uncertainties for the three largest events in the 1811-1812 sequence near New Madrid, Missouri, and for the 1 September 1886 event near Charleston, South Carolina. The intensity magnitude M1, our preferred estimate of M, is 7.6 for the 16 December 1811 event that occurred in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) on the Bootheel lineament or on the Blytheville seismic zone. M1, is 7.5 for the 23 January 1812 event for a location on the New Madrid north zone of the NMSZ and 7.8 for the 7 February 1812 event that occurred on the Reelfoot blind thrust of the NMSZ. Our preferred locations for these events are located on those NMSZ segments preferred by Johnston and Schweig (1996). Our estimates of M are 0.1-0.4 M units less than those of Johnston (1996b) and 0.3-0.5 M units greater than those of Hough et al. (2000). M1 is 6.9 for the 1 September 1886 event for a location at the Summerville-Middleton Place cluster of recent small earthquakes located about 30 km northwest of Charleston.

  18. The Evolution of Modern Dance Therapy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levy, Fran

    1988-01-01

    The article traces the impact of the modern dance movement from the early 1900s and its emphasis on creativity and self-expression on the professional and institutional development of dance therapy. (CB)

  19. Reassessing the New Madrid Seismic Zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Atkinson, Gail; Bakun, Bill; Bodin, Paul; Boore, David; Camer, Chris; Frankel, Art; Gasperini, Paulo; Gomberg, Joan; Hanks, Tom; Hermann, Bob; Hough, Susan; Johnston, Arch; Kenner, Shelley; Langston, Chuck; Linker, Mark; Mayne, Paul; Petersen, Mark; Powell, Christine; Prescott, Will; Schweig, Eugene; Segall, Paul; Stein, Seth; Stuart, Bill; Tuttle, Martitia; VanArsdale, Roy

    The central enigma of the mid-continent region in the United States known as the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ; Figure 1) involves the mechanisms that give rise to recurrent great earthquakes far from plate boundaries. Given the lack of significant topographic relief that is the hallmark of tectonic activity in most actively deforming regions, most of us feel a need to “pinch ourselves to see if we're dreaming” when confronted with evidence that, at some probability levels, the earthquake hazard throughout the NMSZ is comparable to that estimated for the San Francisco Bay region.Although assessing the hazard in the NMSZ is in many ways more challenging than in the western United States, and the uncertainties are much greater, careful scientific study has led to a consensus on the issues most critical to seismic hazard assessment.

  20. Prevalence, Incidence, and Sex Ratio of Transsexualism in the Autonomous Region of Madrid (Spain) According to Healthcare Demand.

    PubMed

    Becerra-Fernández, Antonio; Rodríguez-Molina, José Miguel; Asenjo-Araque, Nuria; Lucio-Pérez, María Jesús; Cuchí-Alfaro, Miguel; García-Camba, Eduardo; Pérez-López, Gilberto; Menacho-Román, Miriam; Berrocal-Sertucha, María Carmen; Ly-Pen, Domingo; Aguilar-Vilas, María Victorina

    2017-07-01

    In recent years, different studies have provided estimates of the prevalence of transsexualism with very diverse results. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the prevalence, incidence, and sex ratio of transsexualism in the autonomous region of Madrid (Spain). A total of 1234 patients who attended from 2007 to the end of 2015 in the only Gender Identity Unit (GIU) in Madrid were analyzed. Sixty-three patients were excluded for various reasons; thus, 1171 could be included: 803 male-to-female (MtF) and 368 female-to-male (FtM) transsexual patients. Transsexualism was diagnosed based on the ICD-10, World Health Organization, 1992, and/or gender identity disorder based on the DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association, 2000. The demographic statistics were calculated on the basis of the population over 15 years old of Madrid. Based on healthcare demand, the prevalence of transsexualism was 22.1 in 100,000 inhabitants: 31.2 for MtF and 12.9 for FtM, making the MtF/FtM ratio approximately 2.2:1. The incidence rate was 2.5 in 100,000 inhabitants, representing an annual average of 130 demands. Although transsexualism occurs in all countries with different rates of prevalence, in our area, this prevalence was higher than reported from other European countries. We believe that two main circumstances might influence this high prevalence: the easy accessibility and the absence of a waiting list to the GIU, and the permissive social and legal climate and openness of Spain, especially in Madrid.

  1. Tracking Identity: Academic Performance and Ethnic Identity among Ecuadorian Immigrant Teenagers in Madrid

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucko, Jennifer

    2011-01-01

    This article examines Ecuadorian students' attempts to contest immigrant stereotypes and redefine their social identities in Madrid, Spain. I argue that academic tracking plays a pivotal role in the trajectory of students' emergent ethnic identity. To illustrate this process, I focus on students who abandon their academic and professional…

  2. The women of the family? Speculations around early modern British physicians.

    PubMed

    Pelling, M

    1995-12-01

    In the extensively explored areas of professionalization, domestic ideology, and the relationships between women and medicine, the debate on the British case has given little consideration to issues of identity arising for the male medical practitioner as a result of family life. For the early modern period, these issues can be seen as among a broad-ranging set of problems posed by the female gender connotations of the medical role. Such problems were most pronounced for the élite physicians who sought membership of the London College of Physicians. Their attitudes and dilemmas are important because of their influence, over the long term, on the criteria for professionalization. Using biographical data, a contrast can be shown between the dynastic ideals of physicians, which stressed the male line, and the high incidence among such physicians of celibacy, childlessness, and small families. Families of origin of physicians, on the other hand, tended to be large. Assumptions about the role of women in medical care, especially in clerical and gentry families, entail a recognition of the possible influence of female relatives on the vocations of male physicians. Given the low status of women's work, physicians developed ambivalences which affected the construction of their identities, their families, and the passing on of their skills.

  3. Analysis of 31.4GHz Atmospheric Noise Temperature Measurements at Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shambayati, S.; Keihm, S.

    1998-01-01

    The atmospheric noise temperature at 31.4GHz was measured at NASA's Deep Space Communications Complex at Madrid from September 1990 to December 1996 excluding February 1991 and May 1992 using a Water Vapor Radiometer.

  4. Enhancement of archaeological heritage. El Risco de las Cuevas at Perales de Tajuña, Madrid (Spain)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Freire-Lista, David Martin; Alvarez de Buergo, Mónica; Fort, Rafael

    2016-04-01

    Heritage conservation has a great impact on the economy of a country. The enhancement of archaeological sites is an investment that promotes tourism and culture. The interdisciplinary knowledge of heritage should be the basis of its management. Preventive actions, non-destructive analytical techniques and monitoring for the conservation of these assets should be promoted. "El Risco de las Cuevas" is a highly decayed and nearly vertical gypsum escarpment which contains a series of dwellings excavated during the Chalcolithic and much more recent times. It is located at Perales de Tajuña, 40 km southeast of Madrid, Spain. This monument is approximately 70 metres high and 500 metres wide. It was listed as a cultural and monumental heritage site by the regional government of Madrid in 1998. The gypsum escarpment housing the dwellings forms part of a lower Miocene unit (Madrid Basin). Debris cones with a mixture of debris from the lower, medium and upper units are found at the bottom of the rockwall. The vulnerability of this monument to atmospheric agents has been studied using "in situ" monitoring techniques of humidity, temperature and rate of rockfalls. Drones have been used for aerial photography in the highest areas of the escarpment and have provided an information network of fractures likely to cause rockfall. Gypsum artificial accelerated ageing has been carried out in the laboratory, including freeze/thaw, wet/dry, thermal shock and dissolution tests. To determine the response of these accelerated ageing processes, density, micro-roughness, ultrasound velocities (Vp and Vs), air permeability and microscopy measurements were made before, during and after ageing tests. Geomorphological studies, rates of decay, material characteristics and durability tests indicate that the decay is controlled by the mineralogy, clay content and porosity of the gypsum rock, as well as microclimate, temperature changes and rock fractures. Rockfalls are particularly relevant in the

  5. Site-specific seismic ground motion analyses for transportation infrastructure in the New Madrid seismic zone.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-11-01

    Generic, code-based design procedures cannot account for the anticipated short-period attenuation and long-period amplification of earthquake ground motions in the deep, soft sediments of the Mississippi Embayment within the New Madrid Seismic Zone (...

  6. Revisiting the daily human birth pattern: time of delivery at Casa de Maternidad in Madrid (1887-1892).

    PubMed

    Varea, Carlos; Fernández-Cerezo, Susana

    2014-01-01

    Among the ancestral characteristics of the primate group to which Homo sapiens belongs we find a pattern of daytime physical activity, but one notable exception is birthing which usually begins with night-time labor. In populations with a moderate or high level of medicalized labor, there is evidence that the medical preferences interfere with the underlying biological mechanism for the circadian pattern of human birth. This study analyses the hourly patterns of 4,599 single live births in the House of Maternity in Madrid between 1887 and 1892, a period of very limited obstetric intervention and without the influence of artificial lighting. In order to determine the influence of natural light on labor, two periods of maximum and minimum light have been established around the summer and winter solstices of the years in question. A clear circadian pattern of births emerges, with very early morning and early morning births dominating, and a sharp drop from midday until nightfall. The hourly distribution on both solstices follows this pattern, but with a clear peak shift: in winter, there is a greater concentration of deliveries in the early morning, whereas in the summer, the highest concentration is between 8 and 12 in the morning. The results confirm that non-intervened human birth has a clear diurnal cycle, with a higher incidence of deliveries in the early morning or morning. The shift in distribution during the winter and summer solstices seems to confirm the effect of light on the labor process. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Seismic hazard along a crude oil pipeline in the event of an 1811-1812 type New Madrid earthquake. Technical report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hwang, H.H.M.; Chen, C.H.S.

    1990-04-16

    An assessment of the seismic hazard that exists along the major crude oil pipeline running through the New Madrid seismic zone from southeastern Louisiana to Patoka, Illinois is examined in the report. An 1811-1812 type New Madrid earthquake with moment magnitude 8.2 is assumed to occur at three locations where large historical earthquakes have occurred. Six pipeline crossings of the major rivers in West Tennessee are chosen as the sites for hazard evaluation because of the liquefaction potential at these sites. A seismologically-based model is used to predict the bedrock accelerations. Uncertainties in three model parameters, i.e., stress parameter, cutoffmore » frequency, and strong-motion duration are included in the analysis. Each parameter is represented by three typical values. From the combination of these typical values, a total of 27 earthquake time histories can be generated for each selected site due to an 1811-1812 type New Madrid earthquake occurring at a postulated seismic source.« less

  8. Demons, nature, or God? Witchcraft accusations and the French disease in early modern Venice.

    PubMed

    McGough, Laura J

    2006-01-01

    In early modern Venice, establishing the cause of a disease was critical to determining the appropriate cure: natural remedies for natural illnesses, spiritual solutions for supernatural or demonic ones. One common ailment was the French disease (syphilis), widely distributed throughout Venice's neighborhoods and social hierarchy, and evenly distributed between men and women. The disease was widely regarded as curable by the mid-sixteenth century, and cases that did not respond to natural remedies presented problems of interpretation to physicians and laypeople. Witchcraft was one possible explanation; using expert testimony from physicians, however, the Holy Office ruled out witchcraft as a cause of incurable cases and reinforced perceptions that the disease was of natural origin. Incurable cases were explained as the result of immoral behavior, thereby reinforcing the associated stigma. This article uses archival material from Venice's Inquisition records from 1580 to 1650, as well as mortality data.

  9. Prophecy, patriarchy, and violence in the early modern household: the revelations of Anne Wentworth.

    PubMed

    Johnston, Warren

    2009-10-01

    In 1676 the apostate Baptist prophet Anne Wentworth (1629/30-1693?) published "A True Account of Anne Wentworths Being Cruelly, Unjustly, and Unchristianly Dealt with by Some of Those People called Anabaptists," the first in a series of pamphlets that would continue to the end of the decade. Orignially a member of a London Baptist church, Wentworth left the congregation and eventually her own home after her husband used physical force to stop her writing and prophesying. Yet Wentworth persisted in her "revelations." These prophecies increasingly focused on her response to those who were trying to stop her efforts, especially within her own household. This article examines Wentworth's writings as an effort by an early modern woman, using arguments of spiritual agency, to assert ideas about proper gender roles and household responsibilities to denounce her husband and rebut those who criticized and attempted to suppress her.

  10. The First Modern Human Dispersals across Africa

    PubMed Central

    Rito, Teresa; Richards, Martin B.; Fernandes, Verónica; Alshamali, Farida; Cerny, Viktor

    2013-01-01

    The emergence of more refined chronologies for climate change and archaeology in prehistoric Africa, and for the evolution of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), now make it feasible to test more sophisticated models of early modern human dispersals suggested by mtDNA distributions. Here we have generated 42 novel whole-mtDNA genomes belonging to haplogroup L0, the most divergent clade in the maternal line of descent, and analysed them alongside the growing database of African lineages belonging to L0’s sister clade, L1’6. We propose that the last common ancestor of modern human mtDNAs (carried by “mitochondrial Eve”) possibly arose in central Africa ~180 ka, at a time of low population size. By ~130 ka two distinct groups of anatomically modern humans co-existed in Africa: broadly, the ancestors of many modern-day Khoe and San populations in the south and a second central/eastern African group that includes the ancestors of most extant worldwide populations. Early modern human dispersals correlate with climate changes, particularly the tropical African “megadroughts” of MIS 5 (marine isotope stage 5, 135–75 ka) which paradoxically may have facilitated expansions in central and eastern Africa, ultimately triggering the dispersal out of Africa of people carrying haplogroup L3 ~60 ka. Two south to east migrations are discernible within haplogroup LO. One, between 120 and 75 ka, represents the first unambiguous long-range modern human dispersal detected by mtDNA and might have allowed the dispersal of several markers of modernity. A second one, within the last 20 ka signalled by L0d, may have been responsible for the spread of southern click-consonant languages to eastern Africa, contrary to the view that these eastern examples constitute relicts of an ancient, much wider distribution. PMID:24236171

  11. Understanding differences in the local food environment across countries: A case study in Madrid (Spain) and Baltimore (USA).

    PubMed

    Díez, Julia; Bilal, Usama; Cebrecos, Alba; Buczynski, Amanda; Lawrence, Robert S; Glass, Thomas; Escobar, Francisco; Gittelsohn, Joel; Franco, Manuel

    2016-08-01

    Places where we buy food influence dietary patterns, making local food environments a good example of a mass influence on population diets. Cross-cultural studies, using reliable methods, may help understanding the relationship between food environments and diet-related health outcomes. We aimed to understand cross-national differences in the local food environment between Madrid and Baltimore by comparing an average neighborhood in each city in terms of food store types, healthy food availability, and residents' pedestrian access. During 2012-2013, we assessed one neighborhood (~15,000 residents) in each city selecting median areas in terms of socio-demographic characteristics (segregation, education, aging, and population density). We collected on-field data on (a) number and types of all food stores, (b) overall healthy food availability and (c) specific availability of fruits & vegetables. Throughout a street network analysis (200m, 400m and 800m) of food stores with high healthy food availability, we estimated residents' pedestrian accessibility. We found 40 stores in Madrid and 14 in Baltimore. Small food stores carrying fresh foods in Madrid contrasted with the high presence of corner and chain convenience stores in Baltimore. In Madrid, 77% of the residents lived within less than 200m from a food store with high healthy food availability. In contrast, 95% of Baltimore's residents lived further than 400m from these stores. Our results may help promoting interventions from local city agencies to allocate resources to existing small-sized food stores, and to improve walkable urban environments. These actions may influence food choices, especially for those residents lacking access to private vehicles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Health impact assessment of traffic noise in Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Tobías, Aurelio; Recio, Alberto; Díaz, Julio; Linares, Cristina

    2015-02-01

    The relationship between environmental noise and health has been examined in depth. In view of the sheer number of persons exposed, attention should be focused on road traffic noise. The city of Madrid (Spain) is a densely populated metropolitan area in which 80% of all environmental noise exposure is attributed to traffic. The aim of this study was to quantify avoidable deaths resulting from reducing the impact of equivalent diurnal noise levels (LeqD) on daily cardiovascular and respiratory mortality among people aged ≥65 years in Madrid. A health impact assessment of (average 24h) LeqD and PM2.5 levels was conducted by using previously reported risk estimates of mortality rates for the period 2003-2005: For cardiovascular causes: LeqD 1.048 (1.005, 1.092) and PM2.5 1.041(1.020, 1.062) and for respiratory causes: LeqD 1.060 (1.000, 1.123) and PM2.5 1.030 (1.000, 1.062). The association found between LeqD exposure and mortality for both causes suggests an important health effect. A reduction of 1dB(A) in LeqD implies an avoidable annual mortality of 284 (31, 523) cardiovascular- and 184 (0, 190) respiratory-related deaths in the study population. The magnitude of the health impact is similar to reducing average PM2.5 levels by 10µg/m(3). Regardless of air pollution, exposure to traffic noise should be considered an important environmental factor having a significant impact on health. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Triggered earthquakes and the 1811-1812 New Madrid, central United States, earthquake sequence

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hough, S.E.

    2001-01-01

    The 1811-1812 New Madrid, central United States, earthquake sequence included at least three events with magnitudes estimated at well above M 7.0. I discuss evidence that the sequence also produced at least three substantial triggered events well outside the New Madrid Seismic Zone, most likely in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio. The largest of these events is estimated to have a magnitude in the low to mid M 5 range. Events of this size are large enough to cause damage, especially in regions with low levels of preparedness. Remotely triggered earthquakes have been observed in tectonically active regions in recent years, but not previously in stable continental regions. The results of this study suggest, however, that potentially damaging triggered earthquakes may be common following large mainshocks in stable continental regions. Thus, in areas of low seismic activity such as central/ eastern North America, the hazard associated with localized source zones might be more far reaching than previously recognized. The results also provide additional evidence that intraplate crust is critically stressed, such that small stress changes are especially effective at triggering earthquakes.

  14. Unexpected increase in the oxidation capacity of the urban atmosphere of Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Saiz-Lopez, A; Borge, R; Notario, A; Adame, J A; Paz, D de la; Querol, X; Artíñano, B; Gómez-Moreno, F J; Cuevas, C A

    2017-04-11

    Atmospheric oxidants such as ozone (O 3 ), hydroxyl and nitrate radicals (OH and NO 3 ) determine the ability of the urban atmosphere to process organic and inorganic pollutants, which have an impact on air quality, environmental health and climate. Madrid city has experienced an increase of 30-40% in ambient air O 3 levels, along with a decrease of 20-40% in NO 2 , from 2007 to 2014. Using air pollution observations and a high-resolution air quality model, we find a large concentration increase of up to 70% and 90% in OH and NO 3 , respectively, in downtown Madrid (domain-wide average increase of 10% and 32% for OH and NO 3 , respectively). The results also show an 11% reduction in the nitric acid concentrations, leading to a remarkable denoxification of this urban atmosphere with implications for lower PM 2.5 levels and nitrogen input into ecosystems. This study suggests that projected worldwide NO x emission reductions, following air quality standards, will lead to important changes in the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere in and around large cities.

  15. Unexpected increase in the oxidation capacity of the urban atmosphere of Madrid, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saiz-Lopez, A.; Borge, R.; Notario, A.; Adame, J. A.; Paz, D. De La; Querol, X.; Artíñano, B.; Gómez-Moreno, F. J.; Cuevas, C. A.

    2017-04-01

    Atmospheric oxidants such as ozone (O3), hydroxyl and nitrate radicals (OH and NO3) determine the ability of the urban atmosphere to process organic and inorganic pollutants, which have an impact on air quality, environmental health and climate. Madrid city has experienced an increase of 30-40% in ambient air O3 levels, along with a decrease of 20-40% in NO2, from 2007 to 2014. Using air pollution observations and a high-resolution air quality model, we find a large concentration increase of up to 70% and 90% in OH and NO3, respectively, in downtown Madrid (domain-wide average increase of 10% and 32% for OH and NO3, respectively). The results also show an 11% reduction in the nitric acid concentrations, leading to a remarkable denoxification of this urban atmosphere with implications for lower PM2.5 levels and nitrogen input into ecosystems. This study suggests that projected worldwide NOx emission reductions, following air quality standards, will lead to important changes in the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere in and around large cities.

  16. Unexpected increase in the oxidation capacity of the urban atmosphere of Madrid, Spain

    PubMed Central

    Saiz-Lopez, A.; Borge, R.; Notario, A.; Adame, J. A.; Paz, D. de la; Querol, X.; Artíñano, B.; Gómez-Moreno, F. J.; Cuevas, C. A.

    2017-01-01

    Atmospheric oxidants such as ozone (O3), hydroxyl and nitrate radicals (OH and NO3) determine the ability of the urban atmosphere to process organic and inorganic pollutants, which have an impact on air quality, environmental health and climate. Madrid city has experienced an increase of 30–40% in ambient air O3 levels, along with a decrease of 20–40% in NO2, from 2007 to 2014. Using air pollution observations and a high-resolution air quality model, we find a large concentration increase of up to 70% and 90% in OH and NO3, respectively, in downtown Madrid (domain-wide average increase of 10% and 32% for OH and NO3, respectively). The results also show an 11% reduction in the nitric acid concentrations, leading to a remarkable denoxification of this urban atmosphere with implications for lower PM2.5 levels and nitrogen input into ecosystems. This study suggests that projected worldwide NOx emission reductions, following air quality standards, will lead to important changes in the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere in and around large cities. PMID:28397785

  17. Integrated geophysical and geological study of the tectonic framework of the 38th parallel lineament in the vicinity of its intersection with the extension of the New Madrid fault zone. Annual progress report, fiscal year 1979

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Braile, L.W.; Hinze, W.J.; Sexton, J.L.

    1979-09-01

    An integrated gravity, magnetic, crustal seismic refraction, and basement geology study is being conducted of the northeastern extension of the New Madrid Fault Zone in the vicinity of the 38th Parallel Lineament. Gravity and magnetic anomaly maps prepared of this area plus regional seismicity suggest that the basement structural feature associated with the New Madrid seismicity extends northeasterly into southern Indiana to at least 39/sup 0/N latitude. Gravity and subsurface data indicate that the Rough Creek Fault Zone, a major element of the 38th Parallel Lineament, is the northern boundary of a complex graben which formed in late Precambrian-early Paleozoicmore » time and since has been reactivated. Surface wave studies indicate that the crustal thickness of the northern Mississippi Embayment is probably in the range of 50 to 55 km, and the structure of the crust obtained from these studies is highly suggestive of a failed rift. 40 figures, 3 tables.« less

  18. Earth's early biosphere

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Des Marais, D. J.

    1998-01-01

    Understanding our own early biosphere is essential to our search for life elsewhere, because life arose on Earth very early and rocky planets shared similar early histories. The biosphere arose before 3.8 Ga ago, was exclusively unicellular and was dominated by hyperthermophiles that utilized chemical sources of energy and employed a range of metabolic pathways for CO2 assimilation. Photosynthesis also arose very early. Oxygenic photosynthesis arose later but still prior to 2.7 Ga. The transition toward the modern global environment was paced by a decline in volcanic and hydrothermal activity. These developments allowed atmospheric O2 levels to increase. The O2 increase created new niches for aerobic life, most notably the more advanced Eukarya that eventually spawned the megascopic fauna and flora of our modern biosphere.

  19. Curiosity, forbidden knowledge, and the reformation of natural philosophy in early modern England.

    PubMed

    Harrison, P

    2001-06-01

    From the patristic period to the beginning of the seventeenth century curiosity was regarded as an intellectual vice. Curious individuals were considered to be proud and "puffed up," and the objects of their investigations were deemed illicit, dispute engendering, unknowable, or useless. Seventeenth-century projects for the advancement of learning had to distance themselves from curiosity and its dubious fruits or, alternatively, enhance the moral status of the curious sensibility. Francis Bacon's proposals for the instauration of knowledge were an integral part of a process by which curiosity underwent a remarkable transformation from vice to virtue over the course of the seventeenth century. The changing fortunes of this human propensity highlight the morally charged nature of early modern debates over the status of natural philosophy and the particular virtues required of its practitioners. The rehabilitation of curiosity was a crucial element in the objectification of scientific knowledge and led to a gradual shift of focus away from the moral qualities of investigators and the propriety of particular objects of knowledge to specific procedures and methods.

  20. Shaded Relief and Radar Image with Color as Height, Madrid, Spain

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    The white, mottled area in the right-center of this image from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is Madrid, the capital of Spain. Located on the Meseta Central, a vast plateau covering about 40 percent of the country, this city of 3 million is very near the exact geographic center of the Iberian Peninsula. The Meseta is rimmed by mountains and slopes gently to the west and to the series of rivers that form the boundary with Portugal. The plateau is mostly covered with dry grasslands, olive groves and forested hills.

    Madrid is situated in the middle of the Meseta, and at an elevation of 646 meters (2,119 feet) above sea level is the highest capital city in Europe. To the northwest of Madrid, and visible in the upper left of the image, is the Sistema Central mountain chain that forms the 'dorsal spine' of the Meseta and divides it into northern and southern subregions. Rising to about 2,500 meters (8,200 feet), these mountains display some glacial features and are snow-capped for most of the year. Offering almost year-round winter sports, the mountains are also important to the climate of Madrid.

    Three visualization methods were combined to produce this image: shading and color coding of topographic height and radar image intensity. The shade image was derived by computing topographic slope in the northwest-southeast direction. North-facing slopes appear bright and south-facing slopes appear dark. Color coding is directly related to topographic height, with green at the lower elevations, rising through yellow and brown to white at the highest elevations. The shade image was combined with the radar intensity image in the flat areas.

    Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the SRTM aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was

  1. ‘They are called Imperfect men’: Male Infertility and Sexual Health in Early Modern England

    PubMed Central

    Evans, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Scholars of early modern gender and medicine have tended to focus on female infertility. Discussions that have included male reproductive failure have considered sexual ability and impotence, rather than infertility. Nonetheless, fathering children was important to male social standing and the fulfilment of their patriarchal roles. This article will demonstrate that male infertility was not absent from medical literature, but appeared in a variety of settings including tests for infertility, seventeenth-century handbills for treatments, and surgical treatises. It will show that medical and surgical writers accepted that men could be rendered infertile, but still sexually capable, in a variety of ways. Moreover, the article will show that seventeenth-century surgeons expected male readers to be concerned about their reproductive potential and constructed a framework of efficacy based upon their ability to secure on-going fertility. PMID:29731544

  2. Scientific overview and historical context of the 1811-1812 new Madrid earthquake sequence

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hough, S.E.

    2004-01-01

    aftershock». These values are consistent with other lines of evidence, including scaling relationships. Finally, I show that accounts from the New Madrid sequence reveal evidence for remotely triggered earthquakes well outside the NMSZ. Remotely triggered earthquakes represent a potentially important new wrinkle in historic earthquake research, as their ground motions can sometimes be confused with mainshock ground motions.

  3. Two medieval plague treatises and their afterlife in early modern England.

    PubMed

    Keiser, George R

    2003-07-01

    This study of an adaptation of the popular John of Burgundy plague treatise by Thomas Moulton, a Dominican friar, ca. 1475, and a translation of the so-called Canutus plague treatise by Thomas Paynell, printed 1534, shows how the medieval traditions they represent were carried forward, well into the sixteenth century, and also subjected to change in light of religious, moral, and medical concerns of early modern England. The former had a long life in print, ca. 1530-1580, whereas Paynell's translation exists in one printed version. Moulton's adaptation differs from its original and from the Canutus treatise in putting great emphasis on the idea that onsets of plague were acts of divine retribution for human sinfulness. In this respect, Moulton reshaped the tradition of the medieval plague treatise and anticipated the religious and social construction of plague that would take shape in the first half of the sixteenth century. Its long history in print indicates that Moulton's treatise expressed the spirit of that construction and probably influenced the construction as well. The contrasting histories of the two treatises attest not only to the dramatic change brought about by religious and social forces in the sixteenth century, but to a growing recognition of the value of the printing press for disseminating medical information-in forms that served social and ideological ends.

  4. Contribucion al estudio de la semantica de los verbos modales en espanol (con ejemplos del habla de Madrid). The Contribution of Spanish Modal Verbs to the Study of Semantics (with Evidence from Madrid Speech).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sirbu-Dumitrescu, Domnita

    1988-01-01

    Spanish modal verbs may express necessity, obligation, probability, and possibility, in either their personal or impersonal modes. Analysis is based on examples of contemporary Madrid speech. Four modals, "poder,""deber (de)," tener que," and "haber que," are placed within a tripartite structure defined by…

  5. Insights into Modern Human Prehistory Using Ancient Genomes.

    PubMed

    Yang, Melinda A; Fu, Qiaomei

    2018-03-01

    The genetic relationship of past modern humans to today's populations and each other was largely unknown until recently, when advances in ancient DNA sequencing allowed for unprecedented analysis of the genomes of these early people. These ancient genomes reveal new insights into human prehistory not always observed studying present-day populations, including greater details on the genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow that characterized past human populations, particularly in early Eurasia, as well as increased insight on the relationship between archaic and modern humans. Here, we review genetic studies on ∼45000- to 7500-year-old individuals associated with mainly preagricultural cultures found in Eurasia, the Americas, and Africa. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. [Arsenic levels in drinking water supplies from underground sources in the community of Madrid].

    PubMed

    Aragonés Sanz, N; Palacios Diez, M; Avello de Miguel, A; Gómez Rodríguez, P; Martínez Cortés, M; Rodríguez Bernabeu, M J

    2001-01-01

    In 1998, arsenic concentrations of more than 50 micrograms/l were detected in some drinking water supplies from underground sources in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which is the maximum permissible concentration for drinking water in Spain. These two facts have meant the getting under way of a specific plan for monitoring arsenic in the drinking water in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. The results of the first two sampling processes conducted in the arsenic level monitoring plan set out are presented. In the initial phase, water samples from 353 water supplies comprised within the census of the Public Health Administration of the Autonomous Community of Madrid were analyzed. A water supply risk classification was made based on these initial results. In a second phase, six months later, the analyses were repeated on those 35 water supplies which were considered to possibly pose a risk to public health. Seventy-four percent (74%) of the water supplies studied in the initial phase were revealed to have an arsenic concentration of less than 10 micrograms/l, 22.6% containing levels of 10 micrograms/l-50 micrograms/l, and 3.7% over 50 micrograms/l. Most of the water supplies showing arsenic levels of more than 10 micrograms/l are located in the same geographical area. In the second sampling process (six months later), the 35 water supplies classified as posing a risk were included. Twenty-six (26) of these supplies were revealed to have the same arsenic level ((10-50 micrograms/l), and nine changed category, six of which had less than 10 micrograms/l and three more than 50 micrograms/l. In the Autonomous Community of Madrid, less than 2% of the population drinks water coming from supplies which are from underground sources. The regular water quality monitoring conducted by the Public Health Administration has led to detecting the presence of more than 50 micrograms/l of arsenic in sixteen drinking water supplies from underground sources, which is the maximum

  7. [Urología Clínica, bulletin of the Urology Service of Dr. Sánchez Covisa of the Hospital Provincial of Madrid, edited between 1928 and 1936].

    PubMed

    Pérez-Albacete, M; Saiz, A

    2012-02-01

    Make known the important urological work of Sanchez Covisa, third chief of the Urology Service of the Hospital Provincial de Madrid, who beginning in 1928 was able to transform and convert it into possibly the more outstanding one of its time in Spain, comparable to the best hospitals in foreign countries. We have analyzed the contents of the publication Urología Clínica, that collect the changes introduced and the work carried out in said service between 1928 and 1936, reflected in a careful yearly statistics on the care, operations and mortality in addition to the articles published by the members of the Service together with a short bibliographic review of each one. In 1914, he became chief of the Service, and after 14 years, was able to overcome all the obstacles and to extend and modernize the surgery rooms, hospitalization wards and examination resources. In 1931, once the changes were made, he began important clinical and scientific activity, and constituted one of the principal urological schools of the first half of the XXth century in our country. The prestige reached by the Urology Unit of the Hospital Provincial of Madrid attracted patients from all over Spain, many of them treated or operated on in their place of origin. This explains why the condition was complicated with some acceptable results. The quality and honesty of the Urology unit justify its qualification. The works in general are mere reviews and those regarding surgery of the uretero-intestinal shunt stand out. Copyright © 2011 AEU. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  8. Analyzing Bilingual Teaching and Learning in Madrid, Spain: A Fulbright Scholar Collaborative Research Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerena, Linda; Ramírez-Verdugo, M. Dolores

    2014-01-01

    This study was carried out as an international cooperative research project supported by a Fulbright Scholar award to investigate attitudes and perceptions towards bilingual education, and to extract key findings on effective pedagogy in bilingual schools in the Region of Madrid, where expansion of bilingual programs has been rapidly increasing.…

  9. Adherence to nutritional recommendations in vending machines at secondary schools in Madrid (Spain), 2014-2015.

    PubMed

    Monroy-Parada, Doris Xiomara; Jácome-González, María Luisa; Moya-Geromini, María Ángeles; Rodríguez-Artalejo, Fernando; Royo-Bordonada, Miguel Ángel

    2017-07-13

    To describe the nutritional content of products offered in food and drink vending machines at secondary schools in the Madrid Autonomous Community (Spain), and to evaluate these items' adherence to the nutritional recommendations of the National Health System Consensus Document on School Food. Cross-sectional study of a sample of 330 secondary schools in Madrid across the period 2014-2015. Secondary school vending machines were identified by telephone interview. The products offered in a representative sample of six machines were identified by inspection in situ, and their nutritional composition was obtained from the labelling. A total of 94.5% of the 55 products on offer failed to comply with at least one nutritional criterion of the Consensus Document on School Food. The recommendation relating to sugar content registered the highest level of non-compliance, with 52.7% of products, followed by the recommendations relating to energy (47.3%) and fats (45.5%). The mean number of unmet criteria was 2.2, with this figure being higher in foods than in drinks (2.8 versus 1; p <0.01). Almost all the products on display in secondary school vending machines in Madrid were in breach of the Consensus Document on School Food, mainly due to an excess of calories, sugars and fats. Compulsory nutritional criteria and a procedure for monitoring adherence should be established, specifying those responsible for performing this task and the corrective measures to be applied in the event of non-compliance. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  10. Prevalence of hepatitis C antibodies in the population aged 16-80 years in the Community of Madrid 2008-2009.

    PubMed

    García Comas, Luis; Ordobás Gavín, María; Sanz Moreno, Juan Carlos; Ramos Blázquez, Belén; Gutiérrez Rodríguez, Angeles; Astray Mochales, Jenaro; Moreno Guillén, Santiago

    2015-10-01

    Together with AIDS, the burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Spain heads the list of communicable diseases in terms of impact on public health. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HCV antibodies in the Community of Madrid, assess changes in recent years and analyse associated risk factors. Descriptive cross-sectional study of a target population consisting of Community of Madrid residents aged 16-80 years old. Two-stage cluster sampling was performed, with stratification by socioeconomic status and percentage immigrant population. The sampling frame consisted of public blood extraction centers attached to the Madrid Health Service. Seroprevalence of HCV antibodies, prevalence ratios by age groups in comparison with 1999 survey data and prevalence association with risk factors were assessed using a logistic regression model. Prevalence of HCV antibodies for the age group 16-80 years was 1.8% (95% CI: 1.3-2.5). The age group with the highest prevalence was 41-60 years. In comparison with the 1999 survey, prevalence fell for the age groups 21-30 and 31-40 years and increased for the age group 41-60. Statistically significant associations were found for age, education, history of hepatitis C and consultation regarding liver problems. Seroprevalence of HCV antibodies in the Community of Madrid is similar to that shown in other regions of Spain. It is increasing in older age groups as the population at risk ages. Incidence of hepatitis C may be decreasing considering the decrease in the seroprevalence in the population younger than 40 related to the previous serosurvey. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Earthquake signals in tree-ring data from the New Madrid seismic zone and implications for paleoseismicity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Arsdale, Roy B.; Stahle, David W.; Cleaveland, Malcolm K.; Guccione, Margaret J.

    1998-06-01

    Severe ground shaking and the formation of Reelfoot Lake during the great New Madrid earthquakes of a.d. 1811 1812 had a profound effect on baldcypress trees that still survive in Reelfoot Lake of northwestern Tennessee. Inundation greatly increased baldcypress radial growth from 1812 to 1819 and permanently decreased wood density after 1811. Ground shaking fractured the baldcypress stems that were present during the 1811 1812 event, but fractures are absent in the post-1811 growth. In contrast, the growth of old baldcypress trees in the St. Francis sunkland of northeastern Arkansas was severely suppressed for almost 50 yr following the 1811 1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Thus, there are two opposite but profound growth responses to the same earthquake events preserved in baldcypress trees of the New Madrid seismic zone. The tree-ring chronology at Reelfoot Lake extends from a.d. 1682 to 1990, but the 1812 1819 growth surge was the only extreme growth anomaly in this 309 yr period. The St. Francis sunkland chronology extends from a.d. 1321 to 1990, and the 1812 1857 growth suppression is the most severe and prolonged growth anomaly of this entire 670 year period. Thus, the tree-ring record indicates that there was not a great earthquake during the 129 yr prior to 1811 in the Reelfoot Lake basin, nor during the 490 yr prior to 1811 in the St. Francis sunkland.

  12. Intimate partner violence in Madrid: a time series analysis (2008-2016).

    PubMed

    Sanz-Barbero, Belén; Linares, Cristina; Vives-Cases, Carmen; González, José Luis; López-Ossorio, Juan José; Díaz, Julio

    2018-06-02

    This study analyzes whether there are time patterns in different intimate partner violence (IPV) indicators and aims to obtain models that can predict the behavior of these time series. Univariate autoregressive moving average models were used to analyze the time series corresponding to the number of daily calls to the 016 telephone IPV helpline and the number of daily police reports filed in the Community of Madrid during the period 2008-2015. Predictions were made for both dependent variables for 2016. The daily number of calls to the 016 telephone IPV helpline decreased during January 2008-April 2012 and increased during April 2012-December 2015. No statistically significant change was observed in the trend of the number of daily IPV police reports. The number of IPV police reports filed increased on weekends and on Christmas holidays. The number of calls to the 016 IPV help line increased on Mondays. Using data from 2008 to 2015, the univariate autoregressive moving average models predicted 64.2% of calls to the 016 telephone IPV helpline and 73.2% of police reports filed during 2016 in the Community of Madrid. Our results suggest the need for an increase in police and judicial resources on nonwork days. Also, the 016 telephone IPV helpline should be especially active on work days. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Perspectives on earthquake hazards in the New Madrid seismic zone, Missouri

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Thenhaus, P.C.

