-Litter fall has been measured in three Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) shrublands, 10, 40 and 70 years after fire in the province of Valencia (eastern Spain). Annual

This paper determines the travel time of a light ray connecting two points in the space-time solving numerically a two-point boundary value problem by means of the shooting method. For the resolution of this problem multiple precision floatingpoint arithmetic is required. We have studied distinct implementations of the shooting method attending to the way in which the Jacobian appearing at each iteration is approximated. We have shown that by using Magnus expansions to solve the differential equation for the Jacobian, one obtains a better efficiency of the shooting method. Also, a comparison between the numerical results obtained through the application of the shooting method and those derived by Le Poncin-Lafitte et al. (Class Quantum Grav, 21:4463-4483, 2004) from perturbative expansions of the world function is made.

Sensitivity to opioids and intraoperative anaphylaxis can be diagnosed by routine tests. IgE and skin tests for the oil body fraction of P. somniferum had the highest sensitivity for sensitisation to opioids.

In this paper, it is shown, using a geometrical approach, the isotropy of the velocity of light measured in a rotating frame in the Minkowski space-time, and it is verified that this result is compatible with the Sagnac effect. Furthermore, we find that this problem can be reduced to the solution of geodesic triangles in a Minkowskian cylinder. A relationship between the problems established on the cylinder and on the Minkowskian plane is obtained through a local isometry.

The atherosclerosis that appears in coronary, cerebrovascular and peripheral arterial disease is responsible for most cardiovascular diseases. It is characterized by chronic arterial inflammation caused and exacerbated by disorders of the lipidic metabolism and other clearly identified risk factors [1]. Calcification, which is initiated by an active process in which inflammatory cytokines and other mediators that regulate the phospho-calcium metabolism intervene, is characteristic of atherosclerosis [2]. These mechanisms can intervene in an opposite phenomenon that takes place at the level of the bone characterized by a reduction in bone mineral content and alterations in the microarchitecture that define osteoporosis. The association between the two diseases, which share mechanisms but have a different expression, is noteworthy.The Wnt-LPR5 signalling pathway plays an important role in skeletal homeostasis, especially in regulating osteoblastic activity. It is formed by a series of elements, WnT ligands, and a receptor complex, which is constituted by the Frizzled protein and . Recently, a missense mutation in LPR6 that codifies a coreceptor has been described in an Iranian family. Cysteine is replaced by arginine, damaging in vitro Wnt signalling. These patients have a greater risk of coronary disease, low bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporotic fracture, suggesting that the two diseases may be pleiotropic consequences of the alteration of the Wnt signalling pathway [4].Wnt signalling pathway activation is regulated by various inhibitors, including DKK1, which interacts with a transmembrane protein, kremen, to prevent the activation of the LPR5 coreceptor, leading to internalization of the DKK/LPR complex with a loss of the Wnt signal [5]. Studies in experimental animals have shown a possible role of DKK1 in the regulation of bone homeostasis, although there are few studies in humans and in patients with acute coronary syndrome.The objective of this study was to evaluate DKK1 levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction, the response to atorvastatin and the relationship with bone mass.Patients with acute myocardial infarction were included. Exclusion criteria were chronic alcohol abuse, neoplasia, chronic renal failure, hyper-and hypocalcaemia, hyperparathyroidism and the use of drugs modifying BMD. Patients were allocated to low (10-20 mg) and high doses (40-80 mg) of atorvastatin according to baseline levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and the index of vascular risk. Measurements were made at baseline and at 12 months of follow up. The control group was patients of the same age and sex without coronary disease.Blood samples were obtained after 8 fasting hours. DKK1 was determined by immunoassay (Biomedica, Wien, Austria) with a 9% interassay coefficient of variation. Densitometric studies were conducted in the lumbar spine (L2-L4) and femoral neck and trochanter using an X-ray densitometer (DXA, Lunar Corporation, Madison, Wisconsin, USA).The results are expressed as mean± standard deviation....

Cross-reactivity exists between latex and tobacco allergens. Smoker patients with IgE response to tobacco may be a risk population for latex sensitisation.

No abstract

Background: Ghrelin, a recently discovered peptide mainly secreted by the stomach, has an orexigenic effect which stimulates secretion of the growth hormone. It also has vasodilator effects which reduce blood pressure and stimulate in vitro, bone formation. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of ghrelin on bone mass and bone remodeling markers in postmenopausal hypertensive women. Material and Methods: 25 postmenopausal hypertensive women, light to moderate based on the JNC-VII criteria, were studied. They had a mean age of 58 ± 8 years, a body mass index of 28 ± 6 and a hypertension development time of 65 ± 84 months. Osteocalcin, PTHi, 25-vitamin D, ghrelin in serum and deoxypiridinoline in urine were determined in all patients. A lumbar spine densitometer was made (DXP Lunar, Madison, Wisc., USA). Results: Diminished levels of ghrelin were observed in the osteoporotic group (40 ± 19 vs. 78 ± 40, p = 0.027). When the patients were separated according to ghrelin tertiles, a greater bone mass was observed in the upper tertiles, which was associated with a decrease in the urinary deoxypiridinoline. When the total population was analyzed, no relation between the ghrelin and bone mass was found, nor with any of the parameters of calcium metabolism. Only a statistically significant relation between ghrelin and deoxypiridinoline was observed (r = –0.428, p = 0.026). Conclusions: In postmenopausal hypertensive women, ghrelin may produce a protecting effect over bone mass through an anticatabolic mechanism manifested by a decrease of bone resorption.