    1990-01-01

    A sequence of three great earthquakes struck the Central United States during the winter of 1811-12 in the area of New Madrid, Missouri. They are considered to be the greatest earthquakes in the conterminous U.S. because they were felt and caused damage at far greater distances than any other earthquakes in US history. In contrast to California, where earthquakes are felt frequently, the damaging earthquakes that have occurred in the Eastern US are generally regarded as only historical phenomena. A fundamental problem in the Eastern US, therefore, is that the earthquake hazard is not generally considered today in land-use andmore » civic planning. This article offers perspectives on the earthquake hazard of the New Madrid seismic zone through discussions of the geology of the Mississippi Embayment, the historical earthquakes that have occurred there, the earthquake risk, and the tools that geoscientists have to study the region. The so-called earthquake hazard is defined by the characterization of the physical attributes of the geological structures that cause earthquakes, the estimation of the recurrence times of the earthquakes, their potential size, and the expected ground motions. The term earthquake risk, on the other hand, refers to aspects of the expected damage to manmade structures and to lifelines as a result of the earthquake hazard.« less

  14. Socioeconomic inequalities in injuries treated in primary care in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Zoni, Ana Clara; Domínguez-Berjón, María Felícitas; Esteban-Vasallo, María D; Velázquez-Buendía, Luis M; Blaya-Nováková, Vendula; Regidor, Enrique

    2017-03-01

    Socioeconomic inequalities in injury morbidity are an important yet understudied issue in Southern Europe. This study analysed the injuries treated in primary care in the Community of Madrid, Spain, by socioeconomic status (SES), sex and age. This was a cross-sectional study of injuries registered in the primary care electronic medical records of the Madrid Health Service in 2012. Incidence stratified by sex, SES and type of injury were calculated. Poisson regression was performed. A statistically significant upward trend in global injury incidence was observed with decreasing SES in all age groups. By type of injury, the largest differences were observed in injuries by foreign body in men aged 15-44 and in poisonings in girls under 15 years of age. Burns risk also stood out in the group of girls under 15 years of age with the lowest SES. In the group above 74 years of age, wounds, bruises and sprains had the lowest SES differences in both sexes, and the risk of fractures was lower in the most socioeconomically advantaged group. People with lower SES were at a greater risk of injury. The relationship between SES and injury varies by type of injury and age. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. GuMNet - Guadarrama Monitoring Network initiative (Madrid,Spain)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santolaria-Canales, Edmundo

    2017-04-01

    The Guadarrama Monitoring Network initiative (GuMNet) is an observational infrastructure focused on monitoring the state of the atmosphere, surface and subsurface in the Sierra de Guadarrama, 50 km NW of the city of Madrid. The network is composed of 10 automatic real time weather stations ranging from low altitude (ca. 900 m.a.s.l) to high mountain areas (ca. 2400 m.a.s.l). The GuMNet infrastructure consists in 10 real time automatic weather stations with instrumentation for observing the state of the atmosphere, surface and the subsurface at the Sierra de Guadarrama, just 50 km north-northwest of the city of Madrid. GuMNet lays the foundations of a research network on weather, soil thermodynamics, boundary layer physics, climate and ecosystem oriented impacts, air pollutions, etc. in the Sierra de Guadarrama. GuMNet represents a first step to provide a unique observational network in an environment of high protection to be used as a laboratory serving a wide range of scientific and educational interests. High altitude sites are focused on periglacial areas and lower altitude sites have emphasis on pastures. One of the low altitude sites is equipped with a 10 m high anemometric tower with a 3D sonic anemometer at the top jointly with a CO2/H2O analyzer that will allow sampling of wind profiles and H2O and CO2 eddy covariance fluxes, important for soil respiration and CO2 and water vapor exchange. A portable station has also a 3D sonic anemometer with CO2/H2O analyzer, this 4 meters-high portable tower is designed for comparison with other soil terrain fluxes. The network is connected via general packet radio service (GPRS) to the central lab in the Campus of Excellence of Moncloa and a management software has been developed to handle the operation of the infrastructure. The deployment of instrumentation and connection of sites to the network was finished in 2016. GuMNet is currently in the process of becoming operational. Conceptually, GuMNet intends to convert a

  16. Redefining Democracy for the Modern State.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rahe, Paul A.

    1992-01-01

    Draws distinctions between classical and modern concepts of democracy. Contrasts Pythagoras' dislike of factions with Madison's support for economic differentiation and religious toleration. Discusses Aristotle's and Noah Webster's ideas on addressing class tensions. Examines early U.S. theorists' suspicions of direct democracy and support for…

  17. Thinking in early modernity and the separation process between philosophy and psychology.

    PubMed

    Klempe, Sven Hroar

    2015-03-01

    One of the big questions in psychology is when and how psychology disentangled from philosophy. Usually it is referred to the laboratory Wundt established in Leipzig in 1879 as the birth for psychology as an independent science. However this separation process can also be traced in other ways, like by focusing on how the two sciences approach and understand thinking. Although thinking and language were not included in the research in this laboratory, Wundt (1897) regarded thinking as the core of psychology. As a commentary to Papanicolaou (Integr Psychol Behav Sci doi:10.1007/s12124-014-9273-3, 2014), this paper investigates the differences in how psychology and philosophy conceptualized thinking in early Western modernity. Thus one of the findings is that the separation process between the two was more or less initiated by Immanuel Kant. By defining thinking in terms of the pure reason he excluded the psychological understanding of thinking because psychology basically defined thinking in terms of ideas derived from qualia and sensation. Another finding is that psychology itself has not completely realized the differences between the philosophical and the psychological understanding of thinking by having been influenced by Kant's ideal of the pure reason. This may also explain some of the crises psychology went through during the twentieth century.

  18. [Spatial analysis of syphilis and gonorrhea infections in a Public Health Service in Madrid].

    PubMed

    Wijers, Irene G M; Sánchez Gómez, Amaya; Taveira Jiménez, Jose Antonio

    2017-06-21

    Sexually transmitted diseases are a significant public health problem. Within the Madrid Autonomous Region, the districts with the highest syphilis and gonorrhea incidences are part of the same Public Health Service (Servicio de Salud Pública del Área 7, SSPA 7). The objective of this study was to identify, by spatial analysis, clusters of syphilis and gonorrhea infections in this SSPA in Madrid. All confirmed syphilis and gonorrhea cases registered in SSPA 7 in Madrid were selected. Moran's I was calculated in order to identify the existence of spatial autocorrelation and a cluster analysis was performed. Clusters and cumulative incidences (CI) per health zone were mapped. The district with most cases was Centro (CI: 67.5 and 160.7 per 100.000 inhabitants for syphilis and gonorrhea, respectively) with the highest CI (120.0 and 322.6 per 100.000 inhabitants) in the Justicia health zone.91.6% of all syphilis cases and 89.6% of gonorrhea cases were among men who have sex with men (MSM). Moran's I was 0.54 and 0.55 (p=0.001) for syphilis and gonorrhea, respectively. For syphilis, a cluster was identified including the six health zones of the Centro district, with a relative risk (RR)of 6.66 (p=0.001). For gonorrhea, a cluster was found including the Centro district, three health zones of the Chamberí district and one of Latina (RR 5.05; p=0.001). Centro was the district with most cases of syphilis and gonorrhea and the most affected population were MSM. For both infections, clusters were found with an important overlap. By identifying the most vulnerable health zones and populations, these results can help to design public health measures for preventing sexually transmitted diseases.

  19. Evidences of Paleoearthquakes in Palaeolithic settlements within fluvial sequences of the Tagus Basin (Madrid, Central Spain).

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silva, Pablo G.; Rodríguez Pascua, M. A.; Pérez López, R.; Giner Robles, J. L.; Roquero, E.; Tapias, F.; López Recio, M.; Rus, I.; Morin, J.

    2010-05-01

    the evidences point to the occurrence of concentrated seismic activity during the OIS 5 (Last Interglaciar) interfering early human activity in the zone. Presently, the Tagus Basin is subject to moderate seismic activity with strongest seismic events not exceeding intensity VI MSK (1954 AD), but most of them related to the Jarama, Tajuña and Tagus river valleys, which are bounded by large linear escarpments carved in Miocene gypsums. These escarpments display a wide variety of brittle and ductile deformations, as well as clear geomorphological indicators of late Quaternary tectonic activity. Considering the recent ESI-2007 Scale, the reported structures indicate the occurrence of larger paleoearthquakes during the Middle-Late Pleistocene of at least local intensity VIII. This study has been supported by the DGPH de la Comunidad de Madrid, AUDEMA S.A. (Proyecto Arriaga-2009). This is a contribution of GQM-AEQUA.

  20. Education and Modernization in Greece.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kazamias, Andreas M.

    This history of Greek education traces the path of modernization from the emergence of Greece as an independent state in the early 1800's up to the present date. Educational philosophy and content are seen as pawns in the social and political struggles of those years. Detailed coverage of the historical events describes the structure of education…

  1. Facial ontogeny in Neanderthals and modern humans

    PubMed Central

    Bastir, Markus; O'Higgins, Paul; Rosas, Antonio

    2007-01-01

    One hundred and fifty years after the discovery of Neanderthals, it is held that this morphologically and genetically distinct human species does not differ from modern Homo sapiens in its craniofacial ontogenetic trajectory after the early post-natal period. This is striking given the evident morphological differences between these species, since it implies that all of the major differences are established by the early post-natal period and carried into adulthood through identical trajectories, despite the extent to which mechanical and spatial factors are thought to influence craniofacial ontogeny. Here, we present statistical and morphological analyses demonstrating that the spatio-temporal processes responsible for craniofacial ontogenetic transformations differ. The findings emphasize that pre-natal as well as post-natal ontogeny are both important in establishing the cranial morphological differences between adult Neanderthals and modern humans. PMID:17311777

  2. Modern Microbial Ecosystems are a Key to Understanding Our Biosphere's Early Evolution and its Contributions To The Atmosphere and Rock Record

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    DesMarais, David J.; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    The survival of our early biosphere depended upon efficient coordination anion- diverse microbial populations. Microbial mats exhibit a 3.46-billion-year fossil record, thus they are the oldest known ecosystems. Photosynthetic microbial mats were key because, today, sunlight powers more than 99 percent of global primary productivity. Thus photosynthetic ecosystems have affected the atmosphere profoundly and have created the most pervasive, easily-detected fossils. Photosynthetic biospheres elsewhere will be most detectible via telescopes or spacecraft. As a part of the Astrobiology Institute, our Ames Microbial Ecosystems group examines the roles played by ecological processes in the early evolution of our biosphere, as recorded in geologic fossils and in the macromolecules of living cells: (1) We are defining the microbial mat microenvironment, which was an important milieu for early evolution. (2) We are comparing mats in contrasting environments to discern strategies of adaptation and diversification, traits that were key for long-term survival. (3) We have selected sites that mimic key environmental attributes of early Earth and thereby focus upon evolutionary adaptations to long-term changes in the global environment. (4) Our studies of gas exchange contribute to better estimates of biogenic gases in Earth's early atmosphere. This group therefore directly addresses the question: How have the Earth and its biosphere influenced each other over time Our studies strengthen the systematics for interpreting the microbial fossil record and thereby enhance astrobiological studies of martian samples. Our models of biogenic gas emissions will enhance models of atmospheres that might be detected on inhabited extrasolar planets. This work therefore also addresses the question: How can other biospheres be recogniZed" Our choice of field sites helps us explore Earth's evolving early environment. For example, modern mats that occupy thermal springs and certain freshwater

  3. HISPASAT launch and early operations phases: Computation and monitoring of geostationary satellite positioning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brousse, Pascal; Desprairies, Arnaud

    1993-01-01

    Since 1974, CNES, the French National Space Agency, has been involved in the geostationary launch and early operations phases (LEOP) of moving satellites from a transfer orbit delivered by a launcher to a geostationary point. During the operations and their preparation, the Flight Dynamics Center (FDC), part of CNES LEOP facilities, is in charge of the space mechanics aspects. What is noteworthy about the Spanish HISPASAT satellite positioning is that all the operations were performed on the customer's premises, and consequently the FDC was duplicated in Madrid, Spain. The first part of this paper is the FDC presentation: its role, its hardware configuration, and its space dynamics ground control system called MERCATOR. The second part of this paper details the preparation used by the FDC for the HISPASAT mission: hardware and software installation in Madrid, integration with the other entities, and technical and operational qualifications. The third part gives results concerning flight dynamics aspects and operational activities.

  4. The Commodification of English in "Madrid, Comunidad Bilingüe": Insights from the CLIL Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Relaño Pastor, Ana María

    2015-01-01

    This article analyzes how multilingual education in the Madrid region has been addressed through the medium of Spanish/English content and language integrated learning (CLIL) bilingual programs, widely implemented in public schools of this region in the last decade. By adopting a critical interpretive perspective (Tollefson in "Language…

  5. Rapid intraplate strain accumulation in the New Madrid seismic zone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, L.; Zoback, M.D.; Segall, P.

    1992-09-01

    Remeasurement of a triangulation network in the southern part of the New Madrid seismic zone with the Global Positioning System has revealed rapid crustal strain accumulation since the 1950s. This area experienced three large (moment magnitudes greater than 8) earthquakes in 1811 to 1812. The orientation and sense of shear is consistent with right-lateral strike slip motion along a northeast-trending fault zone (as indicated by current seismicity). Detection of crustal strain accumulation may be a useful discriminant for identifying areas where potentially damaging intraplate earthquakes may occur despite the absence of large earthquakes during historic time. 34 refs.

  6. Schooling Transnational Speakers of the Societal Language: Language Variation Policy-Making in Madrid and Toronto

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schecter, Sandra R.; García Parejo, Isabel; Ambadiang, Théophile; James, Carl E.

    2014-01-01

    A cross-national comparative study in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Madrid, Spain examines educational policies and practices that target immigrant students for whom the language variety normally spoken in the host country represents a second dialect. Policy contexts and schooling environments of the two urban centres were analyzed to gain deeper…

  7. Urban enhancement of the heat waves in Madrid and its metropolitan area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fernandez, F.; Rasilla, D.

    2009-04-01

    The urban heat island (UHI) is a worldwide phenomenon that causes an increase of the temperatures in the centre of the cities. The process of urbanization has developed an intense urban heat island in Madrid, with temperature differences up to 10°C higher than the surrounding rural environment. Such differences may potentially increase the magnitude and duration of heat waves within cities, exacerbating their most negative effects over human health, particularly by night, as it deprives urban residents of the cool relief found in rural areas. In this contribution we study the long term trends on warm extreme temperature episodes in the Madrid metropolitan area, and their impact at local scale, on the onw city of Madrid. For the first task, we have compared maximum and minimum temperatures from rural (Barajas and Torrejón) and urban (El Retiro, Cuatro Vientos, Getafe) stations from 1961-2008; for the second one a local network of automated meteorological stations inside the city provided hourly data from the 2002-2004 years. Finally, the 2003 heat wave is used as an example of the spatial and temporal patterns of temperature and ozone concentrations during those extreme episodes. Our results show a regional increase in the frequency and duration of those extreme warm episodes since the end of the 80´s, although their absolute magnitude remains unchanged. The urban environment exacerbates the heat load due to the persistence of the high temperatures during the night-time hours, as it is shown by the above average number of tropical nights (> 20°C) inside the urban spaces, simultaneous to the increasing trend of maximum temperatures. Besides, the diversity of urban morphologies introduces a spatial variability on the strength of this nocturnal heat load, aggravating it in the densely urbanized areas and mitigating it in the vicinities of the green areas. The regional meteorological conditions associated to these warm episodes, characterized also by low wind speed

  8. Vending Machines of Food and Beverages and Nutritional Profile of their Products at Schools in Madrid, Spain, 2014-2015.

    PubMed

    Monroy-Parada, Doris Xiomara; Ángeles Moya, María; José Bosqued, María; López, Lázaro; Rodríguez-Artalejo, Fernando; Royo-Bordonada, Miguel Ángel

    2016-06-09

    Policies restricting access to sugary drinks and unhealthy foods in the school environment are associated with healthier consumption patterns. In 2010, Spain approved a Consensus Document regarding Food at Schools with nutritional criteria to improve the nutritional profile of foods and drinks served at schools. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of food and drink vending machines at secondary schools in Madrid, the products offered at them and their nutritional profile. Cross-sectional study of a random sample of 330 secondary schools in Madrid in 2014-2015. The characteristics of the schools and the existence of vending machines were recorded through the internet and by telephone interview. The products offered in a representative sample of 6 vending machines were identified by in situ inspection, and its nutritional composition was taken from its labeling. Finally, the nutritional profile of each product was analyzed with the United Kingdom profile model, which classifies products as healthy and less healthy. The prevalence of vending machines was 17.3%. Among the products offered, 80.5% were less healthy food and drinks (high in energy, fat or sugar and poor in nutrients) and 10.5% were healthy products. Vending machines are common at secondary schools in Madrid. Most products are vending machines are still less healthy.

  9. Rates of Surgical Site Infection in Cholecystectomy: Comparison between a University Teaching Hospital, Madrid Region, Spain, and USA Rates.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Caravaca, Gil; Gil-Yonte, Pablo; Del-Moral-Luque, Juan Antonio; Lucas, Warren Covelé; Fernández-Cebrián, José María; Durán-Poveda, Manuel

    2017-01-01

    There are many factors that can influence surgical site infections (SSI) in cholecystectomies. Incidence of cholecystectomy SSI was studied and compared with the incidence in Madrid Region, Spain, and the United States. A prospective cohort study was conducted which included all patients who underwent gallbladder surgery for 5 consecutive years, at the Alcorcón Foundation University Teaching Hospital. SSI incidence rate was calculated. An association between risk factors and SSI incidence was assessed with the relative risk (RR). Infection rates were compared to those in the Madrid Region and to the overall Spanish and United States rates using the standardized infection ratio (SIR). The study included 1532 patients. Cumulative overall SSI was 1.96% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3-2.7). The SIR was 0.89 with respect to the Madrid Region, 0.77 with respect to Spain's rate, and 1.77 with respect to the United States' rate. A laparoscopic route protected against infection (RR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.2-0.9). Razor shaving in surgical preparation, duration of surgery, and neoplasm increased SSI incidence. SSI incidence rates among cholecystectomized patients at our hospital are higher than rates in the United States. A laparoscopic route protected against SSI. Copyright: © 2017 SecretarÍa de Salud

  10. [Aggressions towards Primary Health Care Workers in Madrid, Spain, 2011-2012].

    PubMed

    Rincón-Del Toro, Teresa; Villanueva-Guerra, Adela; Rodríguez-Barrientos, Ricardo; Polentinos-Castro, Elena; Torijano-Castillo, Mª José; de Castro-Monteiro, Emilia; Escrivá de Romaní de Gregorio, Blanca; Barba Calderón, Margarita; de Frías Redondo, María Soledad; Alejo Brú, Nury; Blanco Morales, Concepción; Vázquez Pinilla, Margarita; Besora Altés, Cristina; Heras-Mosteiro, Julio; Infantes Rodríguez, Juan Ángel; Bustamante Fernández, Pilar; de Blas Salvador, Victorina

    2016-10-25

    The number of aggressions towards health care professionals has risen over the past few years. There are no previous studies in primary care covering an entire region and to all professional categories. The aim of this study was to characterize aggressions in Primary Care in the Community of Madrid. Multicenter cross-sectional study. Analysis of a Registration System that reports any type of aggression suffered by Primary Care workers, in the Community of Madrid. The study variables included sociodemographic characteristics of the aggressor and the victim, the type of aggression (verbal or physical abuse), its causes and consequences. We described median, intercuartilic range and frequencies. Logistic regression was performed calculating odds ratio and their 95% confidence intervals. 1,157 assaults were reported, 53.07% suffered by doctors. Physical assault occurred in 4.7% of the cases. The main reason was dissatisfaction with the care (36.1%). The non-medical staff showed less risk of being physically assaulted (OR: 0.38; CI95%: 0.17-0.86). The perpetrator profile was male (56.8%), aged between 31-40 (26.8%) years. Health care victim profile was female (84%), aged between 45-60 years. 10% of professionals reported some form of aggression, 5,9% of aggression were submitted to court. The risk of assault is higher in health personnel, particularly physicians. There were significant differences by gender and age, both in the profile of the aggressor and the victim.

  11. [Health vulnerability mapping in the Community of Madrid (Spain)].

    PubMed

    Ramasco-Gutiérrez, Milagros; Heras-Mosteiro, Julio; Garabato-González, Sonsoles; Aránguez-Ruiz, Emiliano; Aguirre Martín-Gil, Ramón

    The Public Health General Directorate of Madrid has developed a health vulnerability mapping methodology to assist regional social health teams in health planning, prioritisation and intervention based on a model of social determinants of health and an equity approach. This process began with the selection of areas with the worst social indicators in health vulnerability. Then, key stakeholders of the region jointly identified priority areas of intervention and developed a consensual plan of action. We present the outcomes of this experience and its connection with theoretical models of asset-based community development, health-integrated georeferencing systems and community health interventions. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  12. Mid-continent earthquake zones; lessons from New Madrid, Missouri

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mitchell, B. J.

    1991-01-01

    Many seismically active regions occur throughout the world as concentrated zones surrounded by the relatively stable crust of shields or platforms. Examples occur in central and eastern North America, northeastern Brazil, Australia, Norway, Svalbard, Greenland, and other places. Some of these zones, such as those at New Madrid, Missouri, and in the St. Lawrence Valley on the Canadian border, extend over relatively large areas and are marked by a high level of seismicity. Others, such as that near Anna Ohio, are smaller, and the level of activity is lower. Some zones are occasinoally sites for major earthquakes which, if they are in populated regions, can cause widespread destrucion and loss of life. 

  13. The Interfaces Between Historical, Paleo-, and Modern Climatology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mock, C. J.

    2011-12-01

    Historical climatology, commonly defined as the study of reconstructing past climates from documentary and early instrumental data, has routinely utilized data within the last several hundred years down to sub-daily temporal resolution prior to the advent of "modern" instrumental records beginning in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Historical climate reconstruction methods generally share similar aspects conducted in both paleoclimate reconstruction and modern climatology, given the need to quantify, calibrate, and conduct careful data quality assessments. Although some studies have integrated historical climatic studies with other high resolution paleoclimatic proxies, very few efforts have integrated historical data with modern "systematic" climate networks to further examine spatial and temporal patterns of climate variability. This presentation describes historical climate examples of how such data can be integrated within modern climate timescales, including examples of documentary data on tropical cyclones from the Western Pacific and Atlantic Basins, colonial records from Belize and Constantinople, ship logbooks in the Western Arctic, plantation diaries from the American Southeast, and newspaper data from the Fiji Islands and Bermuda. Some results include a unique wet period in Belize and active tropical cyclone periods in the Western and South Pacific in the early 20th century - both are not reflected in conventional modern climate datasets. Documentary data examples demonstrate high feasibility in further understanding extreme weather events at daily timeframes such as false spring/killing frost episodes and hydrological extremes in southeastern North America. Recent unique efforts also involve community participation, secondary education, and web- based volunteer efforts to digitize and archive historical weather and climate information.

  14. Exposure to well water and pesticides in Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in the Madrid area

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jimenez-Jimenez, F.J.; Mateo, D.; Gimenez-Roldan, S.

    1992-01-01

    Past exposure to well water and pesticides was assessed in 128 unselected Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and 256 age and sex-matched controls. All were residents in a defined urban area of Madrid, Spain. In keeping with other reports, we found that exposure to well water might be a factor associated with the likelihood of developing PD, though only prolonged exposures of 30 years or longer were significantly different between PD and controls (p less than 0.02). In contrast, past exposure to pesticides did not appear to be associated with an increased risk of developing PD. Prolonged well water drinking antedatingmore » the development of PD was not associated with early onset of the disease, nor did such cases progress to greater disability. Future case-control studies addressing prolonged well water consumption as a risk factor in PD should look for differences in the content of substances other than pesticides in the water as determined by the source of water to which patients may have been specifically exposed.« less

  15. [Equity and nutritional inequalityin two school centers in Madrid (Spain)].

    PubMed

    Martín, Adela; Cervero, Mercedes; González Rodríguez, Alicia; Molinero, A; Magro, M Carmen; Partearroyo, Teresa

    2014-01-01

    Health inequality is the difference in incidence, prevalence, mortality, volume of diseases and other adverse sanitary conditions that exist between groups of specific populations. To analyze the possible nutritional inequalities between two educational centers of Madrid to promote healthy habits, to anticipate the obesity and the diseases associated in the children population. Observational and transverse study on a sample of 118 students (14 years old/3ºESO) of two educational centers of different socioeconomic level. They underwent a survey on lifestyle, anthropometric examinations and measurement of blood pressure and physical activity. In both centers normal weight prevails in both sexes without differences as for the percentage of pupils that are overweight. Major obesity is registered in the public school more than in the private school. The correlation stands out between the percentiles body mass index (BMI) and the blood pressure (BP) (to major BMI, major B.P). The food pattern is similarly independent from the socioeconomic stratum. The fifth part of the pupils (principally women) does not practice any type of physical activity in their free time and they dedicate almost 2 daily hours to sedentary activities. As a whole, the two educational centers are in the average weight range, even though a tendency has been found in the public school that there is double the rate of obesity. These results can be attributed to the small sample size or that the sociocultural inequality to nutritional level is not so accentuated in the city of Madrid. Prevention and promotion of healthy habits is the way of combating against overweight, juvenile obesity, cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular diseases in the adult age.

  16. Reconciling short recurrence intervals with minor deformation in the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schweig, E.S.; Ellis, M.A.

    1994-01-01

    At least three great earthquakes occurred in the New Madrid seismic zone in 1811 and 1812. Estimates of present-day strain rates suggest that such events may have a repeat time of 1000 years or less. Paleoseismological data also indicate that earthquakes large enough to cause soil liquefaction have occurred several times in the past 5000 years. However, pervasive crustal deformation expected from such a high frequency of large earthquakes is not observed. This suggests that the seismic zone is a young feature, possibly as young as several tens of thousands of years old and no more than a few million years old.At least three great earthquakes occurred in the New Madrid seismic zone in 1811 and 1812. Estimates of present-day strain rates suggest that such events may have a repeat time of 1000 years or less. Paleoseismological data also indicate that earthquakes large enough to cause soil liquefaction have occurred several times in the past 5000 years. However, pervasive crustal deformation expected from such a high frequency of large earthquakes is not observed. This suggests that the seismic zone is a young feature, possibly as young as several tens of thousands of years old and no more than a few million years old.

  17. Early Childhood Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elkind, David

    In five sections, this paper explores dimensions of early childhood education: schooling generally construed as nonparental instruction in knowledge, values, and skills. Section 1 looks at some of the factors which have contributed to the rapid growth of early childhood education in modern times. Section 2 briefly highlights the contributions of…

  18. Active euthanasia in pre-modern society, 1500-1800: learned debates and popular practices.

    PubMed

    Stolberg, Michael

    2007-08-01

    Historians of medical ethics have found that active euthanasia, in the sense of intentionally hastening the death of terminally-ill patients, was considered unacceptable in the Christian West before the 1870s. This paper presents a range of early modern texts on the issue which reflect a learned awareness of practices designed to shorten the lives of dying patients which were widely accepted among the lay public. Depriving the dying abruptly of their head-rest or placing them flat on the cold floor may strike us as merely symbolic today, but early moderns associated such measures with very concrete and immediate effects. In this sense, the intentional hastening of death in agonising patients had an accepted place in pre-modern popular culture. These practices must, however, be put into their proper context. Death was perceived more as a transition to the after-life and contemporary notions of dying could make even outright suffocation appear as an act of compassion which merely helped the soul depart from the body at the divinely ordained hour of death. The paper concludes with a brief comparison of early modern arguments with those of today.

  19. Escherichia Coli--Key to Modern Genetics.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bregegere, Francois

    1982-01-01

    Mid-nineteenth century work by Mendel on plant hybrids and by Pasteur on fermentation gave birth by way of bacterial genetics to modern-day molecular biology. The bacterium Escherichia Coli has occupied a key position in genetic studies leading from early gene identification with DNA to current genetic engineering using recombinant DNA technology.…

  20. Estimated prevalence of dementia based on analysis of drug databases in the Region of Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    de Hoyos-Alonso, M C; Bonis, J; Tapias-Merino, E; Castell, M V; Otero, A

    2016-01-01

    The progressive rise in dementia prevalence increases the need for rapid methods that complement population-based prevalence studies. To estimate the prevalence of dementia in the population aged 65 and older based on use of cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine. Descriptive study of use and prescription of cholinesterase inhibitors and/or memantine in 2011 according to 2 databases: Farm@drid (pharmacy billing records for the Region of Madrid) and BIFAP (database for pharmacoepidemiology research in primary care, with diagnosis and prescription records). We tested the comparability of drug use results from each database using the chi-square test and prevalence ratios. The prevalence of dementia in Madrid was estimated based on the dose per 100 inhabitants/day, adjusting the result for data obtained from BIFAP on combination treatment in the general population (0.37%) and the percentage of dementia patients undergoing treatment (41.13%). Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine were taken by 2.08% and 0.72% of Madrid residents aged 65 and older was respectively. Both databases displayed similar results for use of these drugs. The estimated prevalence of dementia in individuals aged 65 and older is 5.91% (95% CI%, 5.85-5.95) (52 287 people), and it is higher in women (7.16%) than in men (4.00%). The estimated prevalence of dementia is similar to that found in population-based studies. Analysing consumption of specific dementia drugs can be a reliable and inexpensive means of updating prevalence data periodically and helping rationalise healthcare resources. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  1. [Angel Pulido Martín (1878-1970). 4th Chief of the Urology Service of the Provincial Hospital of Madrid].

    PubMed

    Sáiz Carrero, Ataúlfo

    2003-05-01

    To review the biography and scientific contributions of Dr. Angel Pulido Martin, fourth chairman of the Department of Urology at the Hospital Provincial of Madrid, and formerly at the Urology Clinic at the San Juan de Dios Hospital of Madrid. In addition, to show a panoramic view on how doctors who obtained scholarships to study outside Spain were trained in a specialty at the beginning of the 20th century. We reviewed memoirs books from Dr. Pulido Martin ("Medical letters", "Dr. Pulido and his time", and "Memoirs of a doctor"), his Ph.D. thesis and other works. We also reviewed biographic data obtained from his contemporaries in different publications. We report his experiences as a student in the specialities of Urology and Gynecology, since he first thought about taking this last one. Main european urologic and gynecologic centers of that time are represented, as well as some of the main characters in these specialties. We appreciate his great working spirit, which was inculcated into him by his father Dr. Pulido Fernandez, his enterprising desire, and the great professional he was, creating departments of urology which were school and model for many urologists of his time. A sincere clinician, Dr. Pulido Martin liked accuracy and daily self-improvement. He also was exceptional for his kindness treating patients and disciples. His publications on urologic topics were numerous; he also was fluent and entertaining as a non medical writer. He was an outstanding urologist in the early 20th century; he was member of the committee which elaborated the statutes of the Spanish Society of Urology, in which he was President for 11 years. He was also one of the founding members of the International Society of Urology and delegate of its Spanish chapter. He was official lecturer in several meetings, and also member of the Spanish Academy of Medicine and Surgery.

  2. The Making of a Feminist: Spaces of Self-Formation among Latina Immigrant Activists in Madrid

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dyrness, Andrea

    2016-01-01

    This article explores the role and meaning of auto-formación (self-formation) in the making of feminist, activist identities among Latin American activist women in Madrid, Spain. I argue that auto-formación, a collective process of self-recovery and consciousness-raising that is shared by third world feminists around the world, allows migrant…

  3. Environmental Factors as Key Determinants for Visceral Leishmaniasis in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients, Madrid, Spain

    PubMed Central

    López-Medrano, Francisco; Fernández-Ruiz, Mario; Carrillo, Eugenia; Moreno, Javier; García-Reyne, Ana; Pérez-Ayala, Ana; Rodríguez-Ferrero, María Luisa; Lumbreras, Carlos; San-Juan, Rafael; Alvar, Jorge; Aguado, José María

    2017-01-01

    During a visceral leishmaniasis outbreak in an area of Madrid, Spain, the incidence of disease among solid organ transplant recipients was 10.3% (7/68). Being a black person from sub-Saharan Africa, undergoing transplantation during the outbreak, and residing <1,000 m from the epidemic focus were risk factors for posttransplant visceral leishmaniasis. PMID:28628447

  4. Terrorism in Two Cultures: Stress and Growth Following September 11 and the Madrid Train Bombings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steger, Michael F.; Frazier, Patricia A.; Zacchanini, Jose Luis

    2008-01-01

    In this study, we compared the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth following the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and the March 11, 2004, Madrid, Spain train bombings. We also examined meaning in life as a correlate of posttrauma outcomes. A sample of midwestern college students (N = 188)…

  5. [The Madrid autonomous community epidemiological bulletin. A survey on its dissemination and opinion thereof on among primary care physicians for the year 2000].

    PubMed

    Fernández Rodríguez, Silvia; Zorrilla Torras, Belén; Ramírez Fernández, Rosa; Alvarez Castillo, M Carmen; López-Gay Lucio, Dulce; Ibáñez Martín, Cosuelo; Bueno Vallejos, Rafael

    2002-01-01

    The Autonomous Community of Madrid Epidemiological Bulletin is the main communications link between epidemiological monitoring system and health care professionals. The purpose of this study is that of ascertaining the dissemination and opinion of this Autonomous Community of Madrid Epidemiological Bulletin among primary care physicians for the purpose of adapting this publication to its readers' interests. A telephone survey among primary care physicians in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, asking how often they read the Bulletin, the interest and usefulness of the information included in it. The sample size was estimated at 346 physicians. A two-stage sampling process was carried out-by cluster sampling in the first stage, randomly selecting 125 health care centers and 2.7 physicians per center, 17% being primary care team coordinators. A comparison is made of the results among physicians and coordinators by means of the Chi-square and Fisher's Exact Test method, with Epi-Info v.6. A total of 305 surveys were conducted (245 physicians and 60 coordinators). There was an awareness of the existence of the Autonomous Community of Madrid Epidemiological Bulletin on the part of 91.5% (CI 95%: 88.1-94.8), and 27.2% (CI 95%: 21.9-32.5) were familiar with more than 50% of the last issues published. A total of 92.4% (CI 95%: 89.4-95.8) considered the Bulletin to be interesting or highly interesting, grading its usefulness an average of 3.5 on a maximum scale of 5. Of the permanent sections, the most highly-valued was Epidemic Outbreaks, those reports related to meningococcal infection, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS being the most highly-valued. The Autonomous Community of Madrid Epidemiological Bulletin is a publication which, although not widely-known by the primary care physicians in the Community, is well-valued when it is read, thus being a useful feedback tool within the Epidemiological Monitoring System.

  6. Length of residence and risk of eating disorders in immigrant adolescents living in madrid. The AFINOS study.

    PubMed

    Esteban-Gonzalo, Laura; Veiga, Oscar L; Gómez-Martínez, Sonia; Veses, Ana M; Regidor, Enrique; Martínez, David; Marcos, Ascensión; Calle, María E

    2014-05-01

    This study was designed to compare the risk of having an eating disorder (ED) among immigrant and native adolescents living in Madrid and to determine the possible influence of length of residence (LOR) on the risk of the immigrants. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from november 2007 to february 2008 in a representative sample of adolescents aged 13 to 17 years (n = 2,077, 1,052 girls) living in the Madrid region. Data were collected using the Spanish version of the SCOFF Eating Disorders Questionnaire. Further factors considered were country of birth, LOR and several biological, sociodemographic, lifestyle and health-related variables. According to the three logistic regression models constructed, female immigrant adolescents on the whole showed a greater ED risk (OR = 1.95; 95% CI 1.29- 2.95; p = 0.001) than native adolescents. Moreover, the likelihood of ED was higher among female immigrants living in Spain for <6 years than for Spanish native females (OR = 2.44; 95% CI 1.42-4.18; p = 0.001), while no significant differences were found when female natives were compared with female immigrants living in this country for ≥ 6 years. Similarly, no differences were observed in the ED risk recorded for male native and immigrant adolescents, both as a whole and by length of residence in Spain. The immigrant status and the length of Spanish residence are relevant factors in regard to the ED risk in adolescents living in Madrid. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  7. Promoting Entrepreneurial Culture in the University: The Institutional Collaborative Model at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Pablo, Isidro; Alfaro, Fernando; Rodriguez, Miriam; Valdes, Esperanza

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a case of collaboration between different types of public services and the private sector for the promotion of an entrepreneurial culture. This collaboration is achieved by means of a centre established and developed by the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, the Centro de Iniciativas Emprendedoras (the Centre for Entrepreneurial…

  8. Thinking with the saint: the miracle of Saint Januarius of Naples and science in early modern Europe.

    PubMed

    de Ceglia, Francesco Paolo

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the way in which early modem science questioned and indirectly influenced (while being in its turn influenced by) the conceptualization of the liquefaction of the blood of Saint Januarius, a phenomenon that has been taking place at regular intervals in Naples since the late Middle Ages. In the seventeenth century, a debate arose that divided Europe between supporters of a theory of divine intervention and believers in the occult properties of the blood. These two theoretical options reflected two different perspectives on the relationship between the natural and the supernatural. While in the seventeenth century, the emphasis was placed on the predictable periodicity of the miraculous event of liquefaction as a manifestation of God in his role as a divine regulator, in the eighteenth century the event came to be described as capricious and unpredictable, in an attempt to differentiate miracles from the workings of nature, which were deemed to be normative. The miracle of the blood of Saint Januarius thus provides a window through which we can catch a glimpse of how the natural order was perceived in early modern Europe at a time when the Continent was culturally fragmented into north and south, Protestantism and Catholicism, learned and ignorant.

  9. Short term effect of air pollution, noise and heat waves on preterm births in Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Arroyo, Virginia; Díaz, Julio; Ortiz, Cristina; Carmona, Rocío; Sáez, Marc; Linares, Cristina

    2016-02-01

    Preterm birth (PTB) refers to delivery before 37 weeks of gestation and represents the leading cause of early-life mortality and morbidity in developed countries. PTB can lead to serious infant health outcomes. The etiology of PTB remains uncertain, but epidemiologic studies have consistently shown elevated risks with different environmental variables as traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). The aim of the study was to evaluate with time series methodology the short-term effect of air pollutants, noise levels and ambient temperature on the number of births and preterm births occurred in Madrid City during the 2001-2009 period. A time-series analysis was performed to assess the short term impact of daily mean concentrations (µg/m(3)) of PM2.5 and PM10, O3 and NO2. Measurements of Acoustic Pollution in dB(A) analyzed were: Leqd, equivalent diurnal noise level and Leqn, equivalent nocturnal noise level. Maximum and Minimum daily temperature (°C), mean Humidity in the air (%) and Atmospheric Pressure (HPa), were included too. Linear trends, seasonality, as well as the autoregressive nature of the series itself were controlled. We added as covariate the day of the week too. Autoregressive over-dispersed Poisson regression models were performed and the environmental variables were included with short-term lags (from 0 to 7 days) in reference to the date of birth. Firstly, simple models for the total number of births and preterm births were done separately. In a second stage, a model for total births adjusted for preterm births was performed. A total of 298,705 births were analyzed. The results of the final models were expressed in relative risks (RRs) for interquartile increase. We observed evidence of a short term effect at Lag 0, for the following environmental variables analyzed, PM2.5 (RR: 1.020; 95% CI:(1.008 1.032)) and O3 (RR: 1.012; 95% CI:(1.002 1.022)) concentrations and Leqd (RR: 1.139; 95% CI:( (1.124 1.154)) for the total number of births, and besides

  10. New Madrid seismotectonic study. Activities during fiscal year 1977. [Regional study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buschbach, T.C.

    1977-10-01

    Approximately 30 highly qualified scientists are participating in a coordinated geological, geophysical, and seismological study of the area within a 200-mile radius of New Madrid, Missouri. The study is designed to define the structural setting and tectonic history of the area in order to realistically evaluate earthquake risks in the siting of nuclear facilities. The region studied includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri. An inventory of existing data and supporting research in the area was prepared. New information from aeromagnetic, ground magnetic, and gravity surveys has been obtained, and the data are currently being processed.

  11. Spanish Commerce in the Liberal Arts Curriculum: The Option of the Certificate and Diploma from Madrid.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Misiego, Micaela

    The Spanish commerce course at Douglass College and the development of the Certificate and Diploma from Madrid option are described. Spanish commerce is offered to students who have a good knowledge of written and spoken Spanish. Students select a business around which their course assignments will revolve. The course covers business practices in…

  12. [Strategies of medical self-authorization in early modern medicine: the example of Volcher Coiter (1534-1576)].

    PubMed

    Gross, Dominik; Steinmetzer, Jan

    2005-01-01

    Based on the example of Volcher Coiter--a town physician at Nuremberg and one of the leading anatomists in early modern medicine--, this essay points out that the authoritative status of contemporary physicians mainly was predicated on an interplay of self-fashioning and outside perception. It provides ample evidence that Coiter made use of several characteristic rhetorical and discourse-related strategies of self-authorisation such as the participation in social networks, a highly convincing technique of self-fashioning by emphasizing particular erudition, the presentation of academic medicine as a science authorised by god and the concurrent devaluation of non-academic healers. Furthermore, graphic and visual strategies of self-authorisation could be ascertained: Coiter took care for a premium typography of his books. He also used his talent as a graphic artist in his books to visualise his medical concepts. Moreover, the so-called 'Nuremberg Portrait' of Coiter served to illustrate his outstanding authority.

  13. ‘Nature Concocts & Expels’: The Agents and Processes of Recovery from Disease in Early Modern England

    PubMed Central

    Newton, Hannah

    2015-01-01

    The ‘golden saying’ in early modern medicine was ‘Nature is the healer of disease’. This article uncovers the meaning and significance of this forgotten axiom by investigating perceptions of the agents and physiological processes of recovery from illness in England, c.1580–1720. Drawing on sources such as medical texts and diaries, it shows that doctors and laypeople attributed recovery to three agents—God, Nature and the practitioner. While scholars are familiar with the roles of providence and medicine, the vital agency of Nature has been overlooked. In theory, the agents operated in a hierarchy: Nature was ‘God's instrument’, and the physician, ‘Nature's servant’; but in practice the power balance was more ambivalent. Nature was depicted both as a housewife who cooked and cleaned the humours, and as a warrior who defeated the disease. Through exploring these complex dynamics, the article sheds fresh light on concepts of gender, disease and bodies. PMID:26217069

  14. "Secrets of the female sex": Jane Sharp, the reproductive female body, and early modern midwifery manuals.

    PubMed

    Hobby, E

    2001-01-01

    Early modern midwifery manuals in Britain were usually the work of men. These books were a significant source of information about the body to the wider reading public: many sold well, and their prefatory materials include injunctions to readers not to make improper use of them. What is particularly interesting about Jane Sharp's Midwives Book (1671) is that it both provides a compendium of current beliefs concerning reproduction, and indicates the author's ironic perception of the misogyny that underpinned accepted ideas about the female reproductive body. This article gives key examples of Sharp's interventions, and also refers to Thomas Bartholin, Bartholinus Anatomy (1688); Richard Bunworth, The Doctresse (1656); Hugh Chamberlen, The Accomplisht Midwife (1673); The Compleat Midwifes Practice (1656); Helkiah Crooke, Microcosmographia (1615); Nicholas Culpeper, A Directory for Midwives (1651); Jacques Guillemeau, Childbirth (1612); Jean Riolan, A Sure Guide (1657); Daniel Sennert, Practical Physick (1664); William Sermon, The Ladies Companion (1671); and Percival Willughby, Observations in Midwifery (c. 1675).

  15. [Typologies of Madrid's citizens (Spain) at the end-of-life: cluster analysis].

    PubMed

    Ortiz-Gonçalves, Belén; Perea-Pérez, Bernardo; Labajo González, Elena; Albarrán Juan, Elena; Santiago-Sáez, Andrés

    2018-03-06

    To establish typologies within Madrid's citizens (Spain) with regard to end-of-life by cluster analysis. The SPAD 8 programme was implemented in a sample from a health care centre in the autonomous region of Madrid (Spain). A multiple correspondence analysis technique was used, followed by a cluster analysis to create a dendrogram. A cross-sectional study was made beforehand with the results of the questionnaire. Five clusters stand out. Cluster 1: a group who preferred not to answer numerous questions (5%). Cluster 2: in favour of receiving palliative care and euthanasia (40%). Cluster 3: would oppose assisted suicide and would not ask for spiritual assistance (15%). Cluster 4: would like to receive palliative care and assisted suicide (16%). Cluster 5: would oppose assisted suicide and would ask for spiritual assistance (24%). The following four clusters stood out. Clusters 2 and 4 would like to receive palliative care, euthanasia (2) and assisted suicide (4). Clusters 4 and 5 regularly practiced their faith and their family members did not receive palliative care. Clusters 3 and 5 would be opposed to euthanasia and assisted suicide in particular. Clusters 2, 4 and 5 had not completed an advance directive document (2, 4 and 5). Clusters 2 and 3 seldom practiced their faith. This study could be taken into consideration to improve the quality of end-of-life care choices. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  16. Ozone attributed to Madrid and Barcelona on-road transport emissions: Characterization of plume dynamics over the Iberian Peninsula.

    PubMed

    Valverde, Víctor; Pay, María T; Baldasano, José M

    2016-02-01

    Despite the ~30% emission decrease of the main tropospheric ozone (O3) precursors in Spain in the 2001-2012 period, the O3 concentration in summer still exceeds the target value for the protection of the human health of the Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC). On-road transport is the main anthropogenic contributor to O3 precursor's emissions in Madrid and Barcelona metropolitan areas (65%/59% of NOx, 40%/33% of NMVOC, and 67%/85% of CO emissions) but this contribution to O3 formation is not well understood. The present work aims at increasing the understanding on the role of on-road transport emissions from main Spanish urban areas in O3 dynamics over Spain under typical circulation types. For that purpose, the Integrated Source Apportionment Method is used within the CALIOPE modelling system (WRF/CMAQ/HERMES/BSC-DREAM8b). The results indicate that the daily maximum O3 concentration attributed to the on-road transport emissions from Madrid (O3T-MAD) and Barcelona metropolitan areas (O3T-BCN) contribute up to 24% and 8% to total O3 concentration, respectively, within an area of influence of 200 km. The contribution of O3T-MAD and O3T-BCN is particularly significant (up to 80-100 μg m(-3) in an hour) to the O3 concentration peak during the central hours of the day in the high O3 concentration season (April-September). The maximum O3T-MAD concentration is calculated within the metropolitan area of Madrid but the plume, channelled by the Tajo and the Henares valleys, affects large areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The O3T-BCN plume is more driven by sea-land and mountain-valley breezes than by the synoptic advection and its maximum concentration is usually registered over the Mediterranean Sea. The O3 concentration transported long-range to the Iberian Peninsula is significant in the area of influence of Madrid and Barcelona, being maxima under cold (70-96%) and minima in warm circulation types (35-70%). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Interactions of neanderthals and modern humans: what can be inferred from mitochondrial DNA?

    PubMed

    Cyran, Krzysztof A; Kimmel, Marek

    2005-07-01

    This paper reviews the state-of-the-art knowledge concerning the relationship between Neanderthals and Upper Paleolithic modern humans. The branching-process method is applied to infer the upper limit of hypothetical Neanderthal admixture, consistent with the evidence based on mitochon- drial DNA sequences of contemporary modern humans, as well as Neanderthal and early modern European H. sapiens fossils. As a result, a maximum value of 15% admixture is obtained. This estimate is discussed in the context of its consequences for the two competing theories of modern human origin.

  18. Genetic evidence and the modern human origins debate.

    PubMed

    Relethford, J H

    2008-06-01

    A continued debate in anthropology concerns the evolutionary origin of 'anatomically modern humans' (Homo sapiens sapiens). Different models have been proposed to examine the related questions of (1) where and when anatomically modern humans first appeared and (2) the genetic and evolutionary relationship between modern humans and earlier human populations. Genetic data have been increasingly used to address these questions. Genetic data on living human populations have been used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the human species by considering how global patterns of human variation could be produced given different evolutionary scenarios. Of particular interest are gene trees that reconstruct the time and place of the most recent common ancestor of humanity for a given haplotype and the analysis of regional differences in genetic diversity. Ancient DNA has also allowed a direct assessment of genetic variation in European Neandertals. Together with the fossil record, genetic data provide insight into the origin of modern humans. The evidence points to an African origin of modern humans dating back to 200,000 years followed by later expansions of moderns out of Africa across the Old World. What is less clear is what happened when these early modern humans met preexisting 'archaic human' populations outside of Africa. At present, it is difficult to distinguish between a model of total genetic replacement and a model that includes some degree of genetic mixture.

  19. The earliest unequivocally modern humans in southern China.

    PubMed

    Liu, Wu; Martinón-Torres, María; Cai, Yan-jun; Xing, Song; Tong, Hao-wen; Pei, Shu-wen; Sier, Mark Jan; Wu, Xiao-hong; Edwards, R Lawrence; Cheng, Hai; Li, Yi-yuan; Yang, Xiong-xin; de Castro, José María Bermúdez; Wu, Xiu-jie

    2015-10-29

    The hominin record from southern Asia for the early Late Pleistocene epoch is scarce. Well-dated and well-preserved fossils older than ∼45,000 years that can be unequivocally attributed to Homo sapiens are lacking. Here we present evidence from the newly excavated Fuyan Cave in Daoxian (southern China). This site has provided 47 human teeth dated to more than 80,000 years old, and with an inferred maximum age of 120,000 years. The morphological and metric assessment of this sample supports its unequivocal assignment to H. sapiens. The Daoxian sample is more derived than any other anatomically modern humans, resembling middle-to-late Late Pleistocene specimens and even contemporary humans. Our study shows that fully modern morphologies were present in southern China 30,000-70,000 years earlier than in the Levant and Europe. Our data fill a chronological and geographical gap that is relevant for understanding when H. sapiens first appeared in southern Asia. The Daoxian teeth also support the hypothesis that during the same period, southern China was inhabited by more derived populations than central and northern China. This evidence is important for the study of dispersal routes of modern humans. Finally, our results are relevant to exploring the reasons for the relatively late entry of H. sapiens into Europe. Some studies have investigated how the competition with H. sapiens may have caused Neanderthals' extinction (see ref. 8 and references therein). Notably, although fully modern humans were already present in southern China at least as early as ∼80,000 years ago, there is no evidence that they entered Europe before ∼45,000 years ago. This could indicate that H. neanderthalensis was indeed an additional ecological barrier for modern humans, who could only enter Europe when the demise of Neanderthals had already started.

  20. The pattern of lip cancer occurrence over the 1990-2011 period in public hospitals in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Domínguez-Gordillo, Adelaida; Esparza-Gómez, Germán; García-Jiménez, Belén; Cerero-Lapiedra, Rocío; Casado-Gómez, Inmaculada; Romero-Lastra, Patricia; Warnakulasuriya, Saman

    2016-03-01

    Some regions of Spain along with Canada and Australia have the highest rates of lip cancer in the world. The objective of this study was to examine the trends in the pattern of occurrence of lip cancer in Madrid, Spain. Data were extracted from the Central Tumour Registry of Madrid, between 1990 and 2011. Variables examined were age, sex, topographic and morphological location and tumour histology. Two consecutive periods, 1990-2001 and 2002-2011, were studied by descriptive and analytical methods, and the data from the two periods were statistically compared. A total of 881 cases were registered during the period 1990-2011. Comparing data between the two periods (1990-2001 and 2002-2011), subtle variations in age, histology and location were noted. Gender ratios remained constant. The mean age increased from 66.3 to 69.7 years (P < 0.05). In the second period, the histological distribution showed an increase in frequency of basal cell carcinoma, from 2.1% to 4.7%, while the frequency of squamous cell carcinomas remained constant. Basal cell carcinoma no longer predominantly occurred in women, decreasing from 80% to 21.1% (P < 0.001). The distribution by gender of squamous cell carcinoma had become more equal due an increase in its frequency in women (P < 0.001). Frequency of tumours on lip mucosa and commissure had increased between the two periods (P < 0.004). The pattern of lip cancer reported to Public Hospitals of Madrid is changing: declining rates are noted since 2001-02. However, it is necessary to monitor these data to confirm the observed trends in future years. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. [Academy idea and Curiositas as leitmotif of the early modern Leopoldina].

    PubMed

    Boehm, Laetitia

    2008-01-01

    , it deals with aspects of privilege law, regarding the development of new kinds of higher learning institutions and university politics in the imperial city in the confessional era ("Semi-Universities"/"Academies" Strassburg, Nuremberg-Altdorf). This is followed by a thematic balancing.--Chapter III. Curiositas as an Early Modern Leitmotif of Natural Science Academies refers first to the multivalent popular usage of the fashionable and borrowed German word "Kuriosität" [curiosity] during the Enlightenment, then inquires about the word's original definitions in ancient and medieval scholarly traditions. In the age of humanist source study and expeditions into "new worlds", the concept of curiositas as an (ethically ambivalent) "desire for knowledge" was revitalized; this is exemplified by two types of sources: the report of the Orient and Brazil explorer André Thevet and the literarily virulent figure (around 1600) of knowledge-thirsty Faust. A reexamination of the academy's foundational documents, in conjunction with the peregrinatio academica of Schweinfurt doctors to Italy, confirms the old question, now newly posed, about the methodological and programmatic signal of the curiositas device. The self-reflection of the naturae-curiosi and their focus on observational development and natural-historical classifications in the area of "materia medica" show--besides other advances in scholarship in the early 17th century--clear correlation with the "phenomenology of modern thought" that is so often discussed today. However, there must be an evolutionary and innovative differentiation from what would later be called "natural science" disciplines (like biology, zoology, mineralogy, chemistry), as opposed to an all-inclusively defined "scientific revolution", which pertains to astronomical and mathematical ways of thinking, as well as new insights in the physical-instrumental field.--Chapter IV. The Urban Medical Profession Between Scholarly Medicine and Practice applies

  2. CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF DETERMINANTS OF HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS: LATIN-AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS TO MADRID AND THEIR SPANISH NEIGHBORS

    PubMed Central

    Pérez-Alcalá, Irene; Sievert, Lynnette Leidy; Obermeyer, Carla Makhlouf; Reher, David Sven

    2013-01-01

    Objective This study applies a biocultural perspective to better understand the determinants of hot flashes and night sweats within immigrant and local populations in Madrid, Spain. Methods A combined sample of 575 women from Madrid, aged 45 to 55, was drawn from two studies. The Spanish sample (n=274) participated in the Decisions at Menopause Study (DAMES) in 2000–2002. The Latin-American sample (n=301) was drawn from immigrants to Madrid in 2010–2011. Chi square analyses and logistic regression models were carried out among the combined controlling by origin of provenance. Results Forty four percent of the women reported hot flashes, 36% reported night sweats and 26% both symptoms. Compared to Spanish women, Latin-American women were less likely to report hot flashes (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.4–0.9) after controlling for demographic variables and menopausal status. The same was not found for night sweats and for both symptoms combined. Determinants of hot flashes differed from determinants of night sweats. Conclusions Because determinants differed, hot flashes and night sweats should be queried and analyzed separately. Latin-American women were less likely to report hot flashes, but not night sweats or both symptoms combined. More research is needed to clarify the differences in reported hot flashes as the lesser report among immigrants could have been a cultural rather than a biological phenomenon. PMID:23571525

  3. The early modern kidney--nephrology in and about the nineteenth century. Part 1.

    PubMed

    Eknoyan, Garabed

    2013-01-01

    The 19th century was a period of momentous scientific discoveries, technological achievements, and societal changes. A beneficiary of these revolutionary upheavals was medical empiricism that supplanted the rationalism of the past giving rise to early modern scientific medicine. Continued reliance on sensory data now magnified by technical advances generated new medical information that could be quantified with increasing precision, verified by repeated experimentation, and validated by statistical analysis. The institutionalization and integration of these methodologies into medical education were a defining step that assured their progress and perpetuation. Major advances were made in the nosography of diseases of the kidney, notably that of the diagnosis of progressive kidney disease from the presence of albuminuria by Richard Bright (1789-1858); and of renal structure and function, notably the demonstration of the continuity of the glomerular capsule with the tubular basement membrane by William Bowman (1816-1892), and the arguments for hemodynamic physical forces mediated glomerular filtration by Carl Ludwig (1816-1895) and for active tubular transport by Rudolf Heidenhain (1834-1897). Improvements in microscopy and tissue processing were instrumental in describing the cellular ultrastructure of the glomerulus and tubular segments, but their integrated function remained to be elucidated. The kidney continued to be considered a tubular secretory organ and its pathology attributed to injury of the interstitium (interstitial nephritis) or tubules (parenchymatous nephritis). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. [Implementation of a patient safety strategy in primary care of the Community of Madrid].

    PubMed

    Cañada Dorado, A; Drake Canela, M; Olivera Cañadas, G; Mateos Rodilla, J; Mediavilla Herrera, I; Miquel Gómez, A

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes the implementation of a patient safety strategy in primary care within the new organizational and functional structure that was created in October 2010 to cover the single primary health care area of the Community of Madrid. The results obtained in Patient Safety after the implementation of this new model over the first two years of its development are also presented. Copyright © 2014 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  5. American Modern Design for a New Age.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Mark M.

    2000-01-01

    Focuses on the exhibition titled "American Modern, 1925-1940: Design for a New Age" that documents the efforts and achievements of the United States in the area of design arts. States that the exhibition features more than 150 objects, including furniture, posters, and radios, by leading designers of the early and mid century. (CMK)

  6. Population cardiovascular health and urban environments: the Heart Healthy Hoods exploratory study in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Bilal, Usama; Díez, Julia; Alfayate, Silvia; Gullón, Pedro; Del Cura, Isabel; Escobar, Francisco; Sandín, María; Franco, Manuel

    2016-08-22

    Our aim is to conduct an exploratory study to provide an in-depth characterization of a neighborhood's social and physical environment in relation to cardiovascular health. A mixed-methods approach was used to better understand the food, alcohol, tobacco and physical activity domains of the urban environment. We conducted this study in an area of 16,000 residents in Madrid (Spain). We obtained cardiovascular health and risk factors data from all residents aged 45 and above using Electronic Health Records from the Madrid Primary Health Care System. We used several quantitative audit tools to assess: the type and location of food outlets and healthy food availability; tobacco and alcohol points of sale; walkability of all streets and use of parks and public spaces. We also conducted 11 qualitative interviews with key informants to help understanding the relationships between urban environment and cardiovascular behaviors. We integrated quantitative and qualitative data following a mixed-methods merging approach. Electronic Health Records of the entire population of the area showed similar prevalence of risk factors compared to the rest of Madrid/Spain (prevalence of diabetes: 12 %, hypertension: 34 %, dyslipidemia: 32 %, smoking: 10 %, obesity: 20 %). The food environment was very dense, with many small stores (n = 44) and a large food market with 112 stalls. Residents highlighted the importance of these small stores for buying healthy foods. Alcohol and tobacco environments were also very dense (n = 91 and 64, respectively), dominated by bars and restaurants (n = 53) that also acted as food services. Neighbors emphasized the importance of drinking as a socialization mechanism. Public open spaces were mostly used by seniors that remarked the importance of accessibility to these spaces and the availability of destinations to walk to. This experience allowed testing and refining measurement tools, drawn from epidemiology, geography, sociology and

  7. Earthquake-induced liquefaction features in the coastal setting of South Carolina and in the fluvial setting of the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Obermeier, S.F.; Jacobson, R.B.; Smoot, J.P.; Weems, R.E.; Gohn, G.S.; Monroe, J.E.; Powars, D.S.

    1990-01-01

    Many types of liquefaction-related features (sand blows, fissures, lateral spreads, dikes, and sills) have been induced by earthquakes in coastal South Carolina and in the New Madrid seismic zone in the Central United States. In addition, abundant features of unknown and nonseismic origin are present. Geologic criteria for interpreting an earthquake origin in these areas are illustrated in practical applications; these criteria can be used to determine the origin of liquefaction features in many other geographic and geologic settings. In both coastal South Carolina and the New Madrid seismic zone, the earthquake-induced liquefaction features generally originated in clean sand deposits that contain no or few intercalated silt or clay-rich strata. The local geologic setting is a major influence on both development and surface expression of sand blows. Major factors controlling sand-blow formation include the thickness and physical properties of the deposits above the source sands, and these relationships are illustrated by comparing sand blows found in coastal South Carolina (in marine deposits) with sand blows found in the New Madrid seismic zone (in fluvial deposits). In coastal South Carolina, the surface stratum is typically a thin (about 1 m) soil that is weakly cemented with humate, and the sand blows are expressed as craters surrounded by a thin sheet of sand; in the New Madrid seismic zone the surface stratum generally is a clay-rich deposit ranging in thickness from 2 to 10 m, in which case sand blows characteristically are expressed as sand mounded above the original ground surface. Recognition of the various features described in this paper, and identification of the most probable origin for each, provides a set of important tools for understanding paleoseismicity in areas such as the Central and Eastern United States where faults are not exposed for study and strong seismic activity is infrequent.

  8. A Dental Prosthesis from the Early Modern Age in Tuscany (Italy).

    PubMed

    Minozzi, Simona; Panetta, Daniele; De Sanctis, Massimo; Giuffra, Valentina

    2017-04-01

    During archaeological excavation, carried out in the S. Francesco Monastery at Lucca (Tuscany, Italy), a golden dental appliance was discovered. The prosthesis was found, together with commingled human remains, in the collective tomb of the aristocratic family of the Guinigi, a powerful family who governed Lucca from 1392 until 1429. The exact archaeological dating of the prosthesis was not possible, but some elements suggest a dating to the beginning of the 17th century. Aim of the paper is to study and describe the dental appliance trough a multidisciplinary approach. Macroscopical and micro-CT examinations were performed to investigate the technics used for the realization of the dental prosthesis. SEM analysis was performed to study alloy composition of the metallic fixing lamina and microstructure of the deposits on the dental surface. The dental prosthesis consists in five mandibular teeth: three central incisors and two lateral canines linked together by a golden band inserted into the dental roots to replace the anterior arch of the jaw. Micro-CT scan revealed the presence of two small golden pins inserted into each tooth crossing the root and fixing the teeth to the internal gold band. SEM examination of the lamina indicated a homogeneous composition, with average contents of 73 wt% gold, 15.6 wt% Ag, and 11.4 wt% Cu. Apposition of dental calculus on the teeth indicated that the prosthesis had been worn for a long period. This dental prosthesis provides a unique finding of technologically advanced dentistry in this period. In fact, during the Early Modern Age, some authors described gold band technology for the replacement of missing teeth; nevertheless, no direct evidences of these devices have been brought to light up so far. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Building a panel data set on fuel stations located in the Spanish regional areas of Madrid and Barcelona

    PubMed Central

    Balaguer, Jacint; Ripollés, Jordi

    2016-01-01

    The data described in this article were collected daily over the period June 10, 2010, to November 25, 2012, from the website of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. The database includes information about fuel stations regarding to their prices (both gross and net of taxes), brand, location (latitude and longitude), and postal code in the Spanish provinces of Madrid and Barcelona. Moreover, obtaining the postal codes has allowed us to select those stations that are operating within the metropolitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona. By considering those fuel stations that uninterruptedly provided prices during the entire period, the data can be especially useful to explore the dynamics of prices in fuel markets. This is the case of Balaguer and Ripollés (2016), “Asymmetric fuel price responses under heterogeneity” [1], who, taking into account the presence of the potential heterogeneity of the behaviour of fuel stations, used this statistical information to perform an analysis on asymmetric fuel price responses. PMID:26933671

  10. Building a panel data set on fuel stations located in the Spanish regional areas of Madrid and Barcelona.

    PubMed

    Balaguer, Jacint; Ripollés, Jordi

    2016-06-01

    The data described in this article were collected daily over the period June 10, 2010, to November 25, 2012, from the website of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. The database includes information about fuel stations regarding to their prices (both gross and net of taxes), brand, location (latitude and longitude), and postal code in the Spanish provinces of Madrid and Barcelona. Moreover, obtaining the postal codes has allowed us to select those stations that are operating within the metropolitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona. By considering those fuel stations that uninterruptedly provided prices during the entire period, the data can be especially useful to explore the dynamics of prices in fuel markets. This is the case of Balaguer and Ripollés (2016), "Asymmetric fuel price responses under heterogeneity" [1], who, taking into account the presence of the potential heterogeneity of the behaviour of fuel stations, used this statistical information to perform an analysis on asymmetric fuel price responses.

  11. Efficacies of prevention and control measures applied during an outbreak in Southwest Madrid, Spain

    PubMed Central

    Martcheva, Maia; Tuncer, Necibe; Fontana, Isabella; Carrillo, Eugenia; Moreno, Javier; Keesling, James

    2017-01-01

    Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease of worldwide distribution, currently present in 98 countries. Since late 2010, an unusual increase of human visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases has been observed in the south-western Madrid region, totaling more than 600 cases until 2015. Some hosts, such as human, domestic dog and cat, rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and hare (Lepus granatensis), were found infected by the parasite of this disease in the area. Hares were described as the most important reservoir due to their higher prevalence, capacity to infect the vector, and presence of the same strains as in humans. Various measures were adopted to prevent and control the disease, and since 2013 there was a slight decline in the human sickness. We used a mathematical model to evaluate the efficacy of each measure in reducing the number of infected hosts. We identified in the present model that culling both hares and rabbits, without immediate reposition of the animals, was the best measure adopted, decreasing the proportion of all infected hosts. Particularly, culling hares was more efficacious than culling rabbits to reduce the proportion of infected individuals of all hosts. Likewise, lowering vector contact with hares highly influenced the reduction of the proportion of infected hosts. The reduction of the vector density per host in the park decreased the leishmaniasis incidence of hosts in the park and the urban areas. On the other hand, the reduction of the vector density per host of the urban area (humans, dogs and cats) decreased only their affected population, albeit at a higher proportion. The use of insecticide-impregnated collar and vaccination in dogs affected only the infected dogs’ population. The parameters related to the vector contact with dog, cat or human do not present a high impact on the other hosts infected by Leishmania. In conclusion, the efficacy of each control strategy was determined, in order to direct future actions in this and in

  12. Efficacies of prevention and control measures applied during an outbreak in Southwest Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Sevá, Anaiá da Paixão; Martcheva, Maia; Tuncer, Necibe; Fontana, Isabella; Carrillo, Eugenia; Moreno, Javier; Keesling, James

    2017-01-01

    Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease of worldwide distribution, currently present in 98 countries. Since late 2010, an unusual increase of human visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases has been observed in the south-western Madrid region, totaling more than 600 cases until 2015. Some hosts, such as human, domestic dog and cat, rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and hare (Lepus granatensis), were found infected by the parasite of this disease in the area. Hares were described as the most important reservoir due to their higher prevalence, capacity to infect the vector, and presence of the same strains as in humans. Various measures were adopted to prevent and control the disease, and since 2013 there was a slight decline in the human sickness. We used a mathematical model to evaluate the efficacy of each measure in reducing the number of infected hosts. We identified in the present model that culling both hares and rabbits, without immediate reposition of the animals, was the best measure adopted, decreasing the proportion of all infected hosts. Particularly, culling hares was more efficacious than culling rabbits to reduce the proportion of infected individuals of all hosts. Likewise, lowering vector contact with hares highly influenced the reduction of the proportion of infected hosts. The reduction of the vector density per host in the park decreased the leishmaniasis incidence of hosts in the park and the urban areas. On the other hand, the reduction of the vector density per host of the urban area (humans, dogs and cats) decreased only their affected population, albeit at a higher proportion. The use of insecticide-impregnated collar and vaccination in dogs affected only the infected dogs' population. The parameters related to the vector contact with dog, cat or human do not present a high impact on the other hosts infected by Leishmania. In conclusion, the efficacy of each control strategy was determined, in order to direct future actions in this and in

  13. Phenomenology of summer ozone episodes over the Madrid Metropolitan Area, central Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Querol, Xavier; Alastuey, Andrés; Gangoiti, Gotzon; Perez, Noemí; Lee, Hong K.; Eun, Heeram R.; Park, Yonghee; Mantilla, Enrique; Escudero, Miguel; Titos, Gloria; Alonso, Lucio; Temime-Roussel, Brice; Marchand, Nicolas; Moreta, Juan R.; Arantxa Revuelta, M.; Salvador, Pedro; Artíñano, Begoña; García dos Santos, Saúl; Anguas, Mónica; Notario, Alberto; Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso; Harrison, Roy M.; Millán, Millán; Ahn, Kang-Ho

    2018-05-01

    Various studies have reported that the photochemical nucleation of new ultrafine particles (UFPs) in urban environments within high insolation regions occurs simultaneously with high ground ozone (O3) levels. In this work, we evaluate the atmospheric dynamics leading to summer O3 episodes in the Madrid air basin (central Iberia) by means of measuring a 3-D distribution of concentrations for both pollutants. To this end, we obtained vertical profiles (up to 1200 m above ground level) using tethered balloons and miniaturised instrumentation at a suburban site located to the SW of the Madrid Metropolitan Area (MMA), the Majadahonda site (MJDH), in July 2016. Simultaneously, measurements of an extensive number of air quality and meteorological parameters were carried out at three supersites across the MMA. Furthermore, data from O3 soundings and daily radio soundings were also used to interpret atmospheric dynamics.The results demonstrate the concatenation of venting and accumulation episodes, with relative lows (venting) and peaks (accumulation) in O3 surface levels. Regardless of the episode type, the fumigation of high-altitude O3 (arising from a variety of origins) contributes the major proportion of surface O3 concentrations. Accumulation episodes are characterised by a relatively thinner planetary boundary layer (< 1500 m at midday, lower in altitude than the orographic features), light synoptic winds, and the development of mountain breezes along the slopes of the Guadarrama Mountain Range (located W and NW of the MMA, with a maximum elevation of > 2400 m a.s.l.). This orographic-meteorological setting causes the vertical recirculation of air masses and enrichment of O3 in the lower tropospheric layers. When the highly polluted urban plume from Madrid is affected by these dynamics, the highest Ox (O3+ NO2) concentrations are recorded in the MMA.Vertical O3 profiles during venting episodes, with strong synoptic winds and a deepening of the planetary boundary

  14. Recognizing and dating prehistoric liquefaction features: Lessons learned in the New Madrid seismic zone, central United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tuttle, M.P.; Schweig, E.S.

    1996-01-01

    The New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ), which experienced severe liquefaction during the great New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 as well as during several prehistoric earthquakes, is a superb laboratory for the study of world-class, arthquake-induced liquefaction features and their use in paleoseismology. In seismically active regions like the NMSZ, frequent large earthquakes can produce a complex record of liquefaction events that is difficult to interpret. Lessons learned studying liquefaction features in the NMSZ may help to unravel the paleoseismic record in other seismically active regions. Soil characteristics of liquefaction features, as well as their structural and sratigraphic relations to Native American occupation horizons and other cultural features, an help to distinguish prehistoric liquefaction features from historic features. In addition, analyses of artifact assemblages and botanical content of cultural horizons can help to narrow the age ranges of liquefaction features. Future research should focus on methods for defining source areas and estimating magnitudes of prehistoric earthquakes from liquefaction features. Also, new methods for dating liquefaction features are needed.

  15. [Incidence of lower extremity amputations in Area 3 of Madrid. Retrospective study during the period 2001-2006].

    PubMed

    Rubio, J A; Salido, C; Albarracín, A; Jiménez, S; Alvarez, J

    2010-02-01

    To quantify the Lower Extremity Amputations (LEA) incidence in population with and without diabetes mellitus (DM). Retrospective cohort study of all the LEA carried out during 2001-2006 in area 3 of Madrid, from the codification of the reports of discharge reports. 310 LEA were carried out. The age-ajusted LEA incidence for any reason was 19,2/10(5) inhabitants per year (27,2 y 11,2 for men and women respectively). 261 were not-traumatic and non-tumoural (NTT) LEA, 76% were associated with DM and the incidence was 191/10(5) people with DM per year (95% confidence interval [CI(95)] 122-299) and 4,4/10(5) for people without DM per year (CI(95) 7-23), with a risk ratio of 44 (CI(95) 23-73). The LEA rates in population with o without diabetes are higher than the previously communicated in Madrid. It would appear convenient to design strategies to reduce the LEA rates. Copyright 2009 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  16. The turning point from an archaic Arab medical system to an early modern European system in Jerusalem according to the Swiss physician Titus Tobler (1806-77).

    PubMed

    Lev, Efraim; Amar, Zohar

    2004-01-01

    Until the end of the Ottoman period the Hippocratic-Galenic doctrine, which had been improved by medieval Muslim medicine, was the pre-dominant medicine in the Holy Land. The penetration of modern medicine into the region was a slow process, advancing step by step over the years until it was established around the end of the 19th century.Dr. Titus Tobler, a Swiss physician of many talents, first visited Jerusalem in 1835, then again in 1845, 1857, and 1865. He reported his experiences and impressions in several books and articles. His publications portray the condition of medicine in the city before the advent of European physicians, their arrival, and the establishment of the first hospitals in the city. Thanks to his endeavours, a professional description of the medical conditions prevailing in Jerusalem in the mid-19th century is available to the public. Tobler's writings include descriptions of the healers, blood-letters, quacks, medicinal substances and their market, and the diseases and illnesses from which the inhabitants suffered. In addition, Tobler produced a detailed report of the different hospitals, pharmacies, European physicians, and their experiences. A digest of Tobler's information, its fresh systematic arrangement, and its comparison with other historical sources, early as well as recent, produces a better picture than ever previously available of the medical conditions of the city in the final years of the ascendancy of Arab medical systems and in the early stages of early modern European medicine in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

  17. Modern Languages and Interculturality in the Primary Sector in England, Greece, Italy and Spain.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cerezal, Fernando

    1997-01-01

    Addresses concerns and issues regarding modern language teaching and learning at primary schools in Greece, Italy, Spain, and England. It focuses on the optimal age for learning and acquiring languages and to the educational reforms which have been undertaken in each country relating to early modern language teaching and learning and…

  18. "Varmits and Turnips": Personal Experiences of a Secondary Modern Education, 1958-1962

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Black, John

    2013-01-01

    This article is not intended to be an autobiography. It relates to the experiences of the author as a pupil in a secondary modern school in Wiltshire during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He suffered the experience of being an 11-plus failure and a secondary modern graduate at the age of 15 years. Later in life he had a much more rewarding career…

  19. [Barriers and challenges of the functional healthcare risk management units in hospitals of Madrid health service].

    PubMed

    Pardo-Hernández, A; Navarro-Royo, C; Arguedas-Sanz, R; Albeniz-Lizarraga, C; Morón-Merchante, J

    2014-01-01

    To identify the barriers and challenges for the effective development of risk management units in hospitals of the Madrid Health Service. Descriptive cross-sectional study aimed at the management teams and members of the functional units of 31 hospitals in the Madrid Health Service. A self-administered questionnaire requesting answers in free text was used, identifying up to five barriers and challenges, and their prioritization by awarding from 1-5 points according to their importance. A discourse analysis was then conducted, grouping common themes and sorting them according to their score. The overall response rate was 94%. The most frequently identified barriers were lack of time (21%), inadequate safety culture (13%), lack of publication of their activities (10%), and lack of training (10%). The most important challenge was developing the training (18%), followed by improving the culture (17%), communication of safety activities (11%), and achieve leadership from the managers of the services (11%). According to the study conditions, the main identified barrier identified was the lack of available time, and the principal challenge found was promoting a proactive learning culture. Copyright © 2013 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  20. Molecular epidemiology of parasitic protozoa and Ehrlichia canis in wildlife in Madrid (central Spain).

    PubMed

    Criado-Fornelio, Angel; Martín-Pérez, T; Verdú-Expósito, C; Reinoso-Ortiz, S A; Pérez-Serrano, J

    2018-07-01

    Wildlife species are involved in the transmission of diverse pathogens. This study aimed to monitor raccoons (Procyon lotor), American minks (Neovison vison), and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) as potential reservoirs in central Spain. Specifically, 200 spleen and fecal samples (from 194 raccoons, 3 minks, and 3 foxes) were analyzed molecularly by PCR/qPCR and sequencing for the presence of piroplasmids, Hepatozoon spp., Toxoplasma gondii, and Ehrlichia canis infections in the Community of Madrid (Spain). Biological samples were obtained in the years 2014, 2015, and 2016. No pathogen DNA was found in fecal samples. In contrast, analysis of raccoon spleen samples revealed that Toxoplasma was the most prevalent pathogen (prevalence 3.6 ± 2.6%), followed by Hepatozoon canis and E. canis (each with a prevalence of 2.57 ± 2.2%). Hepatozoon canis was also diagnosed in all three of the analyzed foxes. Analysis of yearly prevalence showed that tick-borne pathogens were less frequent in raccoon in 2015, a dry and warm year compared both to 2014 and 2016. These data suggest that fecal PCR assays are unsuitable for detection of DNA of non-erythrocytic pathogens. Furthermore, they demonstrate that the raccoon (an invasive species often living in proximity to domestic areas) and the red fox are putative reservoirs for pathogenic organisms in the Community of Madrid.

  1. END 2014: International Conference on Education and New Developments. Conference Proceedings (Madrid, Spain, June 28-30, 2014)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carmo, Mafalda, Ed.

    2014-01-01

    We welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2014, taking place in Madrid, Spain, from 28 to 30 of June, 2014. Education, as an important right in our contemporary world, began since we exist. Knowledge and skills were passed by adults to the young, and cultures began to extend their experiences through various…

  2. International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) Book of Proceedings (Madrid, Spain, April 26-28, 2013)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pracana, Clara, Ed.; Silva, Liliana, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends 2013, taking place in Madrid, Spain, from 26 to 28 of April. Our efforts and active engagement can now be rewarded with these three days of exciting new developments about what we are passionate about: Psychology and its connections. We take pride…

  3. Proceedings of the International Conference on Mobile Learning 2014. (10th, Madrid, Spain, February 28-March 2, 2014)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sánchez, Inmaculada Arnedillo, Ed.; Isaías, Pedro, Ed.

    2014-01-01

    These proceedings contain the papers of the 10th International Conference on Mobile Learning 2014, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, in Madrid, Spain, February 28-March 2, 2014. The Mobile Learning 2014 International Conference seeks to provide a forum for the presentation and…

  4. Modern Christian healing of mental illness.

    PubMed

    Favazza, A R

    1982-06-01

    Healing of mental illness through religious practices was a key element of early Christianity. In the early twentieth century such healing was associated with blue-collar and rural Fundamentalists, but religious healing practices have gained widespread acceptance by many middle-class, conservative Christian groups. "Evil demons" are now equated with envy, pride, avarice, hatred, and obsessions with alcohol and gambling. Many psychotherapeutic techniques of modern Christian healers appear to be rediscoveries of psychoanalytic insights expressed in religious metaphors. Most responsible healers encourage clients to seek medical and psychiatric help, especially for serious mental disorders. Psychiatrists need not share patients' religious beliefs, but for treatment to be effective these beliefs must be understood and respected.

  5. Ancestry Analysis in the 11-M Madrid Bomb Attack Investigation

    PubMed Central

    Phillips, Christopher; Prieto, Lourdes; Fondevila, Manuel; Salas, Antonio; Gómez-Tato, Antonio; Álvarez-Dios, José; Alonso, Antonio; Blanco-Verea, Alejandro; Brión, María; Montesino, Marta; Carracedo, Ángel; Lareu, María Victoria

    2009-01-01

    The 11-M Madrid commuter train bombings of 2004 constituted the second biggest terrorist attack to occur in Europe after Lockerbie, while the subsequent investigation became the most complex and wide-ranging forensic case in Spain. Standard short tandem repeat (STR) profiling of 600 exhibits left certain key incriminatory samples unmatched to any of the apprehended suspects. A judicial order to perform analyses of unmatched samples to differentiate European and North African ancestry became a critical part of the investigation and was instigated to help refine the search for further suspects. Although mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome markers routinely demonstrate informative geographic differentiation, the populations compared in this analysis were known to show a proportion of shared mtDNA and Y haplotypes as a result of recent gene-flow across the western Mediterranean, while any two loci can be unrepresentative of the ancestry of an individual as a whole. We based our principal analysis on a validated 34plex autosomal ancestry-informative-marker single nucleotide polymorphism (AIM-SNP) assay to make an assignment of ancestry for DNA from seven unmatched case samples including a handprint from a bag containing undetonated explosives together with personal items recovered from various locations in Madrid associated with the suspects. To assess marker informativeness before genotyping, we predicted the probable classification success for the 34plex assay with standard error estimators for a naïve Bayesian classifier using Moroccan and Spanish training sets (each n = 48). Once misclassification error was found to be sufficiently low, genotyping yielded seven near-complete profiles (33 of 34 AIM-SNPs) that in four cases gave probabilities providing a clear assignment of ancestry. One of the suspects predicted to be North African by AIM-SNP analysis of DNA from a toothbrush was identified late in the investigation as Algerian in origin. The results

  6. ‘Elderly years cause a Total dispaire of Conception’: Old Age, Sex and Infertility in Early Modern England

    PubMed Central

    Toulalan, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Although the history of old age has been studied in much greater detail in recent years, the subject of sexuality in old age remains relatively under-explored. This article examines early modern ideas about old bodies and sex in relation to fertility, to argue that because old bodies were understood as either infertile (post-menopausal women) or sub-fertile (old men) they were therefore characterised as unsuitable, undesirable and inappropriate sexual partners. Perceptions of old bodies, their sexual abilities, desirability and behaviour were remarkably consistent from the sixteenth through to the eighteenth century. The ridiculing of old men and women's sexual behaviour that permeated contemporary culture in stories, ballads and jokes, alongside medical literature that characterised old bodies as sexually unappetising as well as unreproductive, carried the message that sexual activity was not for the old, and in large part because they were infertile. PMID:28751815

  7. Performance of building materials under load stresses: the case of Arroyo Meaques Bridge in Madrid, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mencías, David; Gomez-Heras, Miguel; Lopez-Gonzalez, Laura

    2015-04-01

    In most masonry structures analyzed by limit state models, it is not possible to determine where thrust lines are located or stress fields are defined. This is because very small modifications of the geometry can modify considerably a stress situation. Moreover, structural safety of this kind of construction is mainly established by equilibrium, and structural analysis is based on this premise. However, from the point of view of a stress model, the thrust line can be approximately positioned (either graphically or by analytical methods) only from a geometrical description and material properties and, therefore, determine the amount of stresses that masonry undergoes. This research tries to provide the relationship between geometry and thrust line analysis, applied to the 17th century Arroyo Meaques Bridge. This is a brick and stone bridge, located at the southwest edge of Casa de Campo in Madrid (Spain) and it actually sets up the limit of the municipality of Madrid. The bridge was designed by architect Francesco Sabatini as a part of a set of improvements of Madrid city center. Starting from a geometrical surveying and photogrammetric restitution, a 3-dimension CAD model is performed, in which all geometrical conditions are collected. At the same time, elastic properties, compactness and strength of bricks were determined by means of non-destructive techniques, such as Schmidt hammer and ultrasound pulse velocity. All this information is uploaded to a GIS and 2D maps are generated. Brick physical properties were compared to previously done thrust line analysis to understand the relationship between maximum stresses and brick performance. This technique may be a starting point for more specific analysis, once possible failure mechanisms are identified and can be a very simple method to identify how it can affect any geometrical changes. Research funded by Geomateriales 2 S2013/MIT-2914, CEI Moncloa (UPM, UCM, CSIC) through a PICATA contract and the foundation

  8. Analysis of historical forest fire regime in Madrid region (1984-2010) and its relation with land-use/land-cover changes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gómez-Nieto, Israel; Martín, María del Pilar; Salas, Francisco Javier; Gallardo, Marta

    2013-04-01

    Understanding the interaction between natural and socio-economic factors that determine fire regime is essential to make accurate projections and impact assessments. However, this requires having accurate historical, systematic, homogeneous and spatially explicit information on fire occurrence. Fire databases usually have serious limitations in this regard; therefore other sources of information, such as remote sensing, have emerged as alternatives to generate optimal fire maps on various spatial and temporal scales. Several national and international projects work in order to generate information to study the factors that determine the current fire regime and its future evolution. This work is included in the framework of the project "Forest fires under climate, social and economic Changes in Europe, the Mediterranean and other fire-affected areas of the World" (FUME http://www.fumeproject.eu), which aims to study the changes and factors related to fire regimes through time to determine the potential impacts on vegetation in Mediterranean regions and concrete steps to address future risk scenarios. We analyzed the changes in the fire regime in Madrid region (Spain) in the past three decades (1984-2010) and its relation to land use changes. We identified and mapped fires that have occurred in the region during those years using Landsat satellite images by combining digital techniques and visual analysis. The results show a clear cyclical behaviour of the fire, with years of high incidence (as 1985, 2000 and 2003, highlighted by the number of fires and the area concerned, over 2000 ha) followed by another with a clear occurrence decrease. At the same time, we analyzed the land use changes that have occurred in Madrid region between the early 80s and mid-2000s using as reference the CORINE Land-cover maps (1990, 2000 and 2006) and the Vegetation and Land Use map of the Community of Madrid, 1982. We studied the relationship between fire regimes and observed land

  9. Evolution of medical education in the Department of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid in the last decade.

    PubMed

    Collado-Yurrita, L; Ciudad-Cabañas, M J; Cuadrado-Cenzual, M A

    2018-03-11

    This paper aims to show changes in Medical Education in the Department of Medicine at the Complutense University of Madrid in the last 10-15 years. Medical education in the Department of Medicine at the Complutense University of Madrid has undergone significant changes in the last 10-15 years. An attempt to summarize these shows that radical change in the teaching of medicine for both teachers and students has taken place in three areas: 1. Progressive development of Patient-centered medical education. 2. Development of a competency-based training concerned with the mastering of knowledge and skills and their evaluation through objective and structured clinical assessment tests. 3. Introducing simulation techniques and virtual reality in the teaching of clinical practice aimed at improving our students' training and enhancing patient safety. We believe that the changes applied have pleased students as well as teachers and even patients and are helping to improve the training of our students.

  10. [Development of modern medical doctors in Japan from late Edo to early Meiji].

    PubMed

    Kim, OckJoo; Takuya, Miyagawa

    2011-12-31

    Western medicine began to be introduced to Japan since late 16th century. Japanese encounter with Western medicine centered on Dejima in Nagasaki in the seventeenth and eighteenth century and the initial process of introduction was gradual and slow. In the mid-nineteenth century, facing threats from Western countries, Tokugawa bakufu asked Dutch naval surgeon, J. L. C. Pompe van Meerdervoort to teach western medicine at the Kaigun Denshujo naval academy in Nagasaki. The government also supported the western medical school in Edo. This paper deals with how modern western medical doctors were developed in Japan from late Edo to early Meiji. The publication of the New Text on Anatomy in 1774 translated by Sugita Genpaku and his colleagues stimulated Japanese doctors and scholars to study western medicine, called Rangaku. During the Edo period, western medicine spread into major cities and countryside in Japan through Rangaku doctors. In 1838, for example, Dr. Ogata Koan established the Rangaku school named Tekijuku and educated many people with western medicine. When smallpox vaccination was introduced in Japan in 1849, Rangaku doctors played an important role in practiving the vaccination in cities and in countryside. After the Edo bakufu and the feudal lords of han(han) actively pursued to introduce western medicine to their hans by sending their Samurai to Edo or Nagasaki or abroad and by establishing medical schools and hospitals until their abolition in 1871. In late Edo and early Meiii military doctors were the main focus of training to meet the urgent need of military doctors in the battle fields of civil wars. The new Meiji government initiated a series of top-down reformations concerning army recruitment, national school system, public health and medical system. In 1874, the government introduced a law on medicine to adopt western medicine only and to launch a national licence system for medical doctors. Issuing supplementary regulations in the following

  11. Earthquake-induced liquefaction features in the coastal setting of South Carolina and in the fluvial setting of the New Madrid Seismic Zone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Obermeier, S.F.; Jacobson, R.B.; Smoot, J.P.

    1990-01-01

    In both coastal South Carolina and the New Madrid seismic zone, the earthquake-induced liquefaction features generally originated in clean sand deposits that contain no or few intercalated silt- or clay-rich strata. The local geologic setting is a major influence on both development and surface expression of sand blows. Major factors controlling sand-blow formation include the thickness and physical properties of the deposits above the source sands, and these relationships are illustrated by comparing sand blows found in coastal South Carolina (in marine deposits) with sand blows found in the New Madrid seismic zone (in fluvial deposits). In coastal South Carolina,more » the surface stratum is typically a thin (about 1 m) soil that is weakly cemented with humate, and the sand blows are expressed as craters surrounded by a thin sheet of sand; in the New Madrid seismic zone the surface stratum generally is a clay-rich deposit ranging in thickness from 2 to 10 m, in which case sand blows characteristically are expressed as sand mounded above the original ground surface. Recognition of the various features described in this paper, and identification of the most probable origin for each, provides a set of important tools for understanding paleoseismicity in areas such as the Central and Eastern US where faults are not exposed for study and strong seismic activity is infrequent.« less

  12. Relevance of stroke code, stroke unit and stroke networks in organization of acute stroke care--the Madrid acute stroke care program.

    PubMed

    Alonso de Leciñana-Cases, María; Gil-Núñez, Antonio; Díez-Tejedor, Exuperio

    2009-01-01

    Stroke is a neurological emergency. The early administration of specific treatment improves the prognosis of the patients. Emergency care systems with early warning for the hospital regarding patients who are candidates for this treatment (stroke code) increases the number of patients treated. Currently, reperfusion via thrombolysis for ischemic stroke and attention in stroke units are the bases of treatment. Healthcare professionals and health provision authorities need to work together to organize systems that ensure continuous quality care for the patients during the whole process of their disease. To implement this, there needs to be an appropriate analysis of the requirements and resources with the objective of their adjustment for efficient use. It is necessary to provide adequate information and continuous training for all professionals who are involved in stroke care, including primary care physicians, extrahospital emergency teams and all physicians involved in the care of stroke patients within the hospital. The neurologist has the function of coordinating the protocols of intrahospital care. These organizational plans should also take into account the process beyond the acute phase, to ensure the appropriate application of measures of secondary prevention, rehabilitation, and chronic care of the patients that remain in a dependent state. We describe here the stroke care program in the Community of Madrid (Spain). (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  13. Workshop on New Madrid geodesy and the challenges of understanding intraplate earthquakes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boyd, Oliver; Calais, Eric; Langbein, John; Magistrale, Harold; Stein, Seth; Zoback, Mark

    2013-01-01

    On March 4, 2011, 26 researchers gathered in Norwood, Massachusetts, for a workshop sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey and FM Global to discuss geodesy in and around the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) and its relation to earthquake hazard. The group addressed the challenge of reconciling current geodetic measurements, which show low present-day surface strain rates, with paleoseismic evidence of recent, relatively frequent, major earthquakes in the region. Several researchers were invited by the organizing committee to give overview presentations while all participants were encouraged to present their most recent ideas. The overview presentations appear in this report along with a set of recommendations.

  14. The potential impacts of electric vehicles on air quality in the urban areas of Barcelona and Madrid (Spain)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soret, A.; Guevara, M.; Baldasano, J. M.

    2014-12-01

    This work analyses the potential air quality improvements resulting from three fleet electrification scenarios (∼13, 26 and 40%) by replacing conventional vehicles with Electric Battery Vehicles (EBVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs). This study has been performed for the cities of Barcelona and Madrid (Spain), where road transport is the primary emission source. In these urban areas, several air quality problems are present, mainly related to NO2 and particulate matter. The WRF-ARW/HERMESv2/CMAQ model system has been applied at high spatial (1 × 1 km2) and temporal (1 h) resolution. The results show that fleet electrification offers a potential for emission abatement, especially related to NOx and CO. Regarding the more ambitious scenario (∼40% fleet electrification), reductions of 11% and 17% of the total NOx emissions are observed in Barcelona and Madrid respectively. These emissions reductions involve air quality improvements in NO2 maximum hourly values up to 16%: reductions up to 30 and 35 μg m-3 in Barcelona and Madrid, respectively. Furthermore, an additional scenario has been defined considering electric generation emissions associated with EBVs and PHEVs charging from a combined-cycle power plant. These charging emissions would produce slight NO2 increases in the downwind areas of <3 μg m-3. Thus, fleet electrification would improve urban air quality even when considering emissions associated with charging electric vehicles. However, two further points should be considered. First, fleet electrification cannot be considered a unique solution, and other management strategies may be defined. This is especially important with respect to particulate matter emissions, which are not significantly reduced by fleet electrification (<5%) due to the high weight of non-exhaust emissions. Second, a significant introduction of electric vehicles (26-40%) involving all vehicle categories is required to improve urban

  15. Proceedings of the International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM) (8th, Madrid, Spain, June 26-29, 2015)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Santos, Olga Cristina, Ed.; Boticario, Jesus Gonzalez, Ed.; Romero, Cristobal, Ed.; Pechenizkiy, Mykola, Ed.; Merceron, Agathe, Ed.; Mitros, Piotr, Ed.; Luna, Jose Maria, Ed.; Mihaescu, Cristian, Ed.; Moreno, Pablo, Ed.; Hershkovitz, Arnon, Ed.; Ventura, Sebastian, Ed.; Desmarais, Michel, Ed.

    2015-01-01

    The 8th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2015) is held under auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society at UNED, the National University for Distance Education in Spain. The conference held in Madrid, Spain, July 26-29, 2015, follows the seven previous editions (London 2014, Memphis 2013, Chania 2012,…

  16. Evidence for a genetic discontinuity between Neandertals and 24,000-year-old anatomically modern Europeans.

    PubMed

    Caramelli, David; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Vernesi, Cristiano; Lari, Martina; Casoli, Antonella; Mallegni, Francesco; Chiarelli, Brunetto; Dupanloup, Isabelle; Bertranpetit, Jaume; Barbujani, Guido; Bertorelle, Giorgio

    2003-05-27

    During the late Pleistocene, early anatomically modern humans coexisted in Europe with the anatomically archaic Neandertals for some thousand years. Under the recent variants of the multiregional model of human evolution, modern and archaic forms were different but related populations within a single evolving species, and both have contributed to the gene pool of current humans. Conversely, the Out-of-Africa model considers the transition between Neandertals and anatomically modern humans as the result of a demographic replacement, and hence it predicts a genetic discontinuity between them. Following the most stringent current standards for validation of ancient DNA sequences, we typed the mtDNA hypervariable region I of two anatomically modern Homo sapiens sapiens individuals of the Cro-Magnon type dated at about 23 and 25 thousand years ago. Here we show that the mtDNAs of these individuals fall well within the range of variation of today's humans, but differ sharply from the available sequences of the chronologically closer Neandertals. This discontinuity is difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis that both Neandertals and early anatomically modern humans contributed to the current European gene pool.

  17. 9th Annual Symposium on Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose, April 28-30, 2016, Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Parkin, Christopher G; Homberg, Anita; Hinzmann, Rolf

    2016-11-01

    International experts in the field of diabetes and diabetes technology met in Madrid, Spain, for the 9th Annual Symposium on Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose. The goal of these meetings is to establish a global network of experts, thus facilitating new collaborations and research projects to improve the lives of people with diabetes. The 2016 meeting comprised a comprehensive scientific program, parallel interactive workshops, and two keynote lectures.

  18. [Trans fatty acid content in foods marketed in the community of Madrid(Spain)].

    PubMed

    Moreno Alcalde, Santiago; Ruiz-Roso, Baltasar; Pérez-Olleros, Lourdes; Belmonte Cortés, Susana

    2014-01-01

    As a consequence of the scientific evidence which show that the high consumption of trans fatty acids is a risk factor of certain illnesses, sanitary authorities recommend less than 1% intake of trans fatty acids of the total energy intake. Moreover, the European Commission must present, by December 2014, a report about the presence of trans fatty acids in the aliments as well as in the diet of the European Union population. Thus, this study can provide useful information to reach this objective. To determine trans fatty acid presence in some types of foods in the Community of Madrid. 170 samples of different foods commonly consumed by children and adolescents were selected and analized. All foods had been purchased in big shopping centers in the Community of Madrid during february of 2010. Results are shown as the percentage of each fatty acid compared to the total amount of fat in the aliment. Only 33 products (19.4%) showed the presence of trans fatty acids over the method detection limit (≥ 0.1g per 100g). The highest levels were found in dairy products, with an average content of 0,4%. DISCUSIÓN/CONCLUSIONES: The trans fatty acid content of the analyzed foods can be considered low, compared with the amount reported by other authors in food products marketed in Spain and other countries in the past few years. Further studies should be undertaken to control nutrition security and diet quality of fat intake in the Spanish population, particularly among children and adolescents.

  19. [Malaria in the South of Madrid: a clinical and epidemiological review].

    PubMed

    Alvarez Fernández, B; García Esteban, C; Soto Insuga, V; Ruiz Jiménez, M; Rubio Gribble, B; Jiménez Fernández, F; Ramos Amador, J T

    2009-09-01

    Malaria has increased in Spain, and is potentially severe in children. Information on pediatric malaria in Spain is scarce. The aim is to evaluate the clinical, therapeutic and epidemiological characteristics of children diagnosed with malaria in our hospital. A retrospective descriptive study was performed on all pediatric cases of malaria diagnosed in Getafe University Hospital, from January 1995 to November 2006. Epidemiological and clinical features, as well as diagnostic methods, treatments and outcome were studied. An analysis of two comparative periods (before and after January 2000) was carried out. Eighteen cases of confirmed malaria were identified, twelve girls and six boys. The age range was from 13 months to 13 years with a median age of 60 months. All patients had recently travelled to or from endemic countries. Despite having a stable number of admissions to hospital over time, all but two patients were diagnosed in the second period (P<0.01). Fever and gastrointestinal symptoms were the most common symptoms, with liver or spleen enlargement in 75%. Thrombocytopenia and anemia were common. No cases of complicated malaria or death occurred. Plasmodium identification by microscopic examination was used in all cases. Identification of Plasmodium species with PCR was carried out in 16 children. P. falciparum was found in 89% of these cases. Quinine-sulphate and clindamycin were used in 72%. The incidence of pediatric malaria is increasing in the southern area of Madrid, with P. falciparum as the most frequently identified species. Microscopic visualization or identification of its antigen are gold-standard diagnostic methods, however, identification with PCR is essential upon admission to determine the species and discard possible multiple infestations. Pediatricians must learn to suspect this potentially severe disease, in order to establish an early treatment that may improve the prognosis.

  20. Impact of natural products in modern drug development.

    PubMed

    Dev, Sukh

    2010-03-01

    Usage of natural substances as therapeutic agents in modern medicine has sharply declined from the predominant position held in the early decades of last century, but search for bioactive molecules from nature (plants, animals, microflora) continues to play an important role in fashioning new medicinal agents. With the advent of modern techniques, instrumentation and automation in isolation and structural characterisation, we have on hand an enormous repository of natural compounds. In parallel to this, biology has also made tremendous progress in expanding its frontiers of knowledge. An interplay of these two disciplines constitutes the modern thrust in research in the realm of compounds elaborated by nature. The purpose of this article is to underline how natural products research continues to make significant contributions in the domain of discovery and development of new medicinal products. It is proposed to present the material under several heads, each of which has made natural products research relevant in the search for new and better medication.

  1. On the origin of modern humans: Asian perspectives.

    PubMed

    Bae, Christopher J; Douka, Katerina; Petraglia, Michael D

    2017-12-08

    The traditional "out of Africa" model, which posits a dispersal of modern Homo sapiens across Eurasia as a single wave at ~60,000 years ago and the subsequent replacement of all indigenous populations, is in need of revision. Recent discoveries from archaeology, hominin paleontology, geochronology, genetics, and paleoenvironmental studies have contributed to a better understanding of the Late Pleistocene record in Asia. Important findings highlighted here include growing evidence for multiple dispersals predating 60,000 years ago in regions such as southern and eastern Asia. Modern humans moving into Asia met Neandertals, Denisovans, mid-Pleistocene Homo , and possibly H. floresiensis , with some degree of interbreeding occurring. These early human dispersals, which left at least some genetic traces in modern populations, indicate that later replacements were not wholesale. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  2. Reconciling short recurrence intervals with minor deformation in the new madrid seismic zone.

    PubMed

    Schweig, E S; Ellis, M A

    1994-05-27

    At least three great earthquakes occurred in the New Madrid seismic zone in 1811 and 1812. Estimates of present-day strain rates suggest that such events may have a repeat time of 1000 years or less. Paleoseismological data also indicate that earthquakes large enough to cause soil liquefaction have occurred several times in the past 5000 years. However, pervasive crustal deformation expected from such a high frequency of large earthquakes is not observed. This suggests that the seismic zone is a young feature, possibly as young as several tens of thousands of years old and no more than a few million years old.

  3. Geomorphic evidence of deformation in the northern part of the New Madrid seismic zone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fischer, K.J.; Schumm, S.A.

    1993-03-01

    A geomorphic evaluation of the northern portion of the New Madrid seismic zone between Hickman, KY and Osceola, AR has identified several locations where anomalous geomorphic conditions indicate possible surface deformation. For example, the slope, course, sinuosity and dimensions of the Mississippi River have been affected by the Lake County uplift and Tertiary-age sediments are exposed in its channel. Also, anomalous channel behavior near Caruthersville, MO and Barfield, AR suggests that these two reaches of the Mississippi River are structurally controlled. The Black River northeast of Pocahontas follows a peculiar angular course that suggests fracture control, and course changes ofmore » the Black, St. Francis, and Little Rivers may be related to subsurface faulting, uplift, or downwarping, as well as to differential compaction or the effects of groundwater withdrawal. The topography of Crowley's Ridge suggests that, between Jonesboro and Castor River, it is composed of at least three structural blocks, that are bounded by northeast-southwest trending faults. Near Jonesboro, river patterns appear to be affected by the Jonesboro, AR pluton. The geomorphic evaluation has identified anomalous surface features in the New Madrid seismic zone. Some can be directly linked to mapped structures in the region, whereas others may result from previously unidentified areas of surface deformation. The identification of these anomalies should provide direction for scientists who are employing subsurface techniques in order to locate tectonic deformation in the area.« less

  4. Association between environmental factors and emergency hospital admissions due to Alzheimer's disease in Madrid.

    PubMed

    Culqui, D R; Linares, C; Ortiz, C; Carmona, R; Díaz, J

    2017-08-15

    There are scarce studies of time series that analysed the short-term association between emergency hospital admissions due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and environmental factors. The objective is to analyse the effect of heat waves, noise and air pollutants on urgent hospital admissions due to AD in Madrid. Longitudinal ecological time series study was performed. The dependent variable was the emergency AD hospital admissions occurred in Madrid during the period 2001-2009. Independent variables were: Daily mean concentrations (μg/m3) of air pollutants (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ; O3 and NO2); maximum daily temperature (°C) and daily and night noise levels (dB(A)). Relative Risk (RR) for an increment in interquartile range, and Attributable Risk (AR) values were calculated through GLM with Poisson link. Our findings indicated that only PM 2.5 concentrations at lag 2 with a RR: 1.38 (95% CI: 1.15-1.65); AR 27.5% (95% CI: 13.0-39.4); and heat wave days at lag 3 with a RR: 1.30 (95% CI: 1.12-1.52); AR 23.1% (95% CI: 10.7-34.2) were associated with AD hospital admissions. A reduction in AD patients' exposure levels to PM 2.5 and special care of such patients during heat wave periods could result in a decrease in both emergency AD admissions and the related health care costs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Estimation of earthquake effects associated with a great earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hopper, Margaret G.; Algermissen, Sylvester Theodore; Dobrovolny, Ernest E.

    1983-01-01

    Estimates have been made of the effects of a large Ms = 8.6, Io = XI earthquake hypothesed to occur anywhere in the New Madrid seismic zone. The estimates are based on the distributions of intensities associated with the earthquakes of 1811-12, 1843 and 1895 although the effects of other historical shocks are also considered. The resulting composite type intensity map for a maximum intensity XI is believed to represent the upper level of shaking likely to occur. Specific intensity maps have been developed for six cities near the epicentral region taking into account the most likely distribution of site response in each city. Intensities found are: IX for Carbondale, IL; VIII and IX for Evansville, IN; VI and VIII for Little Rock, AR; IX and X for Memphis, TN; VIII, IX, and X for Paducah, KY; and VIII and X for Poplar Bluff, MO. On a regional scale, intensities are found to attenuate from the New Madrid seismic zone most rapidly to the west and southwest sides of the zone, most slowly to the northwest along the Mississippi River, on the northeast along the Ohio River, and on the southeast toward Georgia and South Carolina. Intensities attenuate toward the north, east, and south in a more normal fashion. Known liquefaction effects are documented but much more research is needed to define the liquefaction potential.

  6. Measures of maturation in early fossil hominins: events at the first transition from australopiths to early Homo

    PubMed Central

    Dean, M. Christopher

    2016-01-01

    An important question in palaeoanthropology is whether, among the australopiths and the first fossil hominins attributed to early Homo, there was a shift towards a more prolonged period of growth that can be distinguished from that of the living great apes and whether between the end of weaning and the beginning of puberty there was a slow period of growth as there is in modern humans. Evidence for the pace of growth in early fossil hominins comes from preserved tooth microstructure. A record of incremental growth in enamel and dentine persists, which allows us to reconstruct tooth growth and compare key measures of dental maturation with modern humans and living great apes. Despite their diverse diets and way of life, it is currently difficult to identify any clear differences in the timing of dental development among living great apes, australopiths and the earliest hominins attributed to the genus Homo. There is, however, limited evidence that some early hominins may have attained a greater proportion of their body mass and stature relatively earlier in the growth period than is typical of modern humans today. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Major transitions in human evolution’. PMID:27298465

  7. The Hidden History of a Famous Drug: Tracing the Medical and Public Acculturation of Peruvian Bark in Early Modern Western Europe (c. 1650-1720).

    PubMed

    Klein, Wouter; Pieters, Toine

    2016-10-01

    The history of the introduction of exotic therapeutic drugs in early modern Europe is usually rife with legend and obscurity and Peruvian bark is a case in point. The famous antimalarial drug entered the European medical market around 1640, yet it took decades before the bark was firmly established in pharmaceutical practice. This article argues that the history of Peruvian bark can only be understood as the interplay of its trajectories in science, commerce, and society. Modern research has mostly focused on the first of these, largely due to the abundance of medico-historical data. While appreciating these findings, this article proposes to integrate the medical trajectory in a richer narrative, by drawing particular attention to the acculturation of the bark in commerce and society. Although the evidence we have for these two trajectories is still sketchy and disproportionate, it can nevertheless help us to make sense of sources that have not yet been an obvious focus of research. Starting from an apparently isolated occurrence of the drug in a letter, this article focuses on Paris as the location where medical and public appreciation of the bark took shape, by exploring several contexts of knowledge circulation and medical practice there. These contexts provide a new window on the early circulation of knowledge of the bark, at a time when its eventual acceptance was by no means certain. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Survival Analysis Of The Modernized Retirement System For The United States Marine Corps

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-01

    November 2015 to begin as early as 2018. This online survey will assist the Marine Corps in determining the retention impacts of the new retirement...thesis determines if the Modernized Retirement System is likely to affect manpower levels. A survey was conducted within the active component of the U.S...2016. Specifically, this thesis determines if the Modernized Retirement System is likely to affect manpower levels. A survey was conducted within

  9. The modern human colonization of western Eurasia: when and where?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hublin, Jean-Jacques

    2015-06-01

    Dating the timing of the replacement of local Neandertal populations by modern humans in western Eurasia at the dawn of the Upper Palaeolithic remains challenging due to the scarcity of the palaeontological evidence and to the complexity of the archaeological record. Furthermore, key specimens have been discovered in the course of excavations that unfortunately did not meet today's archaeological standards. The importance of site-formation processes in the considered time period makes it sometimes difficult to precisely assign fragmentary remains a posteriori to distinct techno-complexes. The improvements in dating methods have however allowed for the clarification of many chronological issues in the past decade. Archaeological and palaeontological evidence strongly suggest that the initial modern colonization of eastern Europe and central Asia should be related to the spread of techno-complexes assigned to the Initial Upper Palaeolithic. This first expansion may have started as early as 48 ka cal BP. The earliest phases of the Aurignacian complex (Protoaurignacian and Early Aurignacian) seem to represent another modern wave of migrations, starting in the Levant area. The expansion of this techno-complex throughout Europe completed the modern colonization of the continent. The interpretation of a third group of industries referred to as "transitional assemblages" in western and central Europe is much debated. At least in part, these assemblages might have been produced by Neandertal groups that may have survived until c. 41 ka cal BP, according to the directly dated Neandertal specimens of Saint-Césaire (France) and Spy (Belgium).

  10. Public Spaces of Protest Framed with Adult Learning and Political Efficacy: Reflections of a Freedom Summer in Madrid and Ferguson

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hodges, Traci L.

    2017-01-01

    Traci L. Hodges is a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Her research interests are comparative adult education, African American adult education, and critical education. Having witnessed freedom protests in Madrid, Spain, and Ferguson, Missouri, she shares her…

  11. Turbulence influence on urban air pollution in a hot spot in Madrid: comparison of winter and summer field campaigns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yagüe, Carlos; Román-Cascón, Carlos; Sastre, Mariano; Maqueda, Gregorio; Arrillaga, Jon A.; Artiñano, Begoña; Díaz-Ramiro, Elías; Gómez-Moreno, Francisco J.; Borge, Rafael; Narros, Adolfo; Pérez, Javier; Quaassdorff, Christina

    2017-04-01

    Air pollution is a major problem in the city of Madrid during weak synoptic forcing, since the presence of atmospheric stability conditions often develops night surface-based thermal inversions and subsidence inversions during daytime for several consecutive days, reaching high levels of NOx and Particulate Matter (PM) concentration. In this context, the TECNAIRE-CM (Innovative technologies for the assessment and improvement of urban air quality) research project has developed two field campaigns along 2015 (winter and summer) in a hot spot in the city of Madrid (Fernández Ladreda square). This hot spot includes one important intersection of different streets and also the start of the A42 motorway, which crosses down the square through a tunnel of about 150 m length. Besides, the location has numerous traffic lights and a lot of pedestrians walking in the vicinity. In addition to direct measurements related to air quality, data from different meteorological variables were recorded in order to characterize the atmospheric conditions. Moreover, two sonic anemometers where deployed to carry out a micrometeorological assessment of physical processes that take place in the urban atmospheric surface layer (TKE, friction velocity and sensible heat flux were evaluated). The evolution of the turbulence will be analyzed and compared for both campaigns (winter and summer), searching for the key seasonal differences as well as the importance of the different scales influencing the diffusion of pollutants (from multi resolution flux decomposition -MRFD- analysis). Specific case studies corresponding to high levels of pollution will be studied in detailed, to understand local pollution dynamics under the influence of both high traffic density and low turbulence situations. This work has been financed by Madrid Regional Research Plan through TECNAIRE (P2013/MAE-2972).

  12. The Olmsted fault zone, southernmost Illinois: A key to understanding seismic hazard in the northern new Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bexfield, C.E.; McBride, J.H.; Pugin, Andre J.M.; Nelson, W.J.; Larson, T.H.; Sargent, S.L.

    2005-01-01

    Geological deformation in the northern New Madrid seismic zone, near Olmsted, Illinois (USA), is analyzed using integrated compressional-wave (P) and horizontally polarized-wave (SH) seismic reflection and regional and dedicated borehole information. Seismic hazards are of special concern because of strategic facilities (e.g., lock and dam sites and chemical plants on the Ohio River near its confluence with the Mississippi River) and because of alluvial soils subject to high amplification of earthquake shock. We use an integrated approach starting with lower resolution, but deeper penetration, P-wave reflection profiles to identify displacement of Paleozoic bedrock. Higher resolution, but shallower penetration, SH-wave images show deformation that has propagated upward from bedrock faults into Pleistocene loess. We have mapped an intricate zone more than 8 km wide of high-angle faults in Mississippi embayment sediments localized over Paleozoic bedrock faults that trend north to northeast, parallel to the Ohio River. These faults align with the pattern of epicenters in the New Madrid seismic zone. Normal and reverse offsets along with positive flower structures imply a component of strike-slip; the current stress regime favors right-lateral slip on northeast-trending faults. The largest fault, the Olmsted fault, underwent principal displacement near the end of the Cretaceous Period 65 to 70 million years ago. Strata of this age (dated via fossil pollen) thicken greatly on the downthrown side of the Olmsted fault into a locally subsiding basin. Small offsets of Tertiary and Quaternary strata are evident on high-resolution SH-wave seismic profiles. Our results imply recent reactivation and possible future seismic activity in a critical area of the New Madrid seismic zone. This integrated approach provides a strategy for evaluating shallow seismic hazard-related targets for engineering concerns. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Molecular detection of Hepatozoon spp. and Cytauxzoon sp. in domestic and stray cats from Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Díaz-Regañón, David; Villaescusa, Alejandra; Ayllón, Tania; Rodríguez-Franco, Fernando; Baneth, Gad; Calleja-Bueno, Lydia; García-Sancho, Mercedes; Agulla, Beatriz; Sainz, Ángel

    2017-03-13

    Different species of apicomplexan protozoans of the genera Hepatozoon and Cytauxzoon can infect domestic cats, but their epidemiology and clinical relevance are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess the molecular prevalence of Hepatozoon spp. and Cytauxzoon spp. and to identify associated risk factors and clinical and laboratory abnormalities in a population of cats from Madrid, Spain. Six hundred and forty-four client-owned and stray cats from Madrid, Spain, were included in this study. DNA samples were analyzed by two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to detect a partial sequence of the 18S rRNA gene of Hepatozoon spp. and Cytauxzoon spp. In order to evaluate possible associations between infection by these protozoans and epidemiological or clinical parameters, data were collected related to: the season of sample collection, age, gender, spayed/neutered status, breed, living area, lifestyle, outdoor access, contact with other animals, prey on wild animals, history of tick or flea infestation, travel history, ectoparasiticide treatment, previous blood transfusion, previous tetracycline administration in the last 60 days, Feline Leukemia virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency virus (FIV) status, positivity to other vector-borne diseases, the presence or absence of clinical signs and hematological or biochemical alterations. DNA of Hepatozoon spp. and Cytauxzoon sp. was amplified from the blood of 10 (1.6%) and 8 (1.2%) cats, respectively. Previous treatment with tetracyclines in the last 60 days, previous administration of blood transfusion, a decrease in haematocrit and an increase in creatinine were associated with Hepatozoon spp. infection. Cytauxzoon sp. infection was more frequent in samples collected during the winter months and in cats living in rural areas. This infection was associated with a FIV-positive status. Some of the cats that were positive for Hepatozoon spp. or Cytauxzoon sp. had been exposed to other vector

  14. NUCLEAR ENERGY COMMISSION, HIGHER COUNCIL OF RESEARCH, AND THE CENTER OF RESEARCH IN PHYSICS IN MADRID, SPAIN.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    and controls essentially all aspects of scientific research in Spain, and the Centro de Investigaciones Fisicas (CIF) ’Leonardo Torres Quevedo,’ a...Commission; the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) or Higher Council of Scientific Research, which is the governing body that administers...The report gives an account of a liasion visit to three institutions in Madrid: the Junta de la Energia Nuclear (JEN), Spain’s Nuclear Energy

  15. Dietary patterns and quality in West-African immigrants in Madrid

    PubMed Central

    Delisle, Hélène F; Vioque, Jesús; Gil, Augusta

    2009-01-01

    Background Eating patterns of immigrants deserve to be better documented because they may reflect the extent of acculturation and associated health risks. The study assessed dietary patterns and quality in Bubi immigrants (from Equatorial Guinea) using cluster analysis and comparing different diet quality indexes. Methods A random sample of 83 Bubi men and 130 women living in Madrid were studied. A 99-item food frequency questionnaire was administered, body weights and heights were self-reported and socio-demographic and health information was collected during interviews. Usual intakes were collapsed into 19 food groups. Cluster analysis of standardized food intakes per 1000 kcalories was performed. Dietary quality was appraised using the Alternative Mediterranean Diet Score, the Alternative Healthy Eating Index and scores of micronutrient adequacy and prevention based on WHO/FAO recommendations. Results Two dietary patterns were identified. The 'Healthier' pattern, so confirmed by two dietary quality indexes, featured a higher consumption of fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes, dairy products and bread while the 'Western' pattern included more processed meat, animal fat, and sweetened foods and drinks. One third of the subjects were in the 'Healthier' food cluster, with the same proportion of men and women. Age ≥ 30 and residence in Madrid ≥ 11 years were independently associated with the healthier diet. Consumption of traditional foods was unrelated to dietary pattern, however. Overall, Bubi diets were somewhat protective because of high intakes of fruits and vegetables and monounsaturated fat (olive oil), but not with respect to sugar, cholesterol, omega-3 fatty acids and fibre. Less than two thirds of subjects had adequate intakes of iron, calcium and folate in both dietary phenotypes. Body mass index, physical exercise, and self-reported health and cardiovascular disease condition showed no significant association with the dietary pattern. Conclusion Cluster

  16. Late Oligocene and Early Miocene Muroidea of the Zinda Pir Dome.

    PubMed

    Lindsay, Everett H; Flynn, Lawrence J

    2016-02-17

    A series of Oligocene through Early Miocene terrestrial deposits preserved in the foothills of the Zinda Pir Dome of western Pakistan produce multiple, superposed fossil mammal localities. These include small mammal assemblages that shed light on the evolution of rodent lineages, especially Muroidea, in South Asia. Nine small mammal localities span approximately 28-19 Ma, an interval encompassing the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. The Early Miocene rodent fossil assemblages are dominated by muroid rodents, but muroids are uncommon and archaic in earlier Oligocene horizons. The Zinda Pir sequence includes the evolutionary transition to modern Muroidea at about the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. We review the muroid record for the Zinda Pir Dome, which includes the early radiation of primitive bamboo rats (Rhizomyinae) and early members of the modern muroid radiation, which lie near crown Cricetidae and Muridae. The Zinda Pir record dates diversification of modern muroids in the Indian Subcontintent and establishment by 19 Ma of muroid assemblages characteristic of the later Siwaliks.

  17. Seismic-wave attenuation associated with crustal faults in the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hamilton, R.M.; Mooney, W.D.

    1990-01-01

    The attenuation of upper crustal seismic waves that are refracted with a velocity of about 6 kilometers per second varies greatly among profiles in the area of the New Madrid seismic zone in the central Mississippi Valley. The waves that have the strongest attenuation pass through the seismic trend along the axis of the Reelfoot rift in the area of the Blytheville arch. Defocusing of the waves in a low-velocity zone and/ or seismic scattering and absorption could cause the attenuation; these effects are most likely associated with the highly deformed rocks along the arch. Consequently, strong seismic-wave attenuation may be a useful criterion for identifying seismogenic fault zones.

  18. A 28,000 Years Old Cro-Magnon mtDNA Sequence Differs from All Potentially Contaminating Modern Sequences

    PubMed Central

    Caramelli, David; Milani, Lucio; Vai, Stefania; Modi, Alessandra; Pecchioli, Elena; Girardi, Matteo; Pilli, Elena; Lari, Martina; Lippi, Barbara; Ronchitelli, Annamaria; Mallegni, Francesco; Casoli, Antonella; Bertorelle, Giorgio; Barbujani, Guido

    2008-01-01

    Background DNA sequences from ancient speciments may in fact result from undetected contamination of the ancient specimens by modern DNA, and the problem is particularly challenging in studies of human fossils. Doubts on the authenticity of the available sequences have so far hampered genetic comparisons between anatomically archaic (Neandertal) and early modern (Cro-Magnoid) Europeans. Methodology/Principal Findings We typed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable region I in a 28,000 years old Cro-Magnoid individual from the Paglicci cave, in Italy (Paglicci 23) and in all the people who had contact with the sample since its discovery in 2003. The Paglicci 23 sequence, determined through the analysis of 152 clones, is the Cambridge reference sequence, and cannot possibly reflect contamination because it differs from all potentially contaminating modern sequences. Conclusions/Significance: The Paglicci 23 individual carried a mtDNA sequence that is still common in Europe, and which radically differs from those of the almost contemporary Neandertals, demonstrating a genealogical continuity across 28,000 years, from Cro-Magnoid to modern Europeans. Because all potential sources of modern DNA contamination are known, the Paglicci 23 sample will offer a unique opportunity to get insight for the first time into the nuclear genes of early modern Europeans. PMID:18628960

  19. [Pilot study on the prevalence of dual pathology in community mental health and substance misuse services in Madrid].

    PubMed

    Szerman Bolotner, Néstor; Arias Horcajadas, Francisco; Vega Astudillo, Pablo; Babín Vich, Francisco; Mesías Perez, Beatriz; Basurte Villamor, Ignacio; Morant, Consuelo; Ochoa Mangado, Enriqueta; Poyo Calvo, Félix

    2011-01-01

    To evaluate retrospectively the comorbidity of mental and addictive disorders in community mental health and substance misuse services in Madrid. The medical records of 400 patients from mental health and substance misuse services in Madrid were evaluated. Records were examined for the last 20 patients from each service unit. Dual pathology was constituted when a current diagnosis of mental and addictive disorders, excluding nicotine addiction, appeared on the patient's records. Prevalence of dual pathology was 34%. There were differences in the prevalence figures for the two kinds of service: 36.78% in substance misuse services, and 28.78% in mental health services. There was an association of dual diagnosis with alcohol or cocaine dependence, but not with opioid dependence. The mental disorders more prevalent in dually diagnosed than in non-dually diagnosed patients were mood disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia. There is a high prevalence of dual pathology in those seeking treatment, being higher in substance misuse services than in mental health services, and higher in patients with alcohol or cocaine dependence. These findings could be of help in the planning of care resource policies for these patients.

  20. Health Care Austerity Measures in Times of Crisis: The Perspectives of Primary Health Care Physicians in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Heras-Mosteiro, Julio; Sanz-Barbero, Belén; Otero-Garcia, Laura

    2016-01-01

    The current financial crisis has seen severe austerity measures imposed on the Spanish health care system, including reduced public spending, copayments, salary reductions, and reduced services for undocumented migrants. However, the impacts have not been well-documented. We present findings from a qualitative study that explores the perceptions of primary health care physicians in Madrid, Spain. This article discusses the effects of austerity measures implemented in the public health care system and their potential impacts on access and utilization of primary health care services. This is the first study, to our knowledge, exploring the health care experiences during the financial crisis of general practitioners in Madrid, Spain. The majority of participating physicians disapproved of austerity measures implemented in Spain. The findings of this study suggest that undocumented migrants should regain access to health care services; copayments should be minimized and removed for patients with low incomes; and health care professionals should receive additional help to avoid burnout. Failure to implement these measures could result in the quality of health care further deteriorating and could potentially have long-term negative consequences on population health. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. Crustal deformation in the New Madrid seismic zone and the role of postseismic processes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boyd, Oliver; Robert Smalley, Jr; Zeng, Yuehua

    2015-01-01

    Global Navigation Satellite System data across the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) in the central United States over the period from 2000 through 2014 are analyzed and modeled with several deformation mechanisms including the following: (1) creep on subsurface dislocations, (2) postseismic frictional afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation from the 1811–1812 and 1450 earthquakes in the NMSZ, and (3) regional strain. In agreement with previous studies, a dislocation creeping at about 4 mm/yr between 12 and 20 km depth along the downdip extension of the Reelfoot fault reproduces the observations well. We find that a dynamic model of postseismic frictional afterslip from the 1450 and February 1812 Reelfoot fault events can explain this creep. Kinematic and dynamic models involving the Cottonwood Grove fault provide minimal predictive power. This is likely due to the smaller size of the December 1811 event on the Cottonwood Grove fault and a distribution of stations better suited to constrain localized strain across the Reelfoot fault. Regional compressive strain across the NMSZ is found to be less than 3 × 10−9/yr. If much of the present-day surface deformation results from afterslip, it is likely that many of the earthquakes we see today in the NMSZ are aftershocks from the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Despite this conclusion, our results are consistent with observations and models of intraplate earthquake clustering. Given this and the recent paleoseismic history of the region, we suggest that seismic hazard is likely to remain significant.

  2. On the modified Mercalli intensities and magnitudes of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hough, S.E.; Armbruster, J.G.; Seeber, L.; Hough, J.F.

    2000-01-01

    We reexamine original felt reports from the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes and determine revised isoseismal maps for the three principal mainshocks. In many cases we interpret lower values than those assigned by earlier studies. In some cases the revisions result from an interpretation of original felt reports with an appreciation for site response issues. Additionally, earlier studies had assigned modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) values of V-VII to a substantial number of reports that we conclude do not describe damage commensurate with intensities this high. We investigate several approaches to contouring the MMI values using both analytical and subjective methods. For the first mainshock on 02:15 LT December 16, 1811, our preferred contouring yields M??7.2-7.3 using the area-moment regressions of Johnston [1996]. For the 08:00 LT on January 23, 1812, and 03:45 LT on February 7, 1812, mainshocks, we obtain M??7.0 and M??7.4-7.5, respectively. Our magnitude for the February mainshock is consistent with the established geometry of the Reelfoot fault, which all evidence suggests to have been the causative structure for this event. We note that the inference of lower magnitudes for the New Madrid events implies that site response plays a significant role in controlling seismic hazard at alluvial sites in the central and eastern United States. We also note that our results suggest that thrusting may have been the dominant mechanism of faulting associated with the 1811-1812 sequence. Copyright 2000 by the American Geophysical Union.

  3. The role of load-carrying in the evolution of modern body proportions.

    PubMed

    Wang, W-J; Crompton, R H

    2004-05-01

    The first unquestionably bipedal early human ancestors, the species Australopithecus afarensis, were markedly different to ourselves in body proportions, having a long trunk and short legs. Some have argued that 'chimpanzee-like' features such as these suggest a 'bent-hip, bent-knee' (BHBK) posture would have been adopted during gait. Computer modelling studies, however, indicate that this early human ancestor could have walked in a reasonably efficient upright posture, whereas BHBK posture would have nearly doubled the mechanical energy cost of locomotion, as it does the physiological cost of locomotion in ourselves. More modern body proportions first appear at around 1.8-1.5 Ma, with Homo ergaster (early African Homo erectus), represented by the Nariokotome skeleton KNM-WT 15000, in which the legs were considerably longer in relation to the trunk than they are in human adults, although this skeleton represents an adolescent. Several authors have suggested that this morphology would have allowed faster, more endurant walking. But during the same period, the archaeological record indicates a sharp rise in distances over which stone tools or raw materials are transported. Is this coincidental, or can load-carrying also be implicated in selection for a more modern morphology? Computer simulations of loaded walking, verified against kinetic data for humans, show that BHBK gait is even more ineffective while load-carrying. However, walking erect, the Nariokotome individual could have carried loads of 10-15% body mass for less cost, relative to body size, than AL 288-1 walking erect but unloaded. In fact, to the extent that our sample of humans is typical, KNM-WT 15000 would have had better mechanical effectiveness in bearing light loads on the back than modern human adults. Thus, selection for effectiveness in load-carrying, as well as in endurant walking, is indeed likely to have been implicated in the evolution of modern body proportions.

  4. Modern pentathlon and the First World War: when athletes and soldiers met to practise martial manliness.

    PubMed

    Heck, Sandra

    2011-01-01

    In the nationalistic atmosphere of the early twentieth century, a nurturing medium for sports practising martial manliness abounded throughout Europe. This framework supported the invention of a new multi-disciplinary sport, aided by Baron Pierre de Coubertin himself: modern pentathlon. Though the idea of a new form of pentathlon was already born in 1894, it took 30 years, until Paris 1924, to establish modern pentathlon within the Olympic Games. This study is concerned with the reasons for that delay. It will be assessed whether the active military preparations around the First World War and the contemporary image of masculinity had a decisive influence on the early history of modern pentathlon. By including historical documents from the IOC archives in Lausanne, Switzerland, the research office for military history in Potsdam, Germany, and the LA84 Foundation in Los Angeles, USA, as well as literature on gender, military sport and Olympic history, this study offers an entirely new view on the early history of a sport that was born in an atmosphere of glorifying manliness and apparent militarism. The history of modern pentathlon thereby provides a particularly appropriate area for the analysis of connections between sport, militarism and masculinity. It was not by chance that the implementation of a combined sport, which included besides swimming and running the three military disciplines of shooting, fencing and horse riding, arose in a pre-war context. Though in 1912 the Great War had not yet begun, the awareness of an upcoming battle was rising and led to a higher attention to Coubertin's almost forgotten assumption of a new sport. In 1924 the advantages were finally admitted on two sides: the army recruited modern pentathletes as future military officers; the sports community appointed skilled officers as successful competitors. Thus the lobby for an Olympic recognition of modern pentathlon was found.

  5. Morphological Integration of the Modern Human Mandible during Ontogeny

    PubMed Central

    Polanski, Joshua M.

    2011-01-01

    Craniofacial integration is prevalent in anatomical modernity research. Little investigation has been done on mandibular integration. Integration patterns were quantified in a longitudinal modern human sample of mandibles. This integration pattern is one of modularization between the alveolar and muscle attachment regions, but with age-specific differences. The ascending ramus and nonalveolar portions of the corpus remain integrated throughout ontogeny. The alveolar region is dynamic, becoming modularized according to the needs of the mandible at a particular developmental stage. Early in ontogeny, this modularity reflects the need for space for the developing dentition; later, modularity is more reflective of mastication. The overall pattern of modern human mandibular integration follows the integration pattern seen in other mammals, including chimpanzees. Given the differences in craniofacial integration patterns between humans and chimpanzees, but the similarities in mandibular integration, it is likely that the mandible has played the more passive role in hominin skull evolution. PMID:21716741

  6. [Injuries treated in primary care in the Community of Madrid: analyses of electronic medical records].

    PubMed

    Zoni, Ana Clara; Domínguez-Berjón, María Felicitas; Esteban-Vasallo, María Dolores; Regidor, Enrique

    2014-01-01

    To describe the incidence of injuries treated in primary care by type of injury, age groups, and sex in the publicly-funded health system of the region of Madrid in Spain. A descriptive cross sectional study was performed of injury episodes registered in the primary care electronic medical records of the health system of Madrid in 2011. We calculated the global incidence of injuries, injury-specific rates for fractures, sprains, wounds, burns, foreign body injuries, poisoning and bruises, and their rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals, all of which were stratified by sex and age groups. In 2011 there were 707,800 injury episodes (3.5% of all episodes treated in primary care). Most of the injuries occurred in women (54.0%) and in persons older than 34 years (58.0%). The most common injuries were wounds in men (35.3%) and bruises in women (30.6%). Overall, women had higher rates of injuries among the elderly and men had more injuries in the group younger than 15 years. By type of injury, the highest rates of fractures, burns and bruises were observed in the older population, foreign body injuries and wounds in children, sprains in youth, and poisonings in extreme ages. The special vulnerability of boys younger than 5 years and elderly women suggests that intervention strategies should be targeted to the specific needs of these groups. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  7. Attributions about homelessness in homeless and domiciled people in Madrid, Spain: "Why are they homeless people?".

    PubMed

    Vázquez, José Juan; Panadero, Sonia; Zúñiga, Claudia

    2018-01-01

    Causal attributions of homelessness may affect both the design and acceptance of public policies aimed at improving the situation of homeless people and the strategies that homeless people themselves decide to adopt in order to cope with their situation. This article analyzes the differences in causal attributions of homelessness based on gender, age, nationality, educational background, perceived social class, evolution of personal economic situation, and future expectations between the members of 2 groups: (a) "homeless group", consisting of a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid, Spain (n = 188); and (b) "domiciled group", consisting of a sample of people in Madrid at no risk of homelessness (n = 180), matched for sex, age and nationality. Results show that among domiciled population, women, older people, those without university education, those considering themselves to belong to lower income social classes, those who considered their economic situation to have worsened, and those who expressed negative expectations for the future attributed homelessness to individualistic courses to a greater extent. Meanwhile, among homeless group, younger people, those without university education, those considering themselves to belong to higher social classes, those who perceived their economic situation as having improved in recent years, and those who expressed positive expectations for the future generally attributed homelessness to individualistic courses to a greater extent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. The Incidence of Sixteenth Century Cosmic Models in Modern Texts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maene, S. A.; Best, J. S.; Usher, P. D.

    1999-12-01

    In the sixteenth century, the bounded cosmological models of Copernicus (1543) and Tycho Brahe (1588), and the unbounded model of Thomas Digges (1576), vied with the bounded geocentric model of Ptolemy (c. 140 AD). The work of the philosopher Giordano Bruno in 1584 lent further support to the Digges model. Despite the eventual acceptance of the unbounded universe, analysis of over 100 modern introductory astronomy texts reveals that these early unbounded models are mentioned infrequently. The ratio of mentions of Digges' model to Copernicus' model has the surprisingly low value of R = 0.08. The philosophical speculation of Bruno receives mention more than twice as often (R = 0.17). The expectation that these early unbounded models warrant inclusion in astronomy texts is supported both by modern hindsight and by the literature of the time. In Shakespeare's "Hamlet" of c. 1601, Prince Hamlet suffers from two transformations. According to the cosmic allegorical model, one transformation changes the bounded geocentricism of Ptolemy to the bounded heliocentricism of Copernicus, while the other completes the change to Digges' model of the infinite universe of suns. This interpretation and the modern world view suggest that both transformations should receive equal mention and thus that the ratio R in introductory texts should be close to unity. This work was supported in part by the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

  9. Short-term association between environmental factors and hospital admissions due to dementia in Madrid.

    PubMed

    Linares, C; Culqui, D; Carmona, R; Ortiz, C; Díaz, J

    2017-01-01

    Spain has one of the highest proportions of dementia in the world among the population aged 60 years or over. Recent studies link various environmental factors to neurocognitive-type diseases. This study sought to analyse whether urban risk factors such as traffic noise, pollutants and heat waves might have a short-term impact on exacerbation of symptoms of dementia, leading to emergency hospital admission. We conducted a longitudinal ecological time-series study, with the dependent variable being the number of daily dementia-related emergency (DDE) hospital admissions to Madrid municipal hospitals (ICD-10 codes 290.0-290.2, 290.4-290.9, 294.1-294) from 01 to 01-2001 to 31-12-2009, as obtained from the Hospital Morbidity Survey (National Statistics Institute). The measures used were as follows: for noise pollution, Leqd, equivalent diurnal noise level (from 8 to 22h), and Leqn, equivalent nocturnal noise level (from 22 to 8h) in dB(A); for chemical pollution, mean daily NO2, PM2.5, PM1 as provided by the Madrid Municipal Air Quality Monitoring Grid; and lastly, maximum daily temperature (°C), as supplied by the State Meteorological Agency. Scatterplot diagrams were plotted to assess the type of functional relationship existing between the main variable of analysis and the environmental variables. The lags of the environmental variables were calculated to analyse the timing of the effect. Poisson regression models were fitted, controlling for trends and seasonalities, to quantify relative risk (RR). During the study period, there were 1175 DDE hospital admissions. These admissions displayed a linear functional relationship without a threshold in the case of Leqd. The RR of DDE admissions was 1.15 (1.11-1.20) for an increase of 1dB in Leqd, with impact at lag 0. In the case of maximum daily temperature, there was a threshold temperature of 34°C, with an increase of 1°C over this threshold posing an RR of 1.19 (1.09-1.30) at lag 1. The only pollutant to show an

  10. Genetic analysis of lice supports direct contact between modern and archaic humans.

    PubMed

    Reed, David L; Smith, Vincent S; Hammond, Shaless L; Rogers, Alan R; Clayton, Dale H

    2004-11-01

    Parasites can be used as unique markers to investigate host evolutionary history, independent of host data. Here we show that modern human head lice, Pediculus humanus, are composed of two ancient lineages, whose origin predates modern Homo sapiens by an order of magnitude (ca. 1.18 million years). One of the two louse lineages has a worldwide distribution and appears to have undergone a population bottleneck ca. 100,000 years ago along with its modern H. sapiens host. Phylogenetic and population genetic data suggest that the other lineage, found only in the New World, has remained isolated from the worldwide lineage for the last 1.18 million years. The ancient divergence between these two lice is contemporaneous with splits among early species of Homo, and cospeciation analyses suggest that the two louse lineages codiverged with a now extinct species of Homo and the lineage leading to modern H. sapiens. If these lice indeed codiverged with their hosts ca. 1.18 million years ago, then a recent host switch from an archaic species of Homo to modern H. sapiens is required to explain the occurrence of both lineages on modern H. sapiens. Such a host switch would require direct physical contact between modern and archaic forms of Homo.

  11. Genetic Analysis of Lice Supports Direct Contact between Modern and Archaic Humans

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Vincent S; Hammond, Shaless L; Rogers, Alan R; Clayton, Dale H

    2004-01-01

    Parasites can be used as unique markers to investigate host evolutionary history, independent of host data. Here we show that modern human head lice, Pediculus humanus, are composed of two ancient lineages, whose origin predates modern Homo sapiens by an order of magnitude (ca. 1.18 million years). One of the two louse lineages has a worldwide distribution and appears to have undergone a population bottleneck ca. 100,000 years ago along with its modern H. sapiens host. Phylogenetic and population genetic data suggest that the other lineage, found only in the New World, has remained isolated from the worldwide lineage for the last 1.18 million years. The ancient divergence between these two lice is contemporaneous with splits among early species of Homo, and cospeciation analyses suggest that the two louse lineages codiverged with a now extinct species of Homo and the lineage leading to modern H. sapiens. If these lice indeed codiverged with their hosts ca. 1.18 million years ago, then a recent host switch from an archaic species of Homo to modern H. sapiens is required to explain the occurrence of both lineages on modern H. sapiens. Such a host switch would require direct physical contact between modern and archaic forms of Homo. PMID:15502871

  12. Two waves of colonization straddling the K-Pg boundary formed the modern reef fish fauna.

    PubMed

    Price, S A; Schmitz, L; Oufiero, C E; Eytan, R I; Dornburg, A; Smith, W L; Friedman, M; Near, T J; Wainwright, P C

    2014-05-22

    Living reef fishes are one of the most diverse vertebrate assemblages on Earth. Despite its prominence and ecological importance, the origins and assembly of the reef fish fauna is poorly described. A patchy fossil record suggests that the major colonization of reef habitats must have occurred in the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene, with the earliest known modern fossil coral reef fish assemblage dated to 50 Ma. Using a phylogenetic approach, we analysed the early evolutionary dynamics of modern reef fishes. We find that reef lineages successively colonized reef habitats throughout the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene. Two waves of invasion were accompanied by increasing morphological convergence: one in the Late Cretaceous from 90 to 72 Ma and the other immediately following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. The surge in reef invasions after the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary continued for 10 Myr, after which the pace of transitions to reef habitats slowed. Combined, these patterns match a classic niche-filling scenario: early transitions to reefs were made rapidly by morphologically distinct lineages and were followed by a decrease in the rate of invasions and eventual saturation of morphospace. Major alterations in reef composition, distribution and abundance, along with shifts in climate and oceanic currents, occurred during the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene interval. A causal mechanism between these changes and concurrent episodes of reef invasion remains obscure, but what is clear is that the broad framework of the modern reef fish fauna was in place within 10 Myr of the end-Cretaceous extinction.

  13. Two waves of colonization straddling the K–Pg boundary formed the modern reef fish fauna

    PubMed Central

    Price, S. A.; Schmitz, L.; Oufiero, C. E.; Eytan, R. I.; Dornburg, A.; Smith, W. L.; Friedman, M.; Near, T. J.; Wainwright, P. C.

    2014-01-01

    Living reef fishes are one of the most diverse vertebrate assemblages on Earth. Despite its prominence and ecological importance, the origins and assembly of the reef fish fauna is poorly described. A patchy fossil record suggests that the major colonization of reef habitats must have occurred in the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene, with the earliest known modern fossil coral reef fish assemblage dated to 50 Ma. Using a phylogenetic approach, we analysed the early evolutionary dynamics of modern reef fishes. We find that reef lineages successively colonized reef habitats throughout the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene. Two waves of invasion were accompanied by increasing morphological convergence: one in the Late Cretaceous from 90 to 72 Ma and the other immediately following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. The surge in reef invasions after the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary continued for 10 Myr, after which the pace of transitions to reef habitats slowed. Combined, these patterns match a classic niche-filling scenario: early transitions to reefs were made rapidly by morphologically distinct lineages and were followed by a decrease in the rate of invasions and eventual saturation of morphospace. Major alterations in reef composition, distribution and abundance, along with shifts in climate and oceanic currents, occurred during the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene interval. A causal mechanism between these changes and concurrent episodes of reef invasion remains obscure, but what is clear is that the broad framework of the modern reef fish fauna was in place within 10 Myr of the end-Cretaceous extinction. PMID:24695431

  14. Topography and tectonics of the central New Madrid seismic zone: Results of numerical experiements using a three-dimensional boundary element program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gomberg, Joan; Ellis, Michael

    1994-01-01

    We present results of a series of numerical experiments designed to test hypothetical mechanisms that derive deformation in the New Madrid seismic zone. Experiments are constrained by subtle topography and the distribution of seismicity in the region. We use a new boundary element algorithm that permits calcuation of the three-dimensional deformation field. Surface displacement fields are calculated for the New Madrid zone under both far-field (plate tectonics scale) and locally derived driving strains. Results demonstrate that surface displacement fields cannot distinguish between either a far-field simple or pure shear strain field or one that involves a deep shear zone beneath the upper crustal faults. Thus, neither geomorphic nor geodetic studies alone are expected to reveal the ultimate driving mechanism behind the present-day deformation. We have also tested hypotheses about strain accommodation within the New Madrid contractional step-over by including linking faults, two southwest dipping and one vertical, recently inferred from microearthquake data. Only those models with step-over faults are able to predict the observed topography. Surface displacement fields for long-term, relaxed deformation predict the distribution of uplift and subsidence in the contractional step-over remarkably well. Generation of these displacement fields appear to require slip on both the two northeast trending vertical faults and the two dipping faults in the step-over region, with very minor displacements occurring during the interseismic period when the northeast trending vertical faults are locked. These models suggest that the gently dippling central step-over fault is a reverse fault and that the steeper fault, extending to the southeast of the step-over, acts as a normal fault over the long term.

  15. An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,000-63,000 years ago.

    PubMed

    Westaway, K E; Louys, J; Awe, R Due; Morwood, M J; Price, G J; Zhao, J-X; Aubert, M; Joannes-Boyau, R; Smith, T M; Skinner, M M; Compton, T; Bailey, R M; van den Bergh, G D; de Vos, J; Pike, A W G; Stringer, C; Saptomo, E W; Rizal, Y; Zaim, J; Santoso, W D; Trihascaryo, A; Kinsley, L; Sulistyanto, B

    2017-08-17

    Genetic evidence for anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa before 75 thousand years ago (ka) and in island southeast Asia (ISEA) before 60 ka (93-61 ka) predates accepted archaeological records of occupation in the region. Claims that AMH arrived in ISEA before 60 ka (ref. 4) have been supported only by equivocal or non-skeletal evidence. AMH evidence from this period is rare and lacks robust chronologies owing to a lack of direct dating applications, poor preservation and/or excavation strategies and questionable taxonomic identifications. Lida Ajer is a Sumatran Pleistocene cave with a rich rainforest fauna associated with fossil human teeth. The importance of the site is unclear owing to unsupported taxonomic identification of these fossils and uncertainties regarding the age of the deposit, therefore it is rarely considered in models of human dispersal. Here we reinvestigate Lida Ajer to identify the teeth confidently and establish a robust chronology using an integrated dating approach. Using enamel-dentine junction morphology, enamel thickness and comparative morphology, we show that the teeth are unequivocally AMH. Luminescence and uranium-series techniques applied to bone-bearing sediments and speleothems, and coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of mammalian teeth, place modern humans in Sumatra between 73 and 63 ka. This age is consistent with biostratigraphic estimations, palaeoclimate and sea-level reconstructions, and genetic evidence for a pre-60 ka arrival of AMH into ISEA. Lida Ajer represents, to our knowledge, the earliest evidence of rainforest occupation by AMH, and underscores the importance of reassessing the timing and environmental context of the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa.

  16. An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,000-63,000 years ago

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Westaway, K. E.; Louys, J.; Awe, R. Due; Morwood, M. J.; Price, G. J.; Zhao, J.-X.; Aubert, M.; Joannes-Boyau, R.; Smith, T. M.; Skinner, M. M.; Compton, T.; Bailey, R. M.; van den Bergh, G. D.; de Vos, J.; Pike, A. W. G.; Stringer, C.; Saptomo, E. W.; Rizal, Y.; Zaim, J.; Santoso, W. D.; Trihascaryo, A.; Kinsley, L.; Sulistyanto, B.

    2017-08-01

    Genetic evidence for anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa before 75 thousand years ago (ka) and in island southeast Asia (ISEA) before 60 ka (93-61 ka) predates accepted archaeological records of occupation in the region. Claims that AMH arrived in ISEA before 60 ka (ref. 4) have been supported only by equivocal or non-skeletal evidence. AMH evidence from this period is rare and lacks robust chronologies owing to a lack of direct dating applications, poor preservation and/or excavation strategies and questionable taxonomic identifications. Lida Ajer is a Sumatran Pleistocene cave with a rich rainforest fauna associated with fossil human teeth. The importance of the site is unclear owing to unsupported taxonomic identification of these fossils and uncertainties regarding the age of the deposit, therefore it is rarely considered in models of human dispersal. Here we reinvestigate Lida Ajer to identify the teeth confidently and establish a robust chronology using an integrated dating approach. Using enamel-dentine junction morphology, enamel thickness and comparative morphology, we show that the teeth are unequivocally AMH. Luminescence and uranium-series techniques applied to bone-bearing sediments and speleothems, and coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of mammalian teeth, place modern humans in Sumatra between 73 and 63 ka. This age is consistent with biostratigraphic estimations, palaeoclimate and sea-level reconstructions, and genetic evidence for a pre-60 ka arrival of AMH into ISEA. Lida Ajer represents, to our knowledge, the earliest evidence of rainforest occupation by AMH, and underscores the importance of reassessing the timing and environmental context of the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa.

  17. "It is caused of the womans part or of the mans part": the role of gender in the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunction in early modern England.

    PubMed

    Evans, Jennifer

    2011-01-01

    Philip Barrough wrote in 1590 that barrenness 'is caused of the womans part or of the mans part'. By the eighteenth century, however, barrenness was perceived as a female disorder distinguished from male impotence. Few historians have addressed the uncertainty surrounding early modern definitions of infertility, choosing instead to adopt set terms that fit comfortably with modern ideas. This article will highlight the difficulties surrounding the gender distinction of the terms 'barrenness' and 'impotence' during this period. Moreover, the discussion will examine the role of gender in diagnosing these disorders to sufferers. The article will argue that ideas of gender were more central to diagnosis of poor sexual health than to effectual treatment. Although it appears that barrenness and impotence were treated with separate remedies, many treatments were described as effectual for both sexes. Additionally, the ingredients used in such recipes were often sexual stimulants explained without reference to gender.

  18. Survey of emission-line galaxies: Universidad Complutense de Madrid list

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zamorano, J.; Rego, Gallego, J.; Gallego, J. G.; Vitores, A. G.RA, R.; Gonzalez-Riestra, R..; Rodriguez-Caderot, G.

    1994-01-01

    A low-dispersion objective-prism survey for low-redshift emission-line galaxies (ELGs) is being carried out by the University Complutense de Madrid with the Schmidt telescope at the German-Spanish Observatory of Calar Alto (Almeria, Spain). A 4 deg full aperture prism, which provides a dispersion of 1950 A/mm, and IIIaF emulsion combination has been used to search for ELGs selected by the presence of H-alpha emission in their spectra. Our survey has proved to be able to recover objects already found by similar surveys with different techniques and, what is more important, to discover new objects not previously cataloged. A compilation of descriptions and positions, along with finding charts when necessary, is presented for 160 extragalactic emission-line objects. This is the first list, which contains objects located in a region of the sky covering 270 sq deg in 10 fields near alpha = 0(sup h) and delta = 20 deg.

  19. Ancient origin of the modern deep-sea fauna.

    PubMed

    Thuy, Ben; Gale, Andy S; Kroh, Andreas; Kucera, Michal; Numberger-Thuy, Lea D; Reich, Mike; Stöhr, Sabine

    2012-01-01

    The origin and possible antiquity of the spectacularly diverse modern deep-sea fauna has been debated since the beginning of deep-sea research in the mid-nineteenth century. Recent hypotheses, based on biogeographic patterns and molecular clock estimates, support a latest Mesozoic or early Cenozoic date for the origin of key groups of the present deep-sea fauna (echinoids, octopods). This relatively young age is consistent with hypotheses that argue for extensive extinction during Jurassic and Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs) and the mid-Cenozoic cooling of deep-water masses, implying repeated re-colonization by immigration of taxa from shallow-water habitats. Here we report on a well-preserved echinoderm assemblage from deep-sea (1000-1500 m paleodepth) sediments of the NE-Atlantic of Early Cretaceous age (114 Ma). The assemblage is strikingly similar to that of extant bathyal echinoderm communities in composition, including families and genera found exclusively in modern deep-sea habitats. A number of taxa found in the assemblage have no fossil record at shelf depths postdating the assemblage, which precludes the possibility of deep-sea recolonization from shallow habitats following episodic extinction at least for those groups. Our discovery provides the first key fossil evidence that a significant part of the modern deep-sea fauna is considerably older than previously assumed. As a consequence, most major paleoceanographic events had far less impact on the diversity of deep-sea faunas than has been implied. It also suggests that deep-sea biota are more resilient to extinction events than shallow-water forms, and that the unusual deep-sea environment, indeed, provides evolutionary stability which is very rarely punctuated on macroevolutionary time scales.

  20. Risk of second malignancies in patients with early-stage classical Hodgkin's lymphoma treated in a modern era.

    PubMed

    LeMieux, Melissa H; Solanki, Abhishek A; Mahmood, Usama; Chmura, Steven J; Koshy, Matthew

    2015-04-01

    Second malignancies remain an issue affecting morbidity and mortality in long-term survivors of early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). We undertook this study to determine if treatment in the modern era resulted in decreased second malignancies. Patients diagnosed with stage I-II cHL between 1988 and 2009 who received radiation therapy (RT) were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Freedom from second malignancy (FFSM) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analysis (UVA) was performed using the Log-Rank test, and included age, gender, year of diagnosis, and stage. Multivariable analysis (MVA) was performed using Cox Proportional Hazards modeling. The study cohort included 8807 patients. The median age at diagnosis was 32 years (range: 2-85). The majority of patients had stage II disease (n = 6044, 69%), 597 (7%) had extranodal involvement (ENI), and 1925 (22%) had B symptoms. Median follow-up for the entire cohort was 7.2 years (range: 0-22). Five hundred twenty-three (6%) patients developed a second malignancy. Median latency to second malignancy was 5.8 years (range: 0.1-21.5). Of the 523 patients that developed a second malignancy, 228 (44%) occurred in the first 5 years, 139 (27%) were diagnosed between years 5-10, and 156 (30%) beyond 10 years. The 10 year FFSM for patients treated between 1988 and 1999 was 93.0% versus 95.1% for patients treated between 2000 and 2009 (P = 0.04), On MVA, treatment between 2000 and 2009 was associated with a HR for second malignancy of 0.77 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.62-0.96, P = 0.02) compared to the treatment between 1988 and 1999. Our analysis suggests that in patients treated with RT for stage I or II cHL, treatment prior to 2000 had a slightly higher risk of second malignancy compared to treatment in 2000 and later. Further studies, with longer follow-up of patients treated in the modern era are needed to confirm these findings. © 2015 The Authors. Cancer Medicine

  1. Speculative Truth - Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise of Modern Theoretical Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCormmach, Russell

    2004-03-01

    With a never-before published paper by Lord Henry Cavendish, as well as a biography on him, this book offers a fascinating discourse on the rise of scientific attitudes and ways of knowing. A pioneering British physicist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Cavendish was widely considered to be the first full-time scientist in the modern sense. Through the lens of this unique thinker and writer, this book is about the birth of modern science.

  2. [Side Effects of Modernity : Dam Building, Health Care, and the Construction of Power in the Context of the Control of Schistosomiasis in Egypt in the 1960s and early 1970s].

    PubMed

    Brendel, Benjamin

    2017-09-01

    This article analyzes the modernization campaigns in Egypt in the 1960s and early 1970s. The regulation of the Nile by the Aswan High Dam and the resulting irrigation projects caused the rate of schistosomiasis infestation in the population to rise. The result was a discourse between experts from the global north and Egyptian elites about modernization, development aid, dam building and health care. The fight against schistosomiasis was like a cipher, which combined different power-laden concepts and arguments. This article will decode the cipher and allow a deeper look into the contemporary dimensions of power bound to this subject. The text is conceived around three thematic axes. The first deals with the discursive interplay of modernization, health and development aid in and for Egypt. The second focuses on far-reaching and long-standing arguments within an international expert discourse about these concepts. Finally, the third presents an exemplary case study of West German health and development aid for fighting schistosomiasis in the Egyptian Fayoum oasis.

  3. Introduction to Modern Methods in Light Microscopy.

    PubMed

    Ryan, Joel; Gerhold, Abby R; Boudreau, Vincent; Smith, Lydia; Maddox, Paul S

    2017-01-01

    For centuries, light microscopy has been a key method in biological research, from the early work of Robert Hooke describing biological organisms as cells, to the latest in live-cell and single-molecule systems. Here, we introduce some of the key concepts related to the development and implementation of modern microscopy techniques. We briefly discuss the basics of optics in the microscope, super-resolution imaging, quantitative image analysis, live-cell imaging, and provide an outlook on active research areas pertaining to light microscopy.

  4. The second modern condition? Compressed modernity as internalized reflexive cosmopolitization.

    PubMed

    Kyung-Sup, Chang

    2010-09-01

    Compressed modernity is a civilizational condition in which economic, political, social and/or cultural changes occur in an extremely condensed manner in respect to both time and space, and in which the dynamic coexistence of mutually disparate historical and social elements leads to the construction and reconstruction of a highly complex and fluid social system. During what Beck considers the second modern stage of humanity, every society reflexively internalizes cosmopolitanized risks. Societies (or their civilizational conditions) are thereby being internalized into each other, making compressed modernity a universal feature of contemporary societies. This paper theoretically discusses compressed modernity as nationally ramified from reflexive cosmopolitization, and, then, comparatively illustrates varying instances of compressed modernity in advanced capitalist societies, un(der)developed capitalist societies, and system transition societies. In lieu of a conclusion, I point out the declining status of national societies as the dominant unit of (compressed) modernity and the interactive acceleration of compressed modernity among different levels of human life ranging from individuals to the global community. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2010.

  5. Modern freshwater microbialite analogues for ancient dendritic reef structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Laval, B.; Cady, S. L.; Pollack, J. C.; McKay, C. P.; Bird, J. S.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Ford, D. C.; Bohm, H. R.

    2000-01-01

    Microbialites are organosedimentary structures that can be constructed by a variety of metabolically distinct taxa. Consequently, microbialite structures abound in the fossil record, although the exact nature of the biogeochemical processes that produced them is often unknown. One such class of ancient calcareous structures, Epiphyton and Girvanella, appear in great abundance during the Early Cambrian. Together with Archeocyathids, stromatolites and thrombolites, they formed major Cambrian reef belts. To a large extent, Middle to Late Cambrian reefs are similar to Precambrian reefs, with the exception that the latter, including terminal Proterozoic reefs, do not contain Epiphyton or Girvanella. Here we report the discovery in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada, of a distinctive assemblage of freshwater calcite microbialites, some of which display microstructures similar to the fabrics displayed by Epiphyton and Girvanella. The morphologies of the modern microbialites vary with depth, and dendritic microstructures of the deep water (> 30 m) mounds indicate that they may be modern analogues for the ancient calcareous structures. These microbialites thus provide an opportunity to study the biogeochemical interactions that produce fabrics similar to those of some enigmatic Early Cambrian reef structures.

  6. [Development of a clinical pathway for the attention of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a regional network. ALS Assistance Network-Comunidad de Madrid].

    PubMed

    Rodríguez de Rivera, F J; Grande, M; García-Caballero, J; Muñoz-Blanco, J; Mora, J; Esteban, J; Guerrero, A; Matias-Guiu, J; de Andrés-Colsa, R; Buey, C; Díez-Tejedor, E

    2007-01-01

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) requires complex multidisciplinary attention. Clinical pathways are assistance plans for certain diseases with a predictable course. These plans are established in isolated centers, not in multicenter regions. The aim is to develop a clinical pathway capable of organizing and homogenizing assistance given in ALS Assistance Network-Comunidad de Madrid which is made up of five hospitals, from the beginning until the end of the disease. In successive meetings, neurologists of these hospitals and members of the Madrid Health Service evaluated published therapeutic guidelines and other documents used in ALS assistance. A clinical pathway was developed adapting this information to social-health care conditions in the Comunidad de Madrid following the FOCUS-PDCA model. A clinical pathway was created consisting of a scientist-technical framework which arranges the attention in relationship to the diagnosis and treatment, according to the degree of disease progression and a chronogram. This is accompanied by several patient information documents on the disease and the tests that are required, and a patient assistance evaluation form. The standards are established to reach and to promote 354 constant improvement in patient care. Clinical pathway for the ALS assistance in a regional network organizes the attention and cares that the patients must receive from the beginning to the end of the disease. This arrangement and homogenization of the attention improves the quality of patient care, diminishes variability and rationalizes the use of the health care resources.

  7. Detection of high Leishmania infantum loads in Phlebotomus perniciosus captured in the leishmaniasis focus of southwestern Madrid region (Spain) by real time PCR.

    PubMed

    González, Estela; Álvarez, Ana; Ruiz, Sonia; Molina, Ricardo; Jiménez, Maribel

    2017-07-01

    Since 2010 a human leishmaniasis outbreak has been notified in southwestern Madrid region that still remains active. Entomological surveys have been carried out in the affected area in order to obtain information about species diversity, distribution, and density of sand flies. Moreover, molecular identification of blood meal preferences of sand flies and molecular detection of Leishmania infantum has been performed. In this work, we optimized a real time PCR assay in order to determine parasite loads in unfed and blood-fed Phlebotomus perniciosus female sand flies caught in the focus area. Results showed elevated parasite loads in nearly 70% of the studied positive sand flies. Furthermore, significantly higher parasite loads were observed in females without blood in their guts. In conclusion, high L. infantum loads found in P. perniciosus sand flies from the Madrid focus support the exceptional characteristics of this outbreak. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Measuring the impact of pollution on property prices in Madrid: objective versus subjective pollution indicators in spatial models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mínguez, Román; Montero, José-María; Fernández-Avilés, Gema

    2013-04-01

    Much work has been done in the context of the hedonic price theory to estimate the impact of air quality on housing prices. Research has employed objective measures of air quality, but only slightly confirms the hedonic theory in the best of cases: the implicit price function relating housing prices to air pollution will, ceteris paribus, be negatively sloped. This paper compares the performance of a spatial Durbin model when using both objective and subjective measures of pollution. On the one hand, we design an Air Pollution Indicator based on measured pollution as the objective measure of pollution. On the other hand, the subjective measure of pollution employed to characterize neighborhoods is the percentage of residents who declare that the neighborhood has serious pollution problems, the percentage being referred to as residents' perception of pollution. For comparison purposes, the empirical part of this research focuses on Madrid (Spain). The study employs a proprietary database containing information about the price and 27 characteristics of 11,796 owner-occupied single family homes. As far as the authors are aware, it is the largest database ever used to analyze the Madrid housing market. The results of the study clearly favor the use of subjective air quality measures.

  9. Assessment of the pregnancy education programme with ‘EDUMA2’ questionnaire in Madrid (Spain)

    PubMed Central

    Fernández y Fernández-Arroyo, Matilde; Muñoz, Isabel; Torres, Jorge

    2014-01-01

    Rationale, aims and objectives The prenatal education promotes the empowerment of parents during pregnancy and postnatal period. This study aimed to assess the quality of educational sessions held in the third trimester of pregnancy as part of the parenting education programme for Spanish National Health System in Madrid. Methods The design is a cross-sectional study in 41 primary care centres in the autonomous community of Madrid, which is one of the 17 autonomous communities that constitute the Spanish State, each wick medical responsibilities. The participants are a representative probability sample of 928 attendees to the programme. The assessment instrument is ‘EDUMA2’ questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha = 0.829) of 56 variables. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. The project was approved by the Research and Ethics Committees of the University Hospital of La Paz. Results The uptake efficiency immigration risk is 14.7%, and lack of social support is 8.7%. The functionality in organization, teaching and methodology is high in 90.5%. The learning effectiveness of health habits, care and techniques is significant and greater than 60% in the 14 parameters studied. Satisfaction is very high at 67.5%. The immediate impact in terms of control or safety increase is significant and greater than 71% and significantly greater than 40% and for increasing the bonding with the baby. Conclusions No jobs found with which to compare. The assessment of the programme with adequate psychometric characteristics questionnaire allows designing strategies and research to improve the quality of prenatal education. PMID:24819555

  10. Strong ground motion inferred from liquefaction caused by the 1811-1812 New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Holzer, Thomas L.; Noce, Thomas E.; Bennett, Michael J.

    2015-01-01

    Peak ground accelerations (PGAs) in the epicentral region of the 1811–1812 New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes are inferred from liquefaction to have been no greater than ∼0.35g. PGA is inferred in an 11,380  km2 area in the Lower Mississippi Valley in Arkansas and Missouri where liquefaction was extensive in 1811–1812. PGA was inferred by applying liquefaction probability curves, which were originally developed for liquefaction hazard mapping, to detailed maps of liquefaction by Obermeier (1989). The low PGA is inferred because both a shallow (1.5 m deep) water table and a large moment magnitude (M 7.7) earthquake were assumed in the analysis. If a deep (5.0 m) water table and a small magnitude (M 6.8) earthquake are assumed, the maximum inferred PGA is 1.10g. Both inferred PGA values are based on an assumed and poorly constrained correction for sand aging. If an aging correction is not assumed, then the inferred PGA is no greater than 0.22g. A low PGA value may be explained by nonlinear site response. Soils in the study area have an averageVS30 of 220±15  m/s. A low inferred PGA is consistent with PGA values estimated from ground‐motion prediction equations that have been proposed for the New Madrid seismic zone when these estimates are corrected for nonlinear soil site effects. This application of liquefaction probability curves demonstrates their potential usefulness in paleoseismology.

  11. Pioneers of Early Childhood Education: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peltzman, Barbara Ruth

    Previous works on educators who built the field of early childhood education do not provide the researcher with primary and secondary sources or information on multicultural educators, nor do they discuss some of the more current leading educators. This reference book provides biographies and bibliographies of selected pre-modern and modern men…

  12. A Modern Update and Usage of Historical Variable Star Catalogs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pagnotta, Ashley; Graur, Or; Murray, Zachary; Kruk, Julia; Christie-Dervaux, Lucien; Chen, Dong Yi

    2015-01-01

    One of the earliest modern variable star catalogs was constructed by Henrietta Swan Leavitt during her tenure at the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) in the early 1900s. Originally published in 1908, Leavitt's catalog listed 1777 variables in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). The construction and analysis of this catalog allowed her to subsequently discover the Cepheid period-luminosity relationship, now known as the Leavitt Law. The MC variable star catalogs were updated and expanded by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin in 1966 and 1971. Although newer studies of the MC variables have been performed since then, the new information has not always been correlated with the old due to a lack of modern descriptors of the stars listed in the Harvard MC catalogs. We will discuss the history of MC variable star catalogs, especially those compiled using the HCO plates, as well as our modernized version of the Leavitt and Payne-Gaposchkin catalogs. Our modern catalog can be used in conjunction with the archival plates (primarily via the Digital Access to a Sky Century @ Harvard scanning project) to study the secular behavior of the MC variable stars over the past century.

  13. The effect of stereotypes and prejudices regarding gender roles on the relation between nurses and "Muslim fathers" in health institutions within the Community of Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    González-Pascual, Juan Luis; Esteban-Gonzalo, Laura; Rodríguez-García, Marta; Gómez-Cantarino, Sagrario; Moreno-Preciado, Manuel

    2017-10-01

    Modern Western societies are characterized by a considerable cultural and ethnic diversity whereby different groups and minorities live side by side. However, not all people are viewed in the same light by the autochthonous population. This is particularly true in the case of Muslim immigrants, who are often prone to negative stereotyping and prejudice. This has become increasingly apparent since the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and the subsequent attacks in various Western countries. This study seeks to analyze the relation between female nurses and those labeled by nurses as "Muslim fathers," as part of a research project on the care of immigrant children in Madrid (Spain). The findings promote reflection on the effects of nurses' stereotypes and prejudices regarding the gender roles of "Muslim fathers" and the relations between these groups. These prejudices can lead to situations of cultural imposition and/or discrimination. Self-reflection regarding stereotypes and prejudices is necessary in order to provide culturally competent care. The anthropobiological approach by Marie Françoise Collière may be useful for extending this type of care universally, not only to immigrant groups, as everyone, including nurses, patients, and family members, belong to part of a specific sociocultural context. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Analysis of stress drops and rupture lengths along the northern segment of the New Madrid seismic zone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mickus, K.L.

    1993-03-01

    The New Madrid seismic zone is the most seismically active region in the central US. The seismic zone consists of three linear trends bounded by latitudes 35.5[degree] to 37[degree] N and longitudes 89[degree] to 90.5[degree] W. This study is concerned with the most northern segment that trends northeast from New Madrid, Missouri to Charleston, Missouri. The purpose of this study is to determine stress drops and rupture lengths of small earthquakes (M less than 3.5). To determine the stress drops and rupture lengths, the author used waveforms collected by the St. Louis University seismic network. He used small events (Mmore » between 1.0 and 2.0) as empirical Green's functions to deconvolve out site, path and instrument effects on the P-waveforms on larger events (M between 2.0 and 3.6). Examining the seismic records from 1980 to the present, he found five larger events that had colocated (within 1 km) smaller events. To insure that the larger and smaller were colocated the events were relocated using a three-dimensional velocity model. After insuring the events were relocated, the deconvolved waveforms were used to determine the seismic moment and hence the stress drops and rupture lengths by estimating the area of the deconvolved waveforms and the rise time of each pulse.« less

  15. Consumer Behavior in the Choice of Mode of Transport: A Case Study in the Toledo-Madrid Corridor

    PubMed Central

    Muro-Rodríguez, Ana I.; Perez-Jiménez, Israel R.; Gutiérrez-Broncano, Santiago

    2017-01-01

    Within the context of the consumption of goods or services the decisions made by individuals involve the choice between a set of discrete alternatives, such as the choice of mode of transport. The methodology for analyzing the consumer behavior are the models of discrete choice based on the Theory of Random Utility. These models are based on the definition of preferences through a utility function that is maximized. These models also denominated of disaggregated demand derived from the decision of a set of individuals, who are formalized by the application of probabilistic models. The objective of this study is to determine the behavior of the consumer in the choice of a service, namely of transport services and in a short-distance corridor, such as Toledo-Madrid. The Toledo-Madrid corridor is characterized by being short distance, with high speed train available within the choice options to get the airport, along with the bus and the car. And where offers of HST and aircraft services can be proposed as complementary modes. By applying disaggregated transport models with revealed preference survey data and declared preferences, one can determine the most important variables involved in the choice and determine the arrangements for payment of individuals. These payment provisions may condition the use of certain transport policies to promote the use of efficient transportation. PMID:28676776

  16. Consumer Behavior in the Choice of Mode of Transport: A Case Study in the Toledo-Madrid Corridor.

    PubMed

    Muro-Rodríguez, Ana I; Perez-Jiménez, Israel R; Gutiérrez-Broncano, Santiago

    2017-01-01

    Within the context of the consumption of goods or services the decisions made by individuals involve the choice between a set of discrete alternatives, such as the choice of mode of transport. The methodology for analyzing the consumer behavior are the models of discrete choice based on the Theory of Random Utility. These models are based on the definition of preferences through a utility function that is maximized. These models also denominated of disaggregated demand derived from the decision of a set of individuals, who are formalized by the application of probabilistic models. The objective of this study is to determine the behavior of the consumer in the choice of a service, namely of transport services and in a short-distance corridor, such as Toledo-Madrid. The Toledo-Madrid corridor is characterized by being short distance, with high speed train available within the choice options to get the airport, along with the bus and the car. And where offers of HST and aircraft services can be proposed as complementary modes. By applying disaggregated transport models with revealed preference survey data and declared preferences, one can determine the most important variables involved in the choice and determine the arrangements for payment of individuals. These payment provisions may condition the use of certain transport policies to promote the use of efficient transportation.

  17. WRF/Chem-MADRID: Incorporation of an Improved Aerosol Module into WRF/Chem and Its Initial Application to the TexAQS2000 Episode

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhang, Yang; Pan, Ying; Wang, K.

    2010-09-17

    The Model of Aerosol Dynamics, Reaction, Ionization and Dissolution (MADRID) with three improved gas/particle mass transfer approaches (i.e., bulk equilibrium (EQUI), hybrid (HYBR), and kinetic (KINE)) has been incorporated into the Weather Research and Forecast/Chemistry Model (WRF/Chem) (referred to as WRF/Chem-MADRID) and evaluated with a 5-day episode from the 2000 Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS2000). WRF/Chem-MADRID demonstrates an overall good skill in simulating surface/aloft meteorological parameters and chemical concentrations, tropospheric O3 residuals, and aerosol optical depths. The discrepancies can be attributed to inaccuracies in meteorological predictions (e.g., overprediction in mid-day boundary layer height), inaccurate total emissions or their hourly variationsmore » (e.g., HCHO, olefins, other inorganic aerosols), and uncertainties in initial and boundary conditions for some species (e.g., other inorganic aerosols and O3) at surface and aloft. Major differences in the results among the three gas/particle mass transfer approaches occur over coastal areas, where EQUI predicts higher PM2.5 than HYBR and KINE due to improperly redistributing condensed nitrate from chloride depletion process to fine PM mode. The net direct, semi-direct, and indirect effects of PM2.5 decreased domain wide shortwave radiation by 11.2-14.4 W m-2 (or 4.1-5.6%), decreased near-surface temperature by 0.06-0.14 °C (or 0.2-0.4%), led to 125 to 796 cm-3 cloud condensation nuclei at a supersaturation of 0.1%, produced cloud droplet numbers as high as 2064 cm-3, and reduced domain wide mean precipitation by 0.22-0.59 mm day-1.« less

  18. [Allergology in the public health service of the Community of Madrid: current situation and opportunities in the XXI century public health system].

    PubMed

    Domínguez-Ortega, J; Ruiz Hornillos, J; Chivato, T; De la Hoz, B; Elices, A; Iglesias, A; Quirce, S; Vega, F; Rodríguez Mosquera, M

    2014-01-01

    The high prevalence of allergic diseases and the use of more complex diagnostic techniques and therapeutic options require allergists to be highly trained professionals and health-care organizations to be knowledgeable about available structural and human resources. Updated information is lacking in Spain, and current activity indicators do not reflect complexity. The present article analyzes the situation of allergology in Madrid and proposes improvements where necessary. The heads of the allergy departments of public hospitals in Madrid voluntarily completed a purpose-designed survey. Data on care activity (2010) and on teaching and research activity (2009-2010) were provided. A SWOT analysis was performed, and strategic lines and proposals for improvement were designed. One hundred and seventeen allergists (41% with a PhD) worked in 24 hospitals with an allergology department (4.6 physicians/center; ≤3 in 10 hospitals). All the institutions had an outpatient clinic (4,000 first consultations/hospital/year, 36% high-resolution rate; 6200 successive visits/hospital/year) performing complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, most of which were not taken into account by activity indicators. Two hospitals had their own hospitalization facilities and 10 were accredited teaching hospitals (2.78 medical residents/year). The survey revealed that, twice yearly, a typical allergology service participated in 4 research projects, 2 clinical trials, 16 publications and 17 communications at scientific meetings, with notable differences between hospitals. Allergists in Madrid are well prepared. The allergology care structure is adequate, although possibly insufficient. Quality and efficiency can be improved with new tools for recording activity and by increasing coordination and taking advantage of new technologies and geographical proximity.

  19. Prevalence of chronic head, neck and low back pain and associated factors in women residing in the Autonomous Region of Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Jiménez-Sánchez, Silvia; Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, César; Carrasco-Garrido, Pilar; Hernández-Barrera, Valentín; Alonso-Blanco, Cristina; Palacios-Ceña, Domingo; Jiménez-García, Rodrigo

    2012-01-01

    To compare the prevalence of chronic headache (CH), chronic neck pain (CNP) and chronic low back pain (CLBP) in the autonomous region of Madrid by analyzing gender differences and to determine the factors associated with each pain location in women in 2007. We analyzed data obtained from adults aged 16 years or older (n = 12,190) who participated in the 2007 Madrid Regional Health Survey. This survey includes data from personal interviews conducted in a representative population residing in family dwellings in Madrid. The presence CH, CNP, and CLBP was analyzed. Sociodemographic features, self-perceived health status, lifestyle habits, psychological distress, drug consumption, use of healthcare services, the search for alternative solutions, and comorbid diseases were analyzed by using logistic regression models. The prevalence of CH, CNP and CLBP was significantly higher (P<0.001) in women (7.3%, 8.4%, 14.1%, respectively) than in men (2.2%, 3.2%, 7.8%, respectively). In women, CH, CNP and CBLP were significantly associated with having ≥3 chronic diseases (OR 7.1, 8.5, 5.8, respectively), and with the use of analgesics and drugs for inflammation (OR: 3.5, 1.95, 2.5, respectively). In the bivariate analysis, the factors associated with pain in distinct body locations differed between men and women. This study found that CH, CNP and CLBP are a major public health problem in women in central Spain. Women have a higher overall prevalence of chronic pain than men. Chronic pain was associated with a higher use of analgesics and healthcare services. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  20. Technological complexity and the global dispersal of modern humans.

    PubMed

    Hoffecker, John F; Hoffecker, Ian T

    2017-11-01

    Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) dispersed out of Africa roughly 120,000 years ago and again after 75,000 years ago. The early dispersal was geographically restricted to the Arabian Peninsula, Levant, and possibly parts of southern Asia. The later dispersal was ultimately global in scope, including areas not previously occupied by Homo. One explanation for the contrast between the two out-of-Africa dispersals is that the modern humans who expanded into Eurasia 120,000 years ago lacked the functionally and structurally complex technology of recent hunter-gatherers. This technology, which includes, for example, mechanical projectiles, snares and traps, and sewn clothing, provides not only expanded dietary breadth and increased rates of foraging efficiency and success in places where plant and animal productivity is low, but protection from cold weather in places where winter temperatures are low. The absence of complex technology before 75,000 years ago also may explain why modern humans in the Levant did not develop sedentary settlements and agriculture 120,000 years ago (i.e., during the Last Interglacial). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Historical time to disease progression and progression-free survival in patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma treated in the modern era on Children's Oncology Group early-phase trials.

    PubMed

    London, Wendy B; Bagatell, Rochelle; Weigel, Brenda J; Fox, Elizabeth; Guo, Dongjing; Van Ryn, Collin; Naranjo, Arlene; Park, Julie R

    2017-12-15

    Early-phase trials in patients with recurrent neuroblastoma historically used an objective "response" of measureable disease (Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors [RECIST], without bone/bone marrow assessment) to select agents for further study. Historical cohorts may be small and potentially biased; to the authors' knowledge, disease recurrence studies from international registries are outdated. Using a large recent cohort of patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma from Children's Oncology Group (COG) modern-era early-phase trials, the authors determined outcome and quantified parameters for designing future studies. The first early-phase COG trial enrollment (sequential) of 383 distinct patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma on 23 phase 1, 3 phase 1/2, and 9 phase 2 trials (August 2002 to January 2014) was analyzed for progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and time to disease progression (TTP). Planned frontline therapy for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma included hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (approximately two-thirds of patients underwent ≥1 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation); 13.2% of patients received dinutuximab. From the time of the patient's first early-phase trial enrollment (383 patients), the 1-year and 4-year PFS rates ( ± standard error) were 21% ± 2% and 6% ± 1%, respectively, whereas the 1-year and 4-year OS rates were 57% ± 3% and 20% ± 2%, respectively. The median TTP was 58 days (interquartile range, 31-183 days [350 patients]); the median follow-up was 25.3 months (33 patients were found to be without disease recurrence/progression). The median time from diagnosis to first disease recurrence/progression was 18.7 months (range, 1.4-64.8 months) (176 patients). MYCN amplification and 11q loss of heterozygosity were prognostic of worse PFS and OS (P = .003 and P<.0001, respectively, and P = .02 and P = .03, respectively) after early-phase trial

  2. Exploring Barriers to Breastfeeding Among Chinese Mothers Living in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    González-Pascual, Juan L; Ruiz-López, Montserrat; Saiz-Navarro, Elena M; Moreno-Preciado, Manuel

    2017-02-01

    In Spain, immigrant women have high rates for initiating breastfeeding. In contrast, the case of immigrant Chinese mothers stands out, due to the low rate. In China, breastfeeding has historically been the cultural norm. An ethnographic study was conducted to explore aspects related to the low rate of breastfeeding. Field observations and informal interviews were conducted in two hospitals and a primary care center. Semi-structured interviews were performed with Chinese mothers and health workers. Among Spanish health workers, there is a belief that Chinese women do not breastfeed due to cultural reasons. The rapid return to work and the popular phenomenon of sending babies back to China for grandparents to raise constitute barriers for breastfeeding. Although in China breastfeeding is common practice, in Madrid the prioritization of productivity over reproduction and the existence of the so-called "satellite babies" and transnational maternity make the establishment and maintenance of breastfeeding difficult.

  3. Gender and the Social Order in Early Modern England.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amussen, Susan Dwyer

    The place of the family and the relationship between gender and social order in England between 1560 and 1725 are examined. The fear of disorder so prevalent in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries was caused by the doubling of the population and extremely poor economic conditions. In the attempt to enforce order, the analogy between…

  4. The role of load-carrying in the evolution of modern body proportions

    PubMed Central

    Wang, W -J; Crompton, R H

    2004-01-01

    The first unquestionably bipedal early human ancestors, the species Australopithecus afarensis, were markedly different to ourselves in body proportions, having a long trunk and short legs. Some have argued that ′chimpanzee-like′ features such as these suggest a ‘bent-hip, bent-knee’ (BHBK) posture would have been adopted during gait. Computer modelling studies, however, indicate that this early human ancestor could have walked in a reasonably efficient upright posture, whereas BHBK posture would have nearly doubled the mechanical energy cost of locomotion, as it does the physiological cost of locomotion in ourselves. More modern body proportions first appear at around 1.8–1.5 Ma, with Homo ergaster (early African Homo erectus), represented by the Nariokotome skeleton KNM-WT 15000, in which the legs were considerably longer in relation to the trunk than they are in human adults, although this skeleton represents an adolescent. Several authors have suggested that this morphology would have allowed faster, more endurant walking. But during the same period, the archaeological record indicates a sharp rise in distances over which stone tools or raw materials are transported. Is this coincidental, or can load-carrying also be implicated in selection for a more modern morphology? Computer simulations of loaded walking, verified against kinetic data for humans, show that BHBK gait is even more ineffective while load-carrying. However, walking erect, the Nariokotome individual could have carried loads of 10–15% body mass for less cost, relative to body size, than AL 288-1 walking erect but unloaded. In fact, to the extent that our sample of humans is typical, KNM-WT 15000 would have had better mechanical effectiveness in bearing light loads on the back than modern human adults. Thus, selection for effectiveness in load-carrying, as well as in endurant walking, is indeed likely to have been implicated in the evolution of modern body proportions. PMID:15198704

  5. Modern erosion rates and loss of coastal features and sites, Beaufort Sea coastline, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jones, Benjamin M.; Hinkel, Kenneth M.; Arp, C.D.; Eisner, Wendy R.

    2008-01-01

    This study presents modern erosion rate measurements based upon vertical aerial photography captured in 1955, 1979, and 2002 for a 100 km segment of the Beaufort Sea coastline. Annual erosion rates from 1955 to 2002 averaged 5.6 m a-1. However, mean erosion rates increased from 5.0 m a-1 in 1955-79 to 6.2 m a-1 in 1979-2002. Furthermore, from the first period to the second, erosion rates increased at 60% (598) of the 992 sites analyzed, decreased at 31% (307), and changed less than ?? 30 cm at 9% (87). Historical observations and quantitative studies over the past 175 years allowed us to place our erosion rate measurements into a longer-term context. Several of the coastal features along this stretch of coastline received Western place names during the Dease and Simpson expedition in 1837, and the majority of those features had been lost by the early 1900s as a result of coastline erosion, suggesting that erosion has been active over at least the historical record. Incorporation of historical and modern observations also allowed us to detect the loss of both cultural and historical sites and modern infrastructure. U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps reveal a number of known cultural and historical sites, as well as sites with modern infrastructure constructed as recently as the 1950s, that had disappeared by the early 2000s as a result of coastal erosion. We were also able to identify sites that are currently being threatened by an encroaching coastline. Our modern erosion rate measurements can potentially be used to predict when a historical site or modern infrastructure will be affected if such erosion rates persist. ?? The Arctic Institute of North America.

  6. Landslides in the New Madrid seismic zone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jibson, R.W.; Keefer, D.K.

    1985-01-01

    During the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12, bluffs bordering the Mississippi alluvial plain in the epicentral region underwent large-scale landsliding. Between Cairo, Illinois and Memphis, Tennessee, the authors mapped 221 large landslides of three types: (1) old, eroded, coherent block slides and slumps; (2) old earth flows; and (3) young, fresh slumps that occur only along near-river bluffs and are the only landslides present along such bluffs. Historical accounts and field evidence indicate that most or all old coherent slides and earth flows date to the 1811-12 earthquakes and that the only currently active, large-scale landsliding in the area occursmore » along bluffs bordering the river. Analysis of old coherent slides and earth flows indicates that landslide distribution is most strongly affected by slope height, but that proximity to the hypocenters of the 1811-12 earthquakes also has a significant effect. Slope-stability analyses of an old coherent slide and an earth flow selected as representative of the principal kinds of landslides present indicate that both were stable in aseismic conditions even when water tables were at highest possible levels. However, a dynamic Newmark displacement analysis shows that ground shaking such as that in 1811-12 would cause large displacements leading to catastrophic failure in both slides. These results indicate that in large earthquakes landsliding in much of the study are is likely. Moderate earthquakes may also trigger landslides at some locations.« less

  7. The impact of drug-related deaths on mortality among young adults in Madrid.

    PubMed

    de la Fuente, L; Barrio, G; Vicente, J; Bravo, M J; Santacreu, J

    1995-01-01

    The trend from 1983 to 1990 of drug-related mortality (defined as the sum of deaths from acute drug reactions and the acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome [AIDS] in drug users) among the population 15 to 39 years of age in Madrid, Spain, was studied and compared with mortality from all causes. All of the mortality rates increased from 1983 to 1990: all causes, from 101/100,000 to 148/100,000; acute drug reactions, from 3/100,000 to 15/100,000; and AIDS, from 0 to 20/100,000. Drug-related mortality represented 60% of the increase in the rate from all causes in males and 170% of the increase in females. The increases in drug-related mortality are likely to continue in the future.

  8. Trapped in a Moral Order: Moral Identity, Positioning and Reflexivity in Stories of Confrontation among Latin American Teenage School Girls in Madrid

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patiño-Santos, Adriana

    2016-01-01

    This paper focuses on the forms of reflexivity that emerge in the conversational narratives of Latin American teenage school girls co-produced during sociolinguistic interviews, in a multicultural school in the centre of Madrid. The narratives about confrontation at school portray the girls' actions and ways of making sense of such behaviours, in…

  9. Trends in leisure time and occupational physical activity in the Madrid region, 1995-2008.

    PubMed

    Meseguer, Carmen M; Galán, Iñaki; Herruzo, Rafael; Rodríguez-Artalejo, Fernando

    2011-01-01

    Information on trends in physical activity is very scarce in Mediterranean countries, which have the highest sedentariness in Europe. This study describes recent trends in leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and at work in the Madrid region. The data were taken from representative annual surveys of population aged 18-64 years, between 1995-2008, 28,084 people participated. We calculated total energy, quantified in metabolic equivalent (MET-1 h per week), spent on LTPA and on light LTPA (<3 MET), moderate LTPA (3-6 MET) and vigorous LTPA (>6 MET). The annual change in LTPA was estimated by linear regression, and occupational activity by logistic regression, adjusting for age, gender and educational level. The total amount of LTPA in MET-1 h per week declined by 19.8% (P<.001) between 1995-2008; for both genders, all age groups and educational levels, except for those with the lowest level of education. The adjusted annual change in MET-1 h per week was: -0.21 (P<.001) for total LTPA; -0.1 (P<.001) for light; -0.08 (P<.001) for moderate; and -0.03 (P=.192) for vigorous. This decline is reflected by a shift to the left of the LTPA distribution in the population. Occupational physical inactivity has increased in the general population (odds ratio for annual change=1.01; 95% confidence interval, 1-1.02); specially in women, young and middle aged, and intermediate educational level. There has been a decline in LTPA, mainly in light and moderate activities, accompanied by greater occupational physical inactivity. This could have contributed to the increase in obesity in the Community of Madrid between 1995-2008. Copyright © 2010 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  10. Boron Isotopes in Modern and Cenozoic Scleractinian Fossil Corals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gothmann, A.; Bender, M. L.; Adkins, J. F.

    2016-12-01

    Recent measurements of boron isotopes in modern coral support the hypothesis that coral biologically up-regulate the pH of the fluid from which they calcify to facilitate skeletal mineralization [1]. While this evidence of biological pH adjustment provides important insight into the mechanism by which coral make their skeletons, it also complicates the use of coral boron isotopes as a paleoseawater pH proxy. We measured boron isotopes in 11 modern and well preserved fossil corals using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry to characterize fine-scale ( 30 µm) patterns of δ11B variability. In addition to δ11B, we measured B/Ca, Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Mn/Ca ratios in order to compare isotopes with element/Ca variability and monitor for diagenetic alteration. We find that in different species of modern and well preserved fossil coral, the measured range of δ11B varies from 5 to 15 ‰. Also, while corals of similar geologic age have similar average δ11B compositions, at the scale of our measurements they do not appear to share a consistent pattern of minimum δ11B, maximum δ11B, or range in δ11B. The δ11B of fossil corals increases by 7 ‰ between the Early Cenozoic and today. While the general pattern of coral δ11B change is similar to the pattern found in foraminifera-based δ11B records [e.g., 2], the magnitude of the coral change is approximately 2-3 times as large as changes inferred from foraminifera. Although it is not possible to separate the influence of changing seawater pH and changing δ11Bseawater on fossil coral boron isotope compositions, the record can be explained by a combination of lower seawater pH and lower seawater δ11B during the the Early Cenozoic. Our coral results suggest an Early Cenozoic δ11Bseawater composition that is much lower than inferred from other approaches, and similar to Early Cenozoic δ11Bseawater as inferred from brine inclusions in halite [3]. [1.] McCulloch, M.T., Trotter, J., Montagna, P., Falter, J., Dunbar, R., Freiwald

  11. Levantine cranium from Manot Cave (Israel) foreshadows the first European modern humans.

    PubMed

    Hershkovitz, Israel; Marder, Ofer; Ayalon, Avner; Bar-Matthews, Miryam; Yasur, Gal; Boaretto, Elisabetta; Caracuta, Valentina; Alex, Bridget; Frumkin, Amos; Goder-Goldberger, Mae; Gunz, Philipp; Holloway, Ralph L; Latimer, Bruce; Lavi, Ron; Matthews, Alan; Slon, Viviane; Mayer, Daniella Bar-Yosef; Berna, Francesco; Bar-Oz, Guy; Yeshurun, Reuven; May, Hila; Hans, Mark G; Weber, Gerhard W; Barzilai, Omry

    2015-04-09

    A key event in human evolution is the expansion of modern humans of African origin across Eurasia between 60 and 40 thousand years (kyr) before present (bp), replacing all other forms of hominins. Owing to the scarcity of human fossils from this period, these ancestors of all present-day non-African modern populations remain largely enigmatic. Here we describe a partial calvaria, recently discovered at Manot Cave (Western Galilee, Israel) and dated to 54.7 ± 5.5 kyr bp (arithmetic mean ± 2 standard deviations) by uranium-thorium dating, that sheds light on this crucial event. The overall shape and discrete morphological features of the Manot 1 calvaria demonstrate that this partial skull is unequivocally modern. It is similar in shape to recent African skulls as well as to European skulls from the Upper Palaeolithic period, but different from most other early anatomically modern humans in the Levant. This suggests that the Manot people could be closely related to the first modern humans who later successfully colonized Europe. Thus, the anatomical features used to support the 'assimilation model' in Europe might not have been inherited from European Neanderthals, but rather from earlier Levantine populations. Moreover, at present, Manot 1 is the only modern human specimen to provide evidence that during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic interface, both modern humans and Neanderthals contemporaneously inhabited the southern Levant, close in time to the likely interbreeding event with Neanderthals.

  12. Public Health and Social Ideas in Modern Brazil

    PubMed Central

    Lima, Nísia Trindade

    2007-01-01

    Public health in Brazil achieved remarkable development at the turn of the 20th century thanks in part to physicians and social thinkers who made it central to their proposals for “modernizing” the country. Public health was more than a set of medical and technical measures; it was fundamental to the project of nation building. I trace the interplay between public health and social ideas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Physicians and social thinkers challenged the traditional belief that Brazil’s sociocultural and ethnic diversity was an obstacle to modernization, and they promoted public health as the best prescription for national unity. Public health ideas in developing countries such as Brazil may have a greater impact when they are intertwined with social thought and with the processes of nation building and construction of a modern society. PMID:17538074

  13. MAX-DOAS retrieval of aerosol extinction properties in Madrid, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Shanshan; Cuevas, Carlos A.; Frieß, Udo; Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso

    2017-04-01

    We present Multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements performed in the urban environment of Madrid, Spain, from March to September 2015. The O4 absorption in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral region was used to retrieve the aerosol extinction profile using an inversion algorithm. The results show a good agreement between the hourly retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the correlative Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) product. Higher AODs are found in the summer season due to the more frequent occurrence of Saharan dust intrusions. The surface aerosol extinction coefficient as retrieved by the MAX-DOAS measurements was also compared to in situ PM2:5 concentrations. The level of agreement between both measurements indicates that the MAX-DOAS retrieval has the ability to characterize the extinction of aerosol particles near the surface. The retrieval algorithm was also used to study a case of severe dust intrusion on 12 May 2015. The capability of the MAX-DOAS retrieval to recognize the dust event including an elevated particle layer is investigated along with air mass back-trajectory analysis.

  14. The phylogenomic roots of modern biochemistry: origins of proteins, cofactors and protein biosynthesis.

    PubMed

    Caetano-Anollés, Gustavo; Kim, Kyung Mo; Caetano-Anollés, Derek

    2012-02-01

    The complexity of modern biochemistry developed gradually on early Earth as new molecules and structures populated the emerging cellular systems. Here, we generate a historical account of the gradual discovery of primordial proteins, cofactors, and molecular functions using phylogenomic information in the sequence of 420 genomes. We focus on structural and functional annotations of the 54 most ancient protein domains. We show how primordial functions are linked to folded structures and how their interaction with cofactors expanded the functional repertoire. We also reveal protocell membranes played a crucial role in early protein evolution and show translation started with RNA and thioester cofactor-mediated aminoacylation. Our findings allow elaboration of an evolutionary model of early biochemistry that is firmly grounded in phylogenomic information and biochemical, biophysical, and structural knowledge. The model describes how primordial α-helical bundles stabilized membranes, how these were decorated by layered arrangements of β-sheets and α-helices, and how these arrangements became globular. Ancient forms of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) catalytic domains and ancient non-ribosomal protein synthetase (NRPS) modules gave rise to primordial protein synthesis and the ability to generate a code for specificity in their active sites. These structures diversified producing cofactor-binding molecular switches and barrel structures. Accretion of domains and molecules gave rise to modern aaRSs, NRPS, and ribosomal ensembles, first organized around novel emerging cofactors (tRNA and carrier proteins) and then more complex cofactor structures (rRNA). The model explains how the generation of protein structures acted as scaffold for nucleic acids and resulted in crystallization of modern translation.

  15. Chemical quality of tap water in Madrid: multicase control cancer study in Spain (MCC-Spain).

    PubMed

    Fernández-Navarro, Pablo; Villanueva, Cristina M; García-Pérez, Javier; Boldo, Elena; Goñi-Irigoyen, Fernando; Ulibarrena, Enrique; Rantakokko, Panu; García-Esquinas, Esther; Pérez-Gómez, Beatriz; Pollán, Marina; Aragonés, Nuria

    2017-02-01

    Chronic consumption of water, which contains contaminants, may give rise to adverse health effects. The Madrid region, covered by the population-based multicase-control (MCC-Spain) study, includes two drinking water supply areas. The different sources of the water, coupled together with the possible differences in water management, mean that there may be differences in drinking water quality. In the context of the MCC study, our aims were to describe contaminant concentrations in tap water drawn from various sampling points distributed around the region, assess these concentrations by reference to guideline values and study possible differences between the two supply areas. Tap water samples were collected from 34 sampling points in 7 towns in the Madrid region (19-29 April 2010), and 23 contaminants (metals, nitrates, disinfection by-product and Mutagen X levels) were quantified. We undertook a descriptive analysis of the contaminant concentrations in the water and compared them between the two water supply areas (Wilcoxon test). We created maps representing the distribution of the concentrations observed at water sampling points and assessed the correlations (Spearman's coefficient) between the different parameters measured. The concentrations of the contaminants were below guideline values. There were differences between the two supply areas in concentration of nitrates (p value = 0.0051) and certain disinfection by-products. While there were positive correlations (rho >0.70) among some disinfection by-products, no correlations were found in metals or nitrates. The differences in nitrate levels could be linked to differences in farming/industrial activities in the catchment areas and in disinfection by-products might be related to the existence of different treatment systems or bromine content in source waters.

  16. Rise to modern levels of ocean oxygenation coincided with the Cambrian radiation of animals.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xi; Ling, Hong-Fei; Vance, Derek; Shields-Zhou, Graham A; Zhu, Maoyan; Poulton, Simon W; Och, Lawrence M; Jiang, Shao-Yong; Li, Da; Cremonese, Lorenzo; Archer, Corey

    2015-05-18

    The early diversification of animals (∼ 630 Ma), and their development into both motile and macroscopic forms (∼ 575-565 Ma), has been linked to stepwise increases in the oxygenation of Earth's surface environment. However, establishing such a linkage between oxygen and evolution for the later Cambrian 'explosion' (540-520 Ma) of new, energy-sapping body plans and behaviours has proved more elusive. Here we present new molybdenum isotope data, which demonstrate that the areal extent of oxygenated bottom waters increased in step with the early Cambrian bioradiation of animals and eukaryotic phytoplankton. Modern-like oxygen levels characterized the ocean at ∼ 521 Ma for the first time in Earth history. This marks the first establishment of a key environmental factor in modern-like ecosystems, where animals benefit from, and also contribute to, the 'homeostasis' of marine redox conditions.

  17. Cataloging the 1811-1812 New Madrid, central U.S., earthquake sequence

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hough, S.E.

    2009-01-01

    The three principal New Madrid, central U.S., mainshocks of 1811-1812 were followed by extensive aftershock sequences that included numerous felt events. Although no instrumental data are available for the sequence, historical accounts provide information that can be used to estimate magnitudes and locations for the large aftershocks as well as the mainshocks. Several detailed eyewitness accounts of the sequence provide sufficient information to identify times and rough magnitude estimates for a number of aftershocks that have not been analyzed previously. I also use three extended compilations of felt events to explore the overall sequence productivity. Although one generally cannot estimate magnitudes or locations for individual events, the intensity distributions of recent, instrumentally recorded earthquakes in the region provide a basis for estimation of the magnitude distribution of 1811-1812 aftershocks. The distribution is consistent with a b-value distribution. I estimate Mw 6-6.3 for the three largest identifiable aftershocks, apart from the so-called dawn aftershock on 16 December 1811.

  18. Phylogenetic Analysis of Rubella Virus Strains from an Outbreak in Madrid, Spain, from 2004 to 2005 ▿ †

    PubMed Central

    Martínez-Torres, A. O.; Mosquera, M. M.; Sanz, J. C.; Ramos, B.; Echevarría, J. E.

    2009-01-01

    An outbreak of rubella affected 460 individuals in 2004 and 2005 in the community of Madrid, Spain. Most of the patients were nonvaccinated Latin American immigrants or Spanish males. This study presents the first data on rubella virus genotypes in Spain. Forty selected clinical samples (2 urine, 5 serum, 3 blood, 2 saliva, and 28 pharyngeal exudate samples) from 40 cases were collected. The 739-nucleotide sequence recommended by the World Health Organization obtained from viral RNA in these samples was analyzed by using the MEGA v4.0 software. Seventeen isolates were obtained from 40 clinical samples from the outbreak, including two isolated from congenital rubella syndrome cases. Only viral RNA of genotype 1j was detected in both isolates and clinical specimens. Two variations in amino acids, G253C and T394S, which are involved in neutralization epitopes arose during the outbreak, but apparently there was no positive selection of either of them. The origin of the outbreak remains unknown because of poor virologic surveillance in Latin America and the African countries neighboring Spain. On the other hand, this is the first report of this genotype in Europe. The few published sequences of genotype 1j indicate that it comes from Japan and the Philippines, but there are no epidemiological data supporting this as the origin of the Madrid outbreak. PMID:19020066

  19. Seroprevalence of measles and rubella virus antibodies in the population of the Community of Madrid, 2008-2009.

    PubMed

    García-Comas, Luis; Sanz Moreno, J C; Ordobás Gavín, M; Barranco Ordóñez, D; García Gutiérrez, J; Ramos Blázquez, B; Rodero Garduño, I

    2015-01-01

    The seroprevalence (SP) of measles and rubella virus antibodies is presented by age groups obtained in the IV Serosurvey of the Region of Madrid (2008-2009). The target population is composed of residents with ages ranging between 2 and 60 years in the Region of Madrid. A two-stage cluster sample is used. The SP of measles virus antibodies is 97.8% (CI 95%: 97.3-98.2). The highest SP is observed in the 2-5 year and 41-60 year age groups. The point estimate does not reach 95% in the 16-20 and 21-30 year age groups. The SP of rubella virus antibodies is 97.2% (CI 95%: 96.5-97.7). The SP is over 95% in all of the age groups. In immigrant women between the ages of 16 and 49, the SP is 95.9% (CI 95%: 93.7-97.4). The identification of groups susceptible to the measles virus in young adults could lead to outbreaks as a result of importing the virus. The circulation of the rubella virus is possible among immigrant women aged between 16 and 49 years, which could lead to the appearance of SRC cases. Epidemiological surveillance will allow the impact on the measles and rubella elimination plan to be determined in the future. Copyright © 2015 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Defining products for a new health technology assessment agency in Madrid, Spain: a survey of decision makers.

    PubMed

    Andradas, Elena; Blasco, Juan-Antonio; Valentín, Beatriz; López-Pedraza, María-José; Gracia, Francisco-Javier

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the needs and requirements of decision makers in our regional healthcare system for health technology assessment (HTA) products to support portfolio development planning for a new HTA agency in Madrid, Spain. A Delphi study was conducted during 2003. Questionnaires were developed based on a review of products and services offered by other agency members of the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment, and included preference and prioritization questions to evaluate twenty-two different products and services. The initial Delphi panel involved eighty-seven experts from twenty-one public hospitals, eleven primary healthcare centers, six private hospitals, and eight departments of the Regional Ministry of Health of the Community of Madrid. The global participation rate was 83.9 percent. Ten of the twenty-two possible products were rated of high interest by more than 80 percent of respondents. Important differences in preferences and priorities were detected across different settings. Public hospitals and primary healthcare centers shared a more "micro" perspective, preferring classic technology-centered HTA products, whereas private hospitals and Ministry representatives demanded more "macro" products and services such as organizational model and information system assessments. The high participation rate supports the representativeness of the results for our regional context. The strategic development of an HTA portfolio based on decision makers' needs and requirements as identified in this type of exercise should help achieve a better impact on policy development and decision making.

  1. Seismic-reflection profiles of the New Madrid seismic zone-data along the Mississippi River near Caruthersville, Missouri

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Crone, A.J.; Harding, S.T.; Russ, D.P.; Shedlock, K.M.

    1986-01-01

    Three major seismic-reflection programs have been conducted by the USGS in the New Madrid seismic zone. The first program consisted of 32 km of conventional Vibroseis profiling designed to investigate the subsurface structure associated with scarps and lineaments in northwestern Tennessee (Zoback, 1979). A second, more extensive Vibroseis program collected about 250 km of data from all parts of the New Madrid seismic zone in Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee (Hamilton and Zoback, 1979, 1982; Zoback and others, 1980). The profiles presented here are part of the third program that collected about 240 km of high-resolution seismic-reflection data from a boat along the Mississippi River between Osceola, Ark., and Wickliffe, Ky. (fig. 1). The data for profiles A, B, C, and D were collected between river miles 839-1/2 and 850-1/2 from near the Interstate-155 bridge to upstream of Caruthersville, Mo. (fig. 2). Profiles on this part of the river are important for three reasons: (1) they connect many of the land-based profiles on either side of the river, (2) they are near the northeast termination of a linear, 120km-long, northeast-southwest zone of seismicity that extends from northeast Arkansas to Caruthersville, Mo. (Stauder, 1982; fig. 1), and (3) they cross the southwesterly projection of the Cottonwood Grove fault (fig. 1), a fault having a substantial amount of vertical Cenozoic offset (Zoback and others, 1980).

  2. Modernization, sexual risk-taking, and gynecological morbidity among Bolivian Forager-horticulturalists.

    PubMed

    Stieglitz, Jonathan; Blackwell, Aaron D; Quispe Gutierrez, Raúl; Cortez Linares, Edhitt; Gurven, Michael; Kaplan, Hillard

    2012-01-01

    Sexual risk-taking and reproductive morbidity are common among rapidly modernizing populations with little material wealth, limited schooling, minimal access to modern contraception and healthcare, and gendered inequalities in resource access that limit female autonomy in cohabiting relationships. Few studies have examined how modernization influences sexual risk-taking and reproductive health early in demographic transition. Tsimane are a natural fertility population of Bolivian forager-farmers; they are not urbanized, reside in small-scale villages, and lack public health infrastructure. We test whether modernization is associated with greater sexual risk-taking, report prevalence of gynecological morbidity (GM), and test whether modernization, sexual risk-taking and parity are associated with greater risk of GM. Data were collected from 2002-2010 using interviews, clinical exams, and laboratory analysis of cervical cells. We find opposing effects of modernization on both sexual risk-taking and risk of GM. Residential proximity to town and Spanish fluency are associated with greater likelihood of men's infidelity, and with number of lifetime sexual partners for men and women. However, for women, literacy is associated with delayed sexual debut after controlling for town proximity. Fifty-five percent of women present at least one clinical indicator of GM (n = 377); 48% present inflammation of cervical cells, and in 11% the inflammation results from sexually transmitted infection (trichomoniasis). Despite having easier access to modern healthcare, women residing near town experience greater likelihood of cervical inflammation and trichomoniasis relative to women in remote villages; women who are fluent in Spanish are also more likely to present trichomoniasis relative to women with moderate or no fluency. However, literate women experience lower likelihood of trichomoniasis. Parity has no effect on risk of GM. Our results suggest a net increase in risk of

  3. Impact of air pollution and temperature on adverse birth outcomes: Madrid, 2001-2009.

    PubMed

    Arroyo, Virginia; Díaz, Julio; Carmona, Rocío; Ortiz, Cristina; Linares, Cristina

    2016-11-01

    Low birth weight (<2500 g) (LBW), premature birth (<37 weeks of gestation) (PB), and late foetal death (<24 h of life) (LFD) are causes of perinatal morbi-mortality, with short- and long-term social and economic health impacts. This study sought to identify gestational windows of susceptibility during pregnancy and to analyse and quantify the impact of different air pollutants, noise and temperature on the adverse birth outcomes. Time-series study to assess the impact of mean daily PM 2.5 , NO 2 and O 3 (μg/m 3 ), mean daily diurnal (Leqd) and nocturnal (Leqn) noise levels (dB(A)), maximum and minimum daily temperatures (°C) on the number of births with LBW, PB or LFD in Madrid across the period 2001-2009. We controlled for linear trend, seasonality and autoregression. Poisson regression models were fitted for quantification of the results. The final models were expressed as relative risk (RR) and population attributable risk (PAR). Leqd was observed to have the following impacts in LBW: at onset of gestation, in the second trimester and in the week of birth itself. NO 2 had an impact in the second trimester. In the case of PB, the following: Leqd in the second trimester, Leqn in the week before birth and PM 2.5 in the second trimester. In the case of LFD, impacts were observed for both PM 2.5 in the third trimester, and minimum temperature. O 3 proved significant in the first trimester for LBW and PB, and in the second trimester for LFD. Pollutants concentrations, noise and temperature influenced the weekly average of new-borns with LBW, PB and LFD in Madrid. Special note should be taken of the effect of diurnal noise on LBW across the entire pregnancy. The exposure of pregnant population to the environmental factors analysed should therefore be controlled with a view to reducing perinatal morbi-mortality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Evaluation of compliance with the self-regulation agreement of the food and drink vending machine sector in primary schools in Madrid, Spain, in 2008.

    PubMed

    Royo-Bordonada, Miguel A; Martínez-Huedo, María A

    2014-01-01

    To evaluate compliance with the self-regulation agreement of the food and drink vending machine sector in primary schools in Madrid, Spain. Cross-sectional study of the prevalence of vending machines in 558 primary schools in 2008. Using the directory of all registered primary schools in Madrid, we identified the presence of machines by telephone interviews and evaluated compliance with the agreement by visiting the schools and assessing accessibility, type of publicity, the products offered and knowledge of the agreement. The prevalence of schools with vending machines was 5.8%. None of the schools reported knowledge of the agreement or of its nutritional guidelines, and most machines were accessible to primary school pupils (79.3%) and packed with high-calorie, low-nutrient-dense foods (58.6%). Compliance with the self-regulation agreement of the vending machines sector was low. Stricter regulation should receive priority in the battle against the obesity epidemic. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  5. Dialogue on Modernity and Modern Education in Dispute

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Michael; Peters, Michael A.

    2012-01-01

    This is a dialogue or conversation between Michael Baker (MB) and Michael A. Peters (MP) on the concept of modernity and its significance for educational theory. The dialogue took place originally as a conversation about a symposium on modernity held at the American Educational Studies Association meeting 2010. It was later developed for…

  6. The impact of drug-related deaths on mortality among young adults in Madrid.

    PubMed Central

    de la Fuente, L; Barrio, G; Vicente, J; Bravo, M J; Santacreu, J

    1995-01-01

    The trend from 1983 to 1990 of drug-related mortality (defined as the sum of deaths from acute drug reactions and the acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome [AIDS] in drug users) among the population 15 to 39 years of age in Madrid, Spain, was studied and compared with mortality from all causes. All of the mortality rates increased from 1983 to 1990: all causes, from 101/100,000 to 148/100,000; acute drug reactions, from 3/100,000 to 15/100,000; and AIDS, from 0 to 20/100,000. Drug-related mortality represented 60% of the increase in the rate from all causes in males and 170% of the increase in females. The increases in drug-related mortality are likely to continue in the future. PMID:7832243

  7. Early history of Neanderthals and Denisovans

    PubMed Central

    Bohlender, Ryan J.; Huff, Chad D.

    2017-01-01

    Extensive DNA sequence data have made it possible to reconstruct human evolutionary history in unprecedented detail. We introduce a method to study the past several hundred thousand years. Our results show that (i) the Neanderthal–Denisovan lineage declined to a small size just after separating from the modern lineage, (ii) Neanderthals and Denisovans separated soon thereafter, and (iii) the subsequent Neanderthal population was large and deeply subdivided. They also (iv) support previous estimates of gene flow from Neanderthals into modern Eurasians. These results suggest an archaic human diaspora early in the Middle Pleistocene. PMID:28784789

  8. [MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION: MODERN ASPECTS OF THERAPY (REVIEW)].

    PubMed

    Arveladze, G; Geladze, N; Khachapuridze, N; Bakhtadze, S; Kapanadze, N

    2015-01-01

    Mitochondrial diseases are considered as one of the major problems of modern interdisciplinary neonatology and pediatrics. Mitochondrial pathology can be revealed as refractory myoclonic or multifocal seizures, craniofacial dysostosis, dysmetabolic manifestations and respiratory disorders. Central nervous system (CNS), muscles, heart, liver and kidneys is involved in this pathological process. An important criterion for diagnosis of mitochondrial dysfunction is increases in blood lactate and pyruvate levels; the absolute criterion - molecular genetic diagnostic studies of mitochondrial DNA. Polymorphism of clinical symptoms complicates the process of early diagnostics, the lack clear recommendations complicates therapy. Modern aspects of treatment of mitochondrial dysfunction in various neurological syndromes are based primarily in improving the efficiency of the processes of oxidative phosphorylation at the system level. Dietary carbohydrate restriction, and medication (Coenzyme Q10, Idebenonum, Cofactors, drugs which reduce lactic acidosis- Dimephosphon, Dichloroacetate, Antioxidants, Anticonvulsants and Antidiabetic agents, vitamins C, E, K, hemotransfusions) is prescribed. Such complex approach allows us to achieve a reduction in lactate-acidosis, and improve the condition of patients in 70% of cases.

  9. Early Neolithic genomes from the eastern Fertile Crescent

    PubMed Central

    Broushaki, Farnaz; Thomas, Mark G; Link, Vivian; López, Saioa; van Dorp, Lucy; Kirsanow, Karola; Hofmanová, Zuzana; Diekmann, Yoan; Cassidy, Lara M.; Díez-del-Molino, David; Kousathanas, Athanasios; Sell, Christian; Robson, Harry K.; Martiniano, Rui; Blöcher, Jens; Scheu, Amelie; Kreutzer, Susanne; Bollongino, Ruth; Bobo, Dean; Davudi, Hossein; Munoz, Olivia; Currat, Mathias; Abdi, Kamyar; Biglari, Fereidoun; Craig, Oliver E.; Bradley, Daniel G; Shennan, Stephen; Veeramah, Krishna; Mashkour, Marjan

    2016-01-01

    We sequenced Early Neolithic genomes from the Zagros region of Iran (eastern Fertile Crescent), where some of the earliest evidence for farming is found, and identify a previously uncharacterized population that is neither ancestral to the first European farmers nor has contributed significantly to the ancestry of modern Europeans. These people are estimated to have separated from Early Neolithic farmers in Anatolia some 46-77,000 years ago and show affinities to modern day Pakistani and Afghan populations, but particularly to Iranian Zoroastrians. We conclude that multiple, genetically differentiated hunter-gatherer populations adopted farming in SW-Asia, that components of pre-Neolithic population structure were preserved as farming spread into neighboring regions, and that the Zagros region was the cradle of eastward expansion. PMID:27417496

  10. Rise to modern levels of ocean oxygenation coincided with the Cambrian radiation of animals

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Xi; Ling, Hong-Fei; Vance, Derek; Shields-Zhou, Graham A.; Zhu, Maoyan; Poulton, Simon W.; Och, Lawrence M.; Jiang, Shao-Yong; Li, Da; Cremonese, Lorenzo; Archer, Corey

    2015-01-01

    The early diversification of animals (∼630 Ma), and their development into both motile and macroscopic forms (∼575–565 Ma), has been linked to stepwise increases in the oxygenation of Earth's surface environment. However, establishing such a linkage between oxygen and evolution for the later Cambrian ‘explosion' (540–520 Ma) of new, energy-sapping body plans and behaviours has proved more elusive. Here we present new molybdenum isotope data, which demonstrate that the areal extent of oxygenated bottom waters increased in step with the early Cambrian bioradiation of animals and eukaryotic phytoplankton. Modern-like oxygen levels characterized the ocean at ∼521 Ma for the first time in Earth history. This marks the first establishment of a key environmental factor in modern-like ecosystems, where animals benefit from, and also contribute to, the ‘homeostasis' of marine redox conditions. PMID:25980960

  11. A haplotype spanning PLAG1 contributed to stature recovery in modern cattle

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The recent evolution of cattle is marked by fluctuations in body size. Height in the Bos taurus lineage was reduced by a factor of ~1.5 from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, and increased again only during the Early Modern Ages. Here, we provide evidence that the bovine PLAG1 haplotype (Q) with maj...

  12. Labor, social exclusion, and chronic muscular illness: the case of mid-impoverished sectors in a peripheral neighborhood in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Betrisey, Débora

    2009-01-01

    This study analyzes the combination of different and differing representations and care practices that social groups belonging to a mid-impoverished sector of Madrid use to alleviate chronic muscular pain, as well as the consequences that this has for both domestic and work life. I collected empirical evidence in a peripheral neighborhood of Madrid during 2004 using a number of anthropological methods such as participant observation, in-depth interviews, and life-history interviews. The following results can be singled out from the completed investigation: in the context of social impoverishment there are macrostructural factors that are transformed into health-destructive processes that influence the development and incidence of chronic muscular illness. This requires the different social groups that are suffering from this to establish a number of care practices mainly based on the use of Western medicine as well as other medical traditions of self-care. These practices relate to economic, educational, sociocultural, and ideological factors that characterize the lives of these individuals. This essay focuses on perceptions of illness and care practices beyond the biomedical context, as it addresses those representations and practices that these impoverished social groups display in accordance with their way of life and in relation to their ailments.

  13. Actors, observers, and causal attributions of homelessness: Differences in attribution for the causes of homelessness among domiciled and homeless people in Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Vázquez, José Juan; Panadero, Sonia; Zúñiga, Claudia

    2017-01-01

    The study analyzes the differences in causal attributions of homelessness and attributions of responsibility among the members of 3 groups: homeless group, consisting of a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid, Spain (n = 188); domiciled service-users group, consisting of people at risk of homelessness (n = 164); and domiciled nonservice-users group, consisting of people at no imminent risk of homelessness (n = 180). The domiciled service-users group and domiciled nonservice-users group were matched to the homeless group or sex, age, and nationality. The article also analyzes homeless people's causal attributions as regards their own situation. The results show that compared with the domiciled nonservice-users group, a higher percentage of members of the homeless group and domiciled service-users group attributed homelessness to individualistic causes and they blamed homeless people for their situation to a greater extent. The results also show that there was no "actor-observer bias" in causal attributions for homelessness in Madrid. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Nanoparticle-Wetted Relays: Reconfigurable Surfaces for Energy Transmission Contacts

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-01-01

    in-situ monitoring of contact processes as described previously4,17. 9 1. Da Vinci , Leonardo . Madrid Codices, Manuscript I. Biblioteca Nacional...technologists from pre-Hellenistic pulleys and Da Vinci mechanisms for transmission of mechanical energy to modern switches and relays for...Hellenistic pulleys and Da Vinci mechanisms for transmission of mechanical energy1 to modern switches and relays for transmission of electrical energy

  15. Nuclear weapons modernizations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kristensen, Hans M.

    2014-05-01

    This article reviews the nuclear weapons modernization programs underway in the world's nine nuclear weapons states. It concludes that despite significant reductions in overall weapons inventories since the end of the Cold War, the pace of reductions is slowing - four of the nuclear weapons states are even increasing their arsenals, and all the nuclear weapons states are busy modernizing their remaining arsenals in what appears to be a dynamic and counterproductive nuclear competition. The author questions whether perpetual modernization combined with no specific plan for the elimination of nuclear weapons is consistent with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and concludes that new limits on nuclear modernizations are needed.

  16. Abuse or dependence on cannabis and other psychiatric disorders. Madrid study on dual pathology prevalence.

    PubMed

    Arias, Francisco; Szerman, Nestor; Vega, Pablo; Mesias, Beatriz; Basurte, Ignacio; Morant, Consuelo; Ochoa, Enriqueta; Poyo, Félix; Babin, Francisco

    2013-01-01

    Cannabis use has been associated to a wide variety of mental disorders, the possible causal role of this use in the etiology of severe mental disorders as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder standing out. Moreover, the cannabinoid system is involved in emotional regulation, so cannabis use could disturb this process and provoke anxiety and mood disorders. The main objective of this study was to analyze the cannabis addict subgroup from Madrid study of prevalence of dual disorders in community mental health and substance misuse services. The sample consisted of 837 outpatients under treatment in the mental health network or drug network of the Community of Madrid (Spain). Of these, 353 subjects had a lifetime diagnosis of cannabis abuse or dependence and 357 subjects did not have cannabis substance use disorder. We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) to evaluate axis I mental disorders, and Personality Disorder Questionnaire to evaluate personality disorders. It was considered that 76.5% of the cannabis addicts had a current dual disorder. The most prevalent ones were mood and anxiety disorders. Of those addicted to cannabis, 51% had a personality disorder. Most of them had several substance use disorders. Cannabis abuse or dependence subjects had an earlier onset in consumption of other drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, and tobacco than addicts without cannabis abuse or dependence. The cannabis addicts also differed from the other addicts because of an association to antisocial personality disorder, bipolar disorder, psychosis and agoraphobia. The presence of these mental disorders was significantly associated to a lower age at initiation of cannabis use. Dual pathology is very high in cannabis addicts under treatment. Said consumption of cannabis, probably within a polysubstance use pattern, is associated to severe mental disorders as psychosis and bipolar disorder. An earlier age of onset in cannabis use is associated to a greater risk of

  17. Reference levels of trace elements in hair samples from children and adolescents in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Llorente Ballesteros, María Teresa; Navarro Serrano, Irene; Izquierdo Álvarez, Silvia

    2017-09-01

    Hair samples are used as a tool to evaluate environmental exposure to contaminants and metabolic status in the individual. However, the use of human hair is controversial, mainly because of the lack of well-defined reference levels. In the case of Spain, very few biomonitoring studies have investigated these issues in infants, children or adolescents. To establish reference levels for trace elements in children and teenagers in Madrid, Spain. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to measure Al, As, Ag, Ba, Bi, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, Tl and Zn levels in hair samples from 648 healthy children and adolescents (253 boys and 395 girls) between April 2008 and December 2009. Median levels were as follows: Al 18.5μg/g, As 0.07μg/g, Ag 196ng/g, Ba 0.5μg/g, Bi 0.01μg/g, Cd 18.3ng/g, Cr 0.4μg/g, Co 14.5ng/g, Cu 25.7μg/g, Fe 15.5μg/g, Mn 328ng/g, Mo 0.04μg/g, Ni 0.5μg/g, Pb 0.70μg/g, Se 0.5μg/g, Sr 1.29μg/g, Tl 0.28ng/g and Zn 121μg/g. The values of trace elements here described could be considered as possible reference ranges for hair samples from children and adolescents aged 0-18 years living in the Madrid region (central Spain). These values could also be selected as a preliminary screening tool to assess exposure sources and to generate information needed to develop prevention strategies and likewise could be a complement to other diagnostic procedures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  18. Emergency multiple sclerosis hospital admissions attributable to chemical and acoustic pollution: Madrid (Spain), 2001-2009.

    PubMed

    Carmona, Rocío; Linares, Cristina; Recio, Alberto; Ortiz, Cristina; Díaz, Julio

    2018-01-15

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most prevalent neurological disease among young adults in Spain. A number of recent studies have linked traffic-related pollution, both chemical and acoustic, to the aetiology and exacerbation of neurodegenerative diseases. To analyse the existence of a significant short-term association between daily emergency MS hospital admissions and chemical and acoustic pollution caused by traffic in Madrid. We conducted a longitudinal ecological time series study, in which the dependent variable was the number of daily emergency MS hospital admissions (ICD-9: 340) registered in Madrid from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2009. The independent variables were daily mean concentrations (μg/m 3 ) of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , O 3 and NO 2 . Equivalent diurnal (Leqd), nocturnal (Leqn) and daily equivalent noise levels (Leq24) were also considered. In addition, we controlled for linear trends, seasonality and the autoregressive nature of the series itself. Day of the week was also added as a covariate. Significant environmental variables were determined using Poisson GLM models. Relative risk (RR) and attributable risk (AR) values were calculated for increases of 10μg/m 3 in the case of chemical pollutants and 1dB(A) in noise levels. While there was no association between chemical pollutants caused by traffic and MS admissions, such an association was in evidence for Leqd at lag zero. This association is linear without a threshold, with there being a level above 67dB(A) from which this effect is more pronounced. The RRs were as follows: for all Leqd values, 1.21 (95% CI: 1.16, 1.26); and for Leqd >67dB(A), 1.62 (95% CI: 1.24, 2.13). The above results indicate that traffic noise can exacerbate MS symptoms, leading to hospital admissions due to this cause. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Calcaneus length determines running economy: implications for endurance running performance in modern humans and Neandertals.

    PubMed

    Raichlen, David A; Armstrong, Hunter; Lieberman, Daniel E

    2011-03-01

    The endurance running (ER) hypothesis suggests that distance running played an important role in the evolution of the genus Homo. Most researchers have focused on ER performance in modern humans, or on reconstructing ER performance in Homo erectus, however, few studies have examined ER capabilities in other members of the genus Homo. Here, we examine skeletal correlates of ER performance in modern humans in order to evaluate the energetics of running in Neandertals and early Homo sapiens. Recent research suggests that running economy (the energy cost of running at a given speed) is strongly related to the length of the Achilles tendon moment arm. Shorter moment arms allow for greater storage and release of elastic strain energy, reducing energy costs. Here, we show that a skeletal correlate of Achilles tendon moment arm length, the length of the calcaneal tuber, does not correlate with walking economy, but correlates significantly with running economy and explains a high proportion of the variance (80%) in cost between individuals. Neandertals had relatively longer calcaneal tubers than modern humans, which would have increased their energy costs of running. Calcaneal tuber lengths in early H. sapiens do not significantly differ from those of extant modern humans, suggesting Neandertal ER economy was reduced relative to contemporaneous anatomically modern humans. Endurance running is generally thought to be beneficial for gaining access to meat in hot environments, where hominins could have used pursuit hunting to run prey taxa into hyperthermia. We hypothesize that ER performance may have been reduced in Neandertals because they lived in cold climates. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Response to Comment on "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds".

    PubMed

    Cracraft, Joel; Houde, Peter; Ho, Simon Y W; Mindell, David P; Fjeldså, Jon; Lindow, Bent; Edwards, Scott V; Rahbek, Carsten; Mirarab, Siavash; Warnow, Tandy; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Zhang, Guojie; Braun, Edward L; Jarvis, Erich D

    2015-09-25

    Mitchell et al. argue that divergence-time estimates for our avian phylogeny were too young because of an "inappropriate" maximum age constraint for the most recent common ancestor of modern birds and that, as a result, most modern bird orders diverged before the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event 66 million years ago instead of after. However, their interpretations of the fossil record and timetrees are incorrect. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  1. Climatic implications of reconstructed early - Mid Pliocene equilibrium-line altitudes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Krusic, A.G.; Prentice, M.L.; Licciardi, J.M.

    2009-01-01

    Early-mid Pliocene moraines in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are more extensive than the present alpine glaciers in this region, indicating substantial climatic differences between the early-mid Pliocene and the present. To quantify this difference in the glacier-climate regime, we estimated the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) change since the early-mid Pliocene by calculating the modern ELA and reconstructing the ELAs of four alpine glaciers in Wright and Taylor Valleys at their early-mid Pliocene maxima. The area-altitude balance ratio method was used on modern and reconstructed early-mid Pliocene hypsometry. In Wright and Victoria Valleys, mass-balance data identify present-day ELAs of 800-1600 m a.s.l. and an average balance ratio of 1.1. The estimated ELAs of the much larger early-mid Pliocene glaciers in Wright and Taylor Valleys range from 600 to 950 ?? 170 m a.s.l., and thus are 250-600 ??170 m lower than modern ELAs in these valleys. The depressed ELAs during the early-mid-Pliocene most likely indicate a wetter and therefore warmer climate in the Dry Valleys during this period than previous studies have recognized.

  2. [Perceptions of primary care physicians in Madrid on the austerity measures in the health care system].

    PubMed

    Heras-Mosteiro, Julio; Otero-García, Laura; Sanz-Barbero, Belén; Aranaz-Andrés, Jesús María

    2016-01-01

    To address the current economic crisis, governments have promoted austerity measures that have affected the taxpayer-funded health system. We report the findings of a study exploring the perceptions of primary care physicians in Madrid (Spain) on measures implemented in the Spanish health system. We carried out a qualitative study in two primary health care centres located in two neighbourhoods with unemployment and migrant population rates above the average of those in Madrid. Interviews were conducted with 12 primary health care physicians. Interview data were analysed by using thematic analysis and by adopting some elements of the grounded theory approach. Two categories were identified: evaluation of austerity measures and evaluation of decision-making in this process. Respondents believed there was a need to promote measures to improve the taxpayer-funded health system, but expressed their disagreement with the measures implemented. They considered that the measures were not evidence-based and responded to the need to decrease public health care expenditure in the short term. Respondents believed that they had not been properly informed about the measures and that there was adequate professional participation in the prioritization, selection and implementation of measures. They considered physician participation to be essential in the decision-making process because physicians have a more patient-centred view and have first-hand knowledge of areas requiring improvement in the system. It is essential that public authorities actively involve health care professionals in decision-making processes to ensure the implementation of evidence-based measures with strong professional support, thus maintaining the quality of care. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  3. Creating Cultures of Peace: Pedagogical Thought and Practice. Selected Papers from the 10th Triennial World Conference (September 10-15, 2001, Madrid, Spain)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benton, Jean E., Ed.; Swami, Piyush, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    The 10th Triennial World Conference of the World Council for Curriculum and Instruction (WCCI) was held September 10-15, 2001 in Madrid, Spain. The theme of the conference was "Cultures of Peace." Thirty-four papers and presentations are divided into nine sections. Part I, Tributes to the Founders of WCCI, includes: (1) Tribute to Alice…

  4. And yet, we were modern. The paradoxes of Iberian science after the Grand Narratives.

    PubMed

    Pimentel, Juan; Pardo-Tomás, José

    2017-06-01

    In this article, we try to explain the origin of a disagreement; the sort that often arises when the subject is the history of early modern Spanish science. In the decades between 1970 and 1990, while some historians were trying to include Spain in the grand narrative of the rise of modern science, the very historical category of the Scientific Revolution was beginning to be dismantled. It could be said that Spaniards were boarding the flagship of modern science right before it sank. To understand this décalage it would be helpful to recall the role of the history of science during the years after the Franco dictatorship and Spain's transition to democracy. It was a discipline useful for putting behind us the Black Legend and Spanish exceptionalism.

  5. Screening the modern girl: intermediality in the adaptation of "Flaming Youth".

    PubMed

    Ross, Sara

    2010-01-01

    In the early 1920s, the film industry seized on the furor over the modern girls' demands for sexual liberty and fulfillment inside and outside of marriage to introduce not only new subject matter, but new modes of addressing its diverse audience. Social upheaval in this period coincided with the media industries' movement toward unprecedented speed of adaptation and cooperation, making possible a powerful new intermediality. The film industry used this to generate layered meanings beyond the confines of the film text, encouraging bold viewers to see through the camouflage with which it sought to appease more traditionalist audience members. With Flaming Youth, through a smokescreen of melodramatic conventions and moral lessons, it delivered a strikingly modern conception of sexuality and marriage to the big screen.

  6. Early Learning Theories Made Visible

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beloglovsky, Miriam; Daly, Lisa

    2015-01-01

    Go beyond reading about early learning theories and see what they look like in action in modern programs and teacher practices. With classroom vignettes and colorful photographs, this book makes the works of Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Lev Vygotsky, Abraham Maslow, John Dewey, Howard Gardner, and Louise Derman-Sparks visible, accessible, and easier…

  7. El barrio de la Chueca of Madrid, Spain: an emerging epicenter of the global LGBT civil rights movement.

    PubMed

    Martinez, Omar; Dodge, Brian

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to examine and deconstruct the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) barrio (community) of Chueca in Madrid, Spain, from political and sociological perspectives. First, we develop a critical framework for understanding the historical, political, social, cultural, and economic changes that took place in Spain after Franco's death in relation to LGBT issues. Ethnographic research was conducted from May to July 2007 in the Spanish cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and Ibiza, and focused primarily on the community of Chueca. A social constructionist perspective was used to examine sociocultural issues in this ethnosexual community through an in-depth study of the dynamics of this barrio. The theoretical framework of intersectionality and the constitutive relations among social identities is exemplified in Chueca. Hence, individuals in Chueca and their intersectionality perspective reveal that their identities influence and shape their beliefs about gender and symbols. We describe how Chueca reflects recent progressive changes in LGBT-related laws and statutes drafted by the federal government and how these have influenced the high level of societal acceptance toward intimate same-sex relationships in Spain. Additionally, we exemplify and present Chueca as an enclave that has been affected by the globalization of the private market, "gay" identity, and enterprise, having a direct effect on cultural norms and social behaviors. Last, we examine the current state of the Chueca community relative to other developing LGBT Latino/a communities in the United States.

  8. Caresoil: A multidisciplinar Project to characterize, remediate, monitor and evaluate the risk of contaminated soils in Madrid (Spain)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muñoz-Martín, Alfonso; Antón, Loreto; Granja, Jose Luis; Villarroya, Fermín; Montero, Esperanza; Rodríguez, Vanesa

    2016-04-01

    Soil contamination can come from diffuse sources (air deposition, agriculture, etc.) or local sources, these last being related to anthropogenic activities that are potentially soil contaminating activities. According to data from the EU, in Spain, and particularly for the Autonomous Community of Madrid, it can be considered that heavy metals, toxic organic compounds (including Non Aqueous Phases Liquids, NAPLs) and combinations of both are the main problem of point sources of soil contamination in our community. The five aspects that will be applied in Caresoil Program (S2013/MAE-2739) in the analysis and remediation of a local soil contamination are: 1) the location of the source of contamination and characterization of soil and aquifer concerned, 2) evaluation of the dispersion of the plume, 3) application of effective remediation techniques, 4) monitoring the evolution of the contaminated soil and 5) risk analysis throughout this process. These aspects involve advanced technologies (hydrogeology, geophysics, geochemistry,...) that require new developing of knowledge, being necessary the contribution of several researching groups specialized in the fields previously cited, as they are those integrating CARESOIL Program. Actually two cases concerning hydrocarbon spills, as representative examples of soil local contamination in Madrid area, are being studied. The first is being remediated and we are monitoring this process to evaluate its effectiveness. In the second location we are defining the extent of contamination in soil and aquifer to define the most effective remediation technique.

  9. Spatial heterogeneity in sulfur isotopes: implications for modern environments and paleoenvironmental reconstructions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fike, D. A.; Jones, D. S.; Fischer, W. W.

    2011-12-01

    Sulfur isotope ratio data have been used to provide significant insights into global biogeochemical cycling over Earth history. In addition to providing a framework for the construction of global redox budgets, these observations also provide the primary constraints on the advent and environmental importance of particular microbial metabolisms. As the chemostratigraphic record has become better resolved in space and time, however, reports of coeval discordant data are increasingly common - both within and between individual sedimentary basins. If accurate, this variability challenges our understanding of the first order behavior of the 'global' sulfur biogeochemical cycle. Some of this discordance may be due to spatial gradients in important oceanographic parameters; however, we think that a more likely culprit is ongoing microbial metabolic activity (that impacts the isotopic composition recorded by geological samples) during both syndepositional sediment reworking and early diagenetic lithification. Modern studies have recently highlighted the efficacy with which microbial activity during sediment remobilization can dramatically alter isotopic profiles. Further, the magnitude of local, microbially driven variations in S isotopes in modern sediments is sufficiently large that uneven incorporation of these signatures during deposition and lithification can explain much of the observed discordance in chemostratigraphic reconstructions of sulfur cycling. Here we attempt to link spatial variability in the sedimentary rock record with understanding of modern microbial systems operating in marine sediments. To that end we examine chemostratigraphic records of sulfur isotope (δ34S) data spanning the terminal Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic eras and assess their scales of spatial reproducibility. We can gain insight into interpreting the observed patterns in these records by examining modern (bio)sedimentary environments. This understanding also allows us to reflect on

  10. Short-term association between road traffic noise and healthcare demand generated by Parkinson's disease in Madrid, Spain.

    PubMed

    Díaz, Julio; Martínez-Martín, Pablo; Rodríguez-Blázquez, Carmen; Vázquez, Blanca; Forjaz, Maria João; Ortiz, Cristina; Carmona, Rocío; Linares, Cristina

    2017-03-23

    To analyse whether there is a short-term association between road traffic noise in the city of Madrid and Parkinson's disease (PD)-related demand for healthcare. Time-series analysis (2008-2009) using variables of analysis linked to emergency and daily PD-related demand for healthcare (ICD-10: G20-G21), namely, PD-hospital admissions (HAs), PD-outpatient visits (OVs) and PD-emergency medical calls in Madrid. The noise pollution measurements used were Leqd, equivalent sound level for the daytime hours (from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.), and Leqn, equivalent sound level for night time hours (from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.) in dB(A). We controlled for temperature, pollution, trends and seasons, and used the Poisson regression model to calculate relative risk (RR). The association between Leqd and HAs was found to be linear. Leqd and Leqn at lag 0.1 and temperature at lags 1 and 5 were the only environmental variables associated with increased PD-related healthcare demand. The RR (lag 0) for Leqd and HA was 1.07 (1.04-1.09), the RR (lag 0) for Leqd and OV was 1.28 (1.12-1.45), and the RR (lags 0.1) for Leqn and emergency medical calls was 1.46 (1.06-2.01). The above results indicate that road traffic noise is a risk factor for PD exacerbation. Measures to reduce noise-exposure levels could result in a lower PD-related healthcare demand. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  11. Nuclear weapons modernizations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kristensen, Hans M.

    This article reviews the nuclear weapons modernization programs underway in the world's nine nuclear weapons states. It concludes that despite significant reductions in overall weapons inventories since the end of the Cold War, the pace of reductions is slowing - four of the nuclear weapons states are even increasing their arsenals, and all the nuclear weapons states are busy modernizing their remaining arsenals in what appears to be a dynamic and counterproductive nuclear competition. The author questions whether perpetual modernization combined with no specific plan for the elimination of nuclear weapons is consistent with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and concludesmore » that new limits on nuclear modernizations are needed.« less

  12. Multicriteria approach to interpret the variability of the levels of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants in the Madrid metropolitan area, during the 1999-2012 period

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salvador, P.; Artíñano, B.; Viana, M. M.; Alastuey, A.; Querol, X.

    2015-05-01

    The evolution of the mean levels of particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants recorded in the Madrid metropolitan area from 1999 to 2012, were investigated focussing on the impact of mitigation strategies and economic scenarios. Temporal trends have shown that SO2, CO, NO, PM10 and NO2 levels at Madrid kerbside and urban-background sites have been decreasing over the 1999-2012 period, with statistical significance. A small contribution to the annual decreasing rates of SO2, NO and NO2 obtained at these sites could be attributed to the reduction in the regional background levels. The reduction in the emissions of atmospheric pollutants from specific sources of the urban agglomeration, explained most of the annual decreasing rates obtained at the kerbside and urban-background sites. From 1999 to 2007 a reduction of the emissions from road traffic and residential heating was produced, as a consequence of the implementation of a number of management strategies promoted and adopted by European and national public administrations. In contrast, from 2008 to 2012 a deep decrease in fuel consumption and a reduction of construction-demolition and roadwork activities took place in the Madrid metropolitan area, as a consequence of the economic recession. The expected overcoming of the economic crisis within the next few years, will presumably give rise to similar levels of PM and gaseous pollutants as those existing previously to the crisis period. The introduction of new Euro 6/VI vehicles which emit considerably less NOx than previous generation diesel vehicles, as well as the implementation of strategies aimed at reducing resuspended mineral dust from road traffic and construction-demolition activities are thus encouraged.

  13. Bicentennial of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence December 2011-2012

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    2010-01-01

    A series of earthquakes hit the New Madrid seismic zone of southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, and adjacent parts of Tennessee and Kentucky, in December 1811 to February 1812. Three earthquakes had a magnitude of 7.0 or greater. The first earthquake occurred December 16, 1811, at 2:15 a.m.; the second 9 a.m. on January 23, 1812; and the third on February 7, 1812, at 3:45 a.m. These three earthquakes were among the largest to strike North America since European settlement. The main shocks were followed by many hundreds of aftershocks that lasted for decades. Many of the aftershocks were major earthquakes themselves. The area that was strongly shaken by the three main shocks was 2-3 times as large as the strongly shaken area of the 1964 M9.2 Alaskan earthquake, and 10 times as large as that of the 1906 M7.8 San Francisco earthquake.

  14. Modernity in Two Great American Writers' Vision: Ernest Miller Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keshmiri, Fahimeh; Darzikola, Shahla Sorkhabi

    2016-01-01

    Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, American memorable novelists have had philosophic ideas about modernity. In fact their idea about existential interests of American, and the effects of American system on society, is mirrored in their creative works. All through his early works, Fitzgerald echoes the existential center of his era. Obviously,…

  15. Characterization of the air pollution in the urban area of Madrid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Climent-Font, Aurelio; Swietlicki, Erik; Revuelta, Antonio

    1994-03-01

    An attempt is made to characterize for the first time the urban pollution of Madrid using the combination of conventional gas measurements and an ion beam analytical technique (PIXE) for aerosol monitoring. Different sets of samples were collected selecting different seasons of the year; winter and summer 1992, and also different sampling times; 3 h and 24 h. A group of 18 elements in the mass range from Si to Pb could be analyzed. Concentration of gases in the air was recorded for the following: CO, NO x, NO 2, SO 2 and C xH y. Four sources contributing to the air pollution were obtained by means of absolute principal component analysis where automotive transport emerges as the dominating one. The combination of aerosol (PIXE) and gas data as input to a receptor model proved to be fruitful for the understanding of the underlying chemical and physical processes governing the observed pollution levels. This is a preliminary study whose results will supply the trends and strategies for a more thorough characterization.

  16. "Physics Stories": How the Early Technologies of High Voltage and High Vacuum Led to "Modern Physics"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greenslade, Thomas B.

    2018-05-01

    Some of you may remember the 1979 television series "Connections" that was written and narrated by James Burke, a British science writer. Burke's technique was to choose a number of seemingly unrelated ideas and show how they led to developments in science and technology. This is an enjoyable business, even if some of the connections seem to be stretched at times, and led to a book by Burke. In a number of talks that I have given over the years, I have made somewhat less fanciful connections that suggest how the technologies of high vacuum and high voltage led to what used to be called "modern physics." Today we might limit the "modern" era to the years from 1890 to 1920 that gave the first workable theories of small-scale physics.

  17. [Multicenter transversal study of tuberculosis and drug resistance in Madrid (October 1993-April 1994)].

    PubMed

    1996-01-13

    The aim of this study was to know the demographic profile of the new cases of tuberculosis (TB) and evaluate the current status of resistance to antituberculous drugs in Madrid, Spain. A transversal study was carried out in 8 hospitals (6 general hospitals) during 6 months. The clinical data of patients over 14 years old who presented a positive culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were collected in a protocolized method; the study on sensitivity to 5 drugs was independently and centrally performed (proportions method). 467 patients (339 from general hospitals), were included. In respect to the latter patients, 71% were under the age of 45 years and 36% presented coinfection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A sensitivity study was performed in 419 strains. Forty strains showed resistance to one or more of the antituberculous drugs; 13 were from the same center (CIC) in which a nosocomial outbreak of multiresistent TB had been detected among HIV infected patients. Resistence to more than one drug was observed in 29 cases (6.9%) and to rifampicine (RIF) and isoniacide (INH) in 24 patients (5.7%). On excluding the patients from the CIC these values were 16 (4.1%) and 13 (3.3%), respectively. Ninety-two percent of the strains with resistence to RIF + INH were from HIV positive patients. The rate of primary resistence to iNH in the patients with TB without HIV infection was 2.7%. This rate was 9.3% in those with HIV infection, and was 5.7% on excluding CIC cases. In patients with HIV infection most of the strains with primary resistence to INH also presented primary resistance to RIF. More than one third of the patients with TB diagnosed in the general hospitals in Madrid, presented coinfection with HIV. In this population, the initial treatment for TB should probably begin with 4 drugs while awaiting the obliged sensitivity study.

  18. Ancient European dog genomes reveal continuity since the Early Neolithic

    PubMed Central

    Botigué, Laura R.; Song, Shiya; Scheu, Amelie; Gopalan, Shyamalika; Pendleton, Amanda L.; Oetjens, Matthew; Taravella, Angela M.; Seregély, Timo; Zeeb-Lanz, Andrea; Arbogast, Rose-Marie; Bobo, Dean; Daly, Kevin; Unterländer, Martina; Burger, Joachim; Kidd, Jeffrey M.; Veeramah, Krishna R.

    2017-01-01

    Europe has played a major role in dog evolution, harbouring the oldest uncontested Palaeolithic remains and having been the centre of modern dog breed creation. Here we sequence the genomes of an Early and End Neolithic dog from Germany, including a sample associated with an early European farming community. Both dogs demonstrate continuity with each other and predominantly share ancestry with modern European dogs, contradicting a previously suggested Late Neolithic population replacement. We find no genetic evidence to support the recent hypothesis proposing dual origins of dog domestication. By calibrating the mutation rate using our oldest dog, we narrow the timing of dog domestication to 20,000–40,000 years ago. Interestingly, we do not observe the extreme copy number expansion of the AMY2B gene characteristic of modern dogs that has previously been proposed as an adaptation to a starch-rich diet driven by the widespread adoption of agriculture in the Neolithic. PMID:28719574

  19. Oxygenation history of the Neoproterozoic to early Phanerozoic and the rise of land plants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wallace, Malcolm W.; Hood, Ashleigh vS.; Shuster, Alice; Greig, Alan; Planavsky, Noah J.; Reed, Christopher P.

    2017-05-01

    There has been extensive debate about the history of Earth's oxygenation and the role that land plant evolution played in shaping Earth's ocean-atmosphere system. Here we use the rare earth element patterns in marine carbonates to monitor the structure of the marine redox landscape through the rise and diversification of animals and early land plants. In particular, we use the relative abundance of cerium (Ceanom), the only redox-sensitive rare earth element, in well-preserved marine cements and other marine precipitates to track seawater oxygen levels. Our results indicate that there was only a moderate increase in oceanic oxygenation during the Ediacaran (average Cryogenian Ceanom = 1.1, average Ediacaran Ceanom = 0.62), followed by a decrease in oxygen levels during the early Cambrian (average Cryogenian Ceanom = 0.90), with significant ocean anoxia persisting through the early and mid Paleozoic (average Early Cambrian-Early Devonian Ceanom = 0.84). It was not until the Late Devonian that oxygenation levels are comparable to the modern (average of all post-middle Devonian Ceanom = 0.55). Therefore, this work confirms growing evidence that the oxygenation of the Earth was neither unidirectional nor a simple two-stage process. Further, we provide evidence that it was not until the Late Devonian, when large land plants and forests first evolved, that oxygen levels reached those comparable to the modern world. This is recorded with the first modern-like negative Ceanom (values <0.6) occurring at around 380 Ma (Frasnian). This suggests that land plants, rather than animals, are the 'engineers' responsible for the modern fully oxygenated Earth system.

  20. The Driving Forces of Cultural Complexity : Neanderthals, Modern Humans, and the Question of Population Size.

    PubMed

    Fogarty, Laurel; Wakano, Joe Yuichiro; Feldman, Marcus W; Aoki, Kenichi

    2017-03-01

    The forces driving cultural accumulation in human populations, both modern and ancient, are hotly debated. Did genetic, demographic, or cognitive features of behaviorally modern humans (as opposed to, say, early modern humans or Neanderthals) allow culture to accumulate to its current, unprecedented levels of complexity? Theoretical explanations for patterns of accumulation often invoke demographic factors such as population size or density, whereas statistical analyses of variation in cultural complexity often point to the importance of environmental factors such as food stability, in determining cultural complexity. Here we use both an analytical model and an agent-based simulation model to show that a full understanding of the emergence of behavioral modernity, and the cultural evolution that has followed, depends on understanding and untangling the complex relationships among culture, genetically determined cognitive ability, and demographic history. For example, we show that a small but growing population could have a different number of cultural traits from a shrinking population with the same absolute number of individuals in some circumstances.

  1. The emergence of modern type rain forests and mangroves and their traces in the palaeobotanical record during the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohr, Barbara; Coiffard, Clément

    2014-05-01

    The origin of modern rain forests is still very poorly known. This ecosystem could have potentially fully evolved only after the development of relatively high numbers of flowering plant families adapted to rain forest conditions. During the early phase of angiosperm evolution in the early Cretaceous the palaeo-equatorial region was located in a seasonally dry climatic belt, so that during this phase, flowering plants often show adaptations to drought, rather than to continuously wet climate conditions. Therefore it is not surprising that except for the Nymphaeales, the most basal members of extant angiosperm families have members that do not necessarily occur in the continuously wet tropics today. However, during the late Early Cretaceous several clades emerged that later would give rise to families that are typically found today mostly in (shady) moist places in warmer regions. This is especially seen among the monocotyledons, a group of the mesangiosperms, that developed in many cases large leaves often with very specific venation patterns that make these leaves very unique and well recognizable. Especially members of three groups are here of interest: the arum family (Araceae), the palms (Arecaceae) and the Ginger and allies (Zingiberales). The earliest fossil of Araceae are restricted to low latitudes during the lower Cretaceous. Arecaceae and Zingiberales do not appear in the fossil record before the early late Cretaceous and occur at mid latitudes. During the Late Cretaceous, Araceae are represented at mid latitudes by non-tropical early diverging members and at low latitudes by derived rainforest members. Palms became widespread during the Late Cretataceous and also Nypa, a typical element of tropical to subtropical mangrove environments evolved during this time period. During the Paleocene Arecaceae appear to be restricted to lower latitudes as well as Zingiberales. All three groups are again widespread during the Eocene, reaching higher latitudes and

  2. Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians.

    PubMed

    Jones, Eppie R; Gonzalez-Fortes, Gloria; Connell, Sarah; Siska, Veronika; Eriksson, Anders; Martiniano, Rui; McLaughlin, Russell L; Gallego Llorente, Marcos; Cassidy, Lara M; Gamba, Cristina; Meshveliani, Tengiz; Bar-Yosef, Ofer; Müller, Werner; Belfer-Cohen, Anna; Matskevich, Zinovi; Jakeli, Nino; Higham, Thomas F G; Currat, Mathias; Lordkipanidze, David; Hofreiter, Michael; Manica, Andrea; Pinhasi, Ron; Bradley, Daniel G

    2015-11-16

    We extend the scope of European palaeogenomics by sequencing the genomes of Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,300 years old, 1.4-fold coverage) and Mesolithic (9,700 years old, 15.4-fold) males from western Georgia in the Caucasus and a Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,700 years old, 9.5-fold) male from Switzerland. While we detect Late Palaeolithic-Mesolithic genomic continuity in both regions, we find that Caucasus hunter-gatherers (CHG) belong to a distinct ancient clade that split from western hunter-gatherers ∼45 kya, shortly after the expansion of anatomically modern humans into Europe and from the ancestors of Neolithic farmers ∼25 kya, around the Last Glacial Maximum. CHG genomes significantly contributed to the Yamnaya steppe herders who migrated into Europe ∼3,000 BC, supporting a formative Caucasus influence on this important Early Bronze age culture. CHG left their imprint on modern populations from the Caucasus and also central and south Asia possibly marking the arrival of Indo-Aryan languages.

  3. [The role of imagination in modern medicine].

    PubMed

    Schott, Heinz

    2004-06-01

    In Renaissance and early modern times, the concept of imagination (Latin imaginatio) was essential for the (natural) philosophical explanation of magic processes, especially in the anthropology of Paracelsus. He assumed that imagination was a natural vital power including cosmic, mental, phychical, and physical dimensions. The Paracelsians criticized traditional humor pathology ignoring their theory of' 'natural magic'. On the other hand, they were criticized by their adversaries as charlatans practicing 'black magic'. About 1800, in between enlightenment and romanticism, the healing concept of, animal magnetism' (Mesmerism) evoked an analogous debate, whether, magnetic' phenomena originated from a real (physical) power (so-called, fluidum') or were just due to fantasy or imagination (German Einbildungskraft). At the end of the 19th century, the French internist Hippolyte Bernheim created-against the background of medical hypnosis (hypnotism') as a consequence of Mesmerism - his theory of suggestion and autosuggestion: a new paradigm of psychological respectively psychosomatic medicine, which became the basis for the concept of, placebo' in modern biomedicine. From now on, all the effects of, alternative medicine' could easily be explained by the, placebo-effect', more or less founded - at least unconsciously - on fraud.

  4. Islamic Modernism and Architectural Modernism of Muhammadiyah’s Lio Mosque

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prajawisastra, A. F.; Aryanti, T.

    2017-03-01

    The Muhammadiyah’s Lio Mosque is one of the masterpieces of Achmad Noe’man, the great Indonesian mosque architect. The mosque was built as a community mosque at the center of Muhammadiyah’s quarter in Garut, West Java, in conjuction with the construction of the district’s Muhammadiyah branch. Having a shape out of the existing grip, the mosque has neither a dome nor a tajug tumpang tiga (three-tiered pyramidal roof) like other mosques nearby, but instead uses a gable roof and minarets towering. This article aims to analyze the architecture of the Lio Mosque and to learn Achmad Noe’man’s interpretation of modernism, both Islamic modernism and architectural modernism, reflected in the mosque design. Employing a qualitative approach, this study used observation and interviews with the mosque’s stakeholders. This article argues that the ideology of modernism, believed by Achmad Noe’man and the Muhammadiyah organization, was embodied in the Lio Mosque architecture.

  5. GPS constraints on M 7-8 earthquake recurrence times for the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stuart, W.D.

    2001-01-01

    Newman et al. (1999) estimate the time interval between the 1811-1812 earthquake sequence near New Madrid, Missouri and a future similar sequence to be at least 2,500 years, an interval significantly longer than other recently published estimates. To calculate the recurrence time, they assume that slip on a vertical half-plane at depth contributes to the current interseismic motion of GPS benchmarks. Compared to other plausible fault models, the half-plane model gives nearly the maximum rate of ground motion for the same interseismic slip rate. Alternative models with smaller interseismic fault slip area can satisfy the present GPS data by having higher slip rate and thus can have earthquake recurrence times much less than 2,500 years.

  6. [Patients' letters and pre-modern medical lay-culture].

    PubMed

    Stolberg, Michael

    2007-01-01

    Consulting by letter was fairly common practice among the educated, upper classes of early modern Europe. Surviving letters of consultation written by patients, relatives or friends count among the most valuable source for the analysis of pre-modern experiences of disease and the body. This essay gives a brief overview of the various types of consultation letters and related documents which resulted from this practice before tracing the historical development of epistolary consultations from the late Middle Ages through the heyday medical correspondence in the 18th c. before its decline in the 19th c. It presents "experience", "self-fashioning" and "discourse" as three particularly fruitful levels of analysis on which patients' letters can be used within the wider framework of a cultural history of medicine. These three levels of analysis, or three distinct approaches, enable historians to access a greater awareness of the ways in which the experience of illness and the body is culturally framed with an analysis of the performative effects of patients' narratives and the influence of medical discourse among the wider society.

  7. [Cardiovascular risk profiles by occupation in Madrid region, Spain].

    PubMed

    Zimmermann Verdejo, Marta; González Gómez, María Fernanda; Galán Labaca, Iñaki

    2010-01-01

    It is well known the association between cardiovascular risks and life styles. In addition, all these factors could be strongly associated with working conditions. The aim of this study was to describe the association between some cardiovascular risk factors and occupations in order to define strategies focused on health promotion at workplace. 16.048 questionnaires were analysed from the Surveillance System for Non-transmissible Diseases Risk Factors (SIVFRENT) for Madrid region. The surveys of eight consecutive years (2000-2007) were aggregated and analysed. Seven risk factors for cardiovascular diseases were studied (diet, overweight, sedentary work, physical activity, alcohol and tobacco consumption and high blood pressure). An indicator of exposure was created based on these seven risk factors. The association between cardiovascular risk factors and occupations was calculated for age and gender effects adjustment. Sedentary work (prevalence: 44,2%) and tobacco consumption (prevalence: 33,1%) were the most common risk factors found . To accumulate more than two cardiovascular risk factors was statistically higher in men (27,4%) than in women (15%). The highest risk was found for tree occupations: Drivers (OR:1,78; 95% CI:1,45-2,18), Administrative secretaries (OR:1,83; 95% CI:1,64-2,05) and Direction managers(OR:1,25; 95% CI:1,09-1,44). Drives, Secretaries and Managers seem to have a higher vulnerability for some cardiovascular risk factors.

  8. [Quality control of oral anticoagulant therapy in Primary Care in Madrid City, Spain: CHRONOS-TAO study].

    PubMed

    Alonso Roca, Rafael; Figueroa Guerrero, Carmen Arlene; Mainar de Paz, Victoria; Arribas García, M Paz; Sánchez Perruca, Luis; Rodríguez Barrientos, Ricardo; Casado López, Mariano; Pedraza Flechas, Ana M

    2015-09-07

    To determine quality control of patients with oral anticoagulant treatment recruited in Primary Care (PC) using the Rosendaal method to estimate time in therapeutic range (TTR) and comparing it with fraction of international normalized ratio (INR) in range and cross-sectional analysis (last INR registred). A retrospective observational study based on electronic medical record in routine clinical practice. PC centers (262) in Madrid. We included all patients with acenocumarol treatment, with an INR therapeutic range established between 2 and 3. We excluded patients with valvular pathology and disrupted clinical follow up in PC (<3 INR determinations in the studied period, a period of>90 days or ≥ 3 periods of>60 days between 2 determinations). The final population was 49,312 patients. The variables considered were all INR values and their respective dates. TTR was calculated by the 3 methods above mentioned. We considered "therapeutic range" INR between 2-3 and "adjusted range" INR between 1.8-3.2. Optimal control for each patient was considered TTR>60%. By using Rosendaal method, TTR was 66.8% (81.7% adjusted), with a percentage of total INR in range was 58.8% (66.5% adjusted), and, with the cross-sectional analysis, it was 70.5% (76.8% adjusted). Mean TTR was 65% (standard deviation 20.3), and the percentage of patients with TTR>60% was 63.3% (88.1% adjusted). The quality control of patients with oral anticoagulants in PC in Madrid is acceptable, similar or higher to other studies and pivotal trials of new anticoagulants. Compared to the Rosendaal method, total fraction of INR underestimates quality control, and cross-sectional analysis slightly overestimates it. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  9. Anorectal Lymphogranuloma Venereum in Madrid: A Persistent Emerging Problem in Men Who Have Sex With Men.

    PubMed

    Cabello Úbeda, Alfonso; Fernández Roblas, Ricardo; García Delgado, Rosa; Martínez García, Laura; Sterlin, Fabiola; Fernández Guerrero, Manuel L; Górgolas, Miguel

    2016-07-01

    Since 2003, outbreaks of lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) with anorectal syndrome have been increasingly recognized in many Western countries. All of them have been classified as LGV serovar L2b, mainly occurring in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected men who have had sex with men (MSM). We describe a series of 26 diagnosed cases of LGV proctitis in downtown Madrid, Spain, in 2014, after implementing routine diagnostic procedures for this disease in symptomatic MSM. We conducted an observational study of patients with symptomatic proctitis attending an outpatient infectious diseases clinic in Madrid, Spain during calendar year 2014. Clinical, epidemiological, laboratory, and therapeutic data were gathered and analyzed. Twenty-six patients were included in the analysis. All were MSM, and 24 of them were HIV-positive. All patients reported having acute proctitis symptoms including tenesmus (85%), pain (88%), constipation (62%), or anal discharge (96%). Proctoscopy showed mucopurulent exudate (25 patients [96%]), and rectal bleeding, with mucosal erythema and/or oedema in all cases. Rectal swabs were obtained from all patients, and LGV serovar L2 was confirmed in all of them. The cure rate was 100% after standard treatments with doxycycline 100 mg twice per day for 3 weeks. Simultaneous rectal infections with other sexually transmitted pathogens (gonorrhoea, herpes simplex virus, Mycoplasma genitalium) and systemic sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (syphilis, acute HIV, and hepatitis C infections) were also documented in 12 patients (46%), but these co-infections did not appear to influence the clinical manifestations of LGV. Anorectal LGV is a common cause of acute proctitis and proctocolitis among HIV-infected MSM who practice unprotected anal sex, and it is frequently associated with other rectal STDs. The implementation of routine screening and prompt diagnosis of these rectal infections should be mandatory in all clinical settings attended by HIV and STD

  10. The Duke, the Soldier of Fortune, and a Rosicrucian Legacy: Exploring the Roles of Manuscripts in Early-Modern Alchemy.

    PubMed

    Zuber, Mike A

    2018-05-01

    By the time it was published in 1705, the Speculum Sapientiae claimed to have had a long history going back to 1672. However, the fact that exaggerated stories were commonplace in alchemical literature leads us to question its credibility. This paper explores the secret lives of this alchemical text prior to its print publication to clarify the roles of manuscripts in early-modern alchemy. Specifically, I argue that there were three aspects that could distinguish manuscript from print: provenance, materiality, and exclusivity. These can be seen at work in the fate of Johann Heinrich Vierordt, an itinerant alchemist and cavalry captain whose career is inextricably linked to the scribal dissemination of the Speculum Sapientiae. In addition to manuscript copies of that text at libraries across Europe, a significant cache of correspondence preserved in Gotha documents Vierordt's dealings with Duke Friedrich I of Saxe-Gotha. The verisimilitudinous provenance of Vierordt's alchemical secrets and tincture played a crucial role in allowing him to gain Friedrich's trust. Yet it was only after Vierordt presented him with a precious parchment manuscript of the Speculum Sapientiae that he truly succeeded in gaining the duke's patronage. Subsequently, reports of multiple conflicting copies surfacing in Amsterdam sealed Vierordt's fall from favour.

  11. Genetic and archaeological perspectives on the initial modern human colonization of southern Asia.

    PubMed

    Mellars, Paul; Gori, Kevin C; Carr, Martin; Soares, Pedro A; Richards, Martin B

    2013-06-25

    It has been argued recently that the initial dispersal of anatomically modern humans from Africa to southern Asia occurred before the volcanic "supereruption" of the Mount Toba volcano (Sumatra) at ∼74,000 y before present (B.P.)-possibly as early as 120,000 y B.P. We show here that this "pre-Toba" dispersal model is in serious conflict with both the most recent genetic evidence from both Africa and Asia and the archaeological evidence from South Asian sites. We present an alternative model based on a combination of genetic analyses and recent archaeological evidence from South Asia and Africa. These data support a coastally oriented dispersal of modern humans from eastern Africa to southern Asia ∼60-50 thousand years ago (ka). This was associated with distinctively African microlithic and "backed-segment" technologies analogous to the African "Howiesons Poort" and related technologies, together with a range of distinctively "modern" cultural and symbolic features (highly shaped bone tools, personal ornaments, abstract artistic motifs, microblade technology, etc.), similar to those that accompanied the replacement of "archaic" Neanderthal by anatomically modern human populations in other regions of western Eurasia at a broadly similar date.

  12. Early Archean serpentine mud volcanoes at Isua, Greenland, as a niche for early life.

    PubMed

    Pons, Marie-Laure; Quitté, Ghylaine; Fujii, Toshiyuki; Rosing, Minik T; Reynard, Bruno; Moynier, Frederic; Douchet, Chantal; Albarède, Francis

    2011-10-25

    The Isua Supracrustal Belt, Greenland, of Early Archean age (3.81-3.70 Ga) represents the oldest crustal segment on Earth. Its complex lithology comprises an ophiolite-like unit and volcanic rocks reminiscent of boninites, which tie Isua supracrustals to an island arc environment. We here present zinc (Zn) isotope compositions measured on serpentinites and other rocks from the Isua supracrustal sequence and on serpentinites from modern ophiolites, midocean ridges, and the Mariana forearc. In stark contrast to modern midocean ridge and ophiolite serpentinites, Zn in Isua and Mariana serpentinites is markedly depleted in heavy isotopes with respect to the igneous average. Based on recent results of Zn isotope fractionation between coexisting species in solution, the Isua serpentinites were permeated by carbonate-rich, high-pH hydrothermal solutions at medium temperature (100-300 °C). Zinc isotopes therefore stand out as a pH meter for fossil hydrothermal solutions. The geochemical features of the Isua fluids resemble the interstitial fluids sampled in the mud volcano serpentinites of the Mariana forearc. The reduced character and the high pH inferred for these fluids make Archean serpentine mud volcanoes a particularly favorable setting for the early stabilization of amino acids.

  13. Modern Chinese: History and Sociolinguistics.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Ping

    This book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the development of modern Chinese from the late 19th century up to the 1990s, concentrating on three major aspects: modern spoken Chinese, modern written Chinese, and the modern Chinese writing system. It describes and analyzes in detail, from historical and sociolinguistic perspectives,…

  14. Quantitative investigations of the Missouri gravity low: A possible expression of a large, Late Precambrian batholith intersecting the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hildenbrand, T.G.; Griscom, A.; Van Schmus, W. R.; Stuart, W.D.

    1996-01-01

    Analysis of gravity and magnetic anomaly data helps characterize the geometry and physical properties of the source of the Missouri gravity low, an important cratonic feature of substantial width (about 125 km) and length (> 600 km). Filtered anomaly maps show that this prominent feature extends NW from the Reelfoot rift to the Midcontinent Rift System. Geologic reasoning and the simultaneous inversion of the gravity and magnetic data lead to an interpretation that the gravity anomaly reflects an upper crustal, 11-km-thick batholith with either near vertical or outward dipping boundaries. Considering the modeled characteristics of the batholith, structural fabric of Missouri, and relations of the batholith with plutons and regions of alteration, a tectonic model for the formation of the batholith is proposed. The model includes a mantle plume that heated the crust during Late Precambrian and melted portions of lower and middle crust, from which the low-density granitic rocks forming the batholith were partly derived. The batholith, called the Missouri batholith, may be currently related to the release of seismic energy in the New Madrid seismic zone (earthquake concentrations occur at the intersection of the Missouri batholith and the New Madrid seismic zone). Three qualitative mechanical models are suggested to explain this relationship with seismicity. Copyright 1996 by the American Geophysical Union.

  15. Sophisticated digestive systems in early arthropods.

    PubMed

    Vannier, Jean; Liu, Jianni; Lerosey-Aubril, Rudy; Vinther, Jakob; Daley, Allison C

    2014-05-02

    Understanding the way in which animals diversified and radiated during their early evolutionary history remains one of the most captivating of scientific challenges. Integral to this is the 'Cambrian explosion', which records the rapid emergence of most animal phyla, and for which the triggering and accelerating factors, whether environmental or biological, are still unclear. Here we describe exceptionally well-preserved complex digestive organs in early arthropods from the early Cambrian of China and Greenland with functional similarities to certain modern crustaceans and trace these structures through the early evolutionary lineage of fossil arthropods. These digestive structures are assumed to have allowed for more efficient digestion and metabolism, promoting carnivory and macrophagy in early arthropods via predation or scavenging. This key innovation may have been of critical importance in the radiation and ecological success of Arthropoda, which has been the most diverse and abundant invertebrate phylum since the Cambrian.

  16. Human papillomavirus genotypes in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients with anal pathology in Madrid, Spain

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background We studied anal specimens to determine the distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes and co-infection occurrence. This information will contribute to the knowledge of HPV genotype distributions and provide an estimate of the prevalence of different oncogenic HPV genotypes found in patients in Madrid (Spain). Methods We studied a total of 82 anal biopsies from the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón of Madrid. These included 4 specimens with benign lesions, 52 specimens with low-grade anal squamous intraepithelial lesion, 24 specimens with high-grade anal squamous intraepithelial lesions and 2 specimens with invasive anal carcinoma. HPV genotyping was performed with PCR amplification and reverse dot blot hybridization. Results We detected 33 different HPV genotypes, including 16 HPVs associated with a high risk of carcinogenesis, 3 HPVs associated with a highly likely risk of carcinogenesis and 14 HPVs associated with a low-risk of carcinogenesis. In two specimens, an uncharacterized HPV genotype was detected. The most frequent HPV genotypes found were HPV-16 (10.3%; 95% CI: 6.6%-15.1%), HPV-52 (8.5%; 95% CI: 5.2%-13%) and HPV-43/44 (7.6%; 95% CI: 4.5%-11.9%). HPV-18 was only detected in 0.9% (95% CI: 0.1%-3.2%) of the total viruses detected in all lesions. HPV co-infections were found in 83.9% of all types of lesions. The majority of cases (90.2%) were concomitantly infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Conclusion The prevalence of high-risk carcinogenic genotypes in anal pathological samples was remarkable. Therefore, further studies that include a greater number of samples, particularly invasive carcinoma cases are needed to evaluate the potential influence of these HPV genotypes in the appearance of anal carcinomas. Also, the influence of other accompanying infections should be evaluated clarify the appearance of this type of carcinoma. Virtual slides The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here

  17. Detection and monitoring of cardiotoxicity-what does modern cardiology offer?

    PubMed

    Jurcut, Ruxandra; Wildiers, Hans; Ganame, Javier; D'hooge, Jan; Paridaens, Robert; Voigt, Jens-Uwe

    2008-05-01

    With new anticancer therapies, many patients can have a long life expectancy. Treatment-related comorbidities become an issue for cancer survivors. Cardiac toxicity remains an important side effect of anticancer therapies. Myocardial dysfunction can become apparent early or long after end of therapy and may be irreversible. Detection of cardiac injury is crucial since it may facilitate early therapeutic measures. Traditionally, chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity has been detected by measuring changes in left ventricular ejection fraction. This parameter is, however, insensitive to subtle changes in myocardial function as they occur in early cardiotoxicity. This review will discuss conventional and modern cardiologic approaches of assessing myocardial function. It will focus on Doppler myocardial imaging, a method which allows to sensitively measure myocardial function parameters like myocardial velocity, deformation (strain), or deformation rate (strain rate) and which has been shown to reliably detect early abnormalities in both regional and global myocardial function in an early stage. Other newer echocardiographic function estimators are based on automated border detection algorithms and ultrasonic integrated backscatter analysis. A further technique to be discussed is dobutamine stress echocardiography. The use of new biomarkers like B-type natriuretic peptide and troponin and less often used imaging techniques like magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography will also be mentioned.

  18. Delineation of the New Madrid seismic zone using Landsat MSS data with insurance and tax implications of future fault movement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiley, M. A.; Rupert, G. B.; Christy, J. J.; Cochrane, C. L.; Buffington, N. L., Jr.

    Landsat MSS imagery was used to delineate the New Madrid seismic zone, near the common borders of Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, which has produced earthquakes wth Modified Mercalli intensities larger than 10. Intepretation of the Landsat image, in conjunction with published data, provides means for combining geomorphic and geophysical data to yield new insights into the tectonics of the area. The paper discusses the value of this technique for constructing and maintaining disaster contingency plans, with particular attention given to insurance and tax implications.

  19. Early human symbolic behavior in the Late Pleistocene of Wallacea

    PubMed Central

    Brumm, Adam; Hakim, Budianto; Ramli, Muhammad; Sumantri, Iwan; Burhan, Basran; Saiful, Andi Muhammad; Siagian, Linda; Suryatman; Sardi, Ratno; Jusdi, Andi; Abdullah; Mubarak, Andi Pampang; Hasliana; Hasrianti; Oktaviana, Adhi Agus; Adhityatama, Shinatria; van den Bergh, Gerrit D.; Aubert, Maxime; Zhao, Jian-xin; Huntley, Jillian; Li, Bo; Roberts, Richard G.; Saptomo, E. Wahyu; Perston, Yinika; Grün, Rainer

    2017-01-01

    Wallacea, the zone of oceanic islands separating the continental regions of Southeast Asia and Australia, has yielded sparse evidence for the symbolic culture of early modern humans. Here we report evidence for symbolic activity 30,000–22,000 y ago at Leang Bulu Bettue, a cave and rock-shelter site on the Wallacean island of Sulawesi. We describe hitherto undocumented practices of personal ornamentation and portable art, alongside evidence for pigment processing and use in deposits that are the same age as dated rock art in the surrounding karst region. Previously, assemblages of multiple and diverse types of Pleistocene “symbolic” artifacts were entirely unknown from this region. The Leang Bulu Bettue assemblage provides insight into the complexity and diversification of modern human culture during a key period in the global dispersal of our species. It also shows that early inhabitants of Sulawesi fashioned ornaments from body parts of endemic animals, suggesting modern humans integrated exotic faunas and other novel resources into their symbolic world as they colonized the biogeographically unique regions southeast of continental Eurasia. PMID:28373568

  20. Early human symbolic behavior in the Late Pleistocene of Wallacea.

    PubMed

    Brumm, Adam; Langley, Michelle C; Moore, Mark W; Hakim, Budianto; Ramli, Muhammad; Sumantri, Iwan; Burhan, Basran; Saiful, Andi Muhammad; Siagian, Linda; Suryatman; Sardi, Ratno; Jusdi, Andi; Abdullah; Mubarak, Andi Pampang; Hasliana; Hasrianti; Oktaviana, Adhi Agus; Adhityatama, Shinatria; van den Bergh, Gerrit D; Aubert, Maxime; Zhao, Jian-Xin; Huntley, Jillian; Li, Bo; Roberts, Richard G; Saptomo, E Wahyu; Perston, Yinika; Grün, Rainer

    2017-04-18

    Wallacea, the zone of oceanic islands separating the continental regions of Southeast Asia and Australia, has yielded sparse evidence for the symbolic culture of early modern humans. Here we report evidence for symbolic activity 30,000-22,000 y ago at Leang Bulu Bettue, a cave and rock-shelter site on the Wallacean island of Sulawesi. We describe hitherto undocumented practices of personal ornamentation and portable art, alongside evidence for pigment processing and use in deposits that are the same age as dated rock art in the surrounding karst region. Previously, assemblages of multiple and diverse types of Pleistocene "symbolic" artifacts were entirely unknown from this region. The Leang Bulu Bettue assemblage provides insight into the complexity and diversification of modern human culture during a key period in the global dispersal of our species. It also shows that early inhabitants of Sulawesi fashioned ornaments from body parts of endemic animals, suggesting modern humans integrated exotic faunas and other novel resources into their symbolic world as they colonized the biogeographically unique regions southeast of continental Eurasia.