Anàlisi de les revistes indexades al Journal of Citation Reports del Social Science Citation Index. Període 1997-2005

En aquest estat de la qüestió, s’hi presenten els resultats d’una anàlisi sobre l’evolució i les característiques principals de les revistes de geografia incloses al Journal of Citation Reports dins de la versió del Social Science Citation Index i, per tant, amb factor d’impacte. El període d’estudi escollit ha estat el que va de 1997 a 2005, és a dir, al llarg dels darrers nou anys amb dades disponibles. En total, hi han aparegut incloses trenta-nou revistes, una bona part de les quals ha romàs a la llista durant tot el temps estudiat. Hi ha hagut deu publicacions que han estat situades entre les cinc amb més factor d’impacte de cada any, i cap no ha estat la primera més de dos anys seguits. S’han trobat divuit temàtiques diferents en el conjunt de les revistes, en destaquen les de caire generalista i les de geografia econòmica i regional. Una gran majoria dels volums està publicada per editorials, Blackwell Publishing n’és la més destacada. L’origen de les revistes és clarament anglosaxó, només n’hi trobem dues d’escrites en una altra llengua. La segona part de l’article descriu totes les publicacions contemplades en els nou anys estudiats, amb una petita ressenya de cadascuna

Canonical correspondence analysis in social science research

The use of simple and multiple correspondence analysis is well-established in socialscience research for understanding relationships between two or more categorical variables.By contrast, canonical correspondence analysis, which is a correspondence analysis with linearrestrictions on the solution, has become one of the most popular multivariate techniques inecological research. Multivariate ecological data typically consist of frequencies of observedspecies across a set of sampling locations, as well as a set of observed environmental variablesat the same locations. In this context the principal dimensions of the biological variables aresought in a space that is constrained to be related to the environmental variables. Thisrestricted form of correspondence analysis has many uses in social science research as well,as is demonstrated in this paper. We first illustrate the result that canonical correspondenceanalysis of an indicator matrix, restricted to be related an external categorical variable, reducesto a simple correspondence analysis of a set of concatenated (or stacked ) tables. Then weshow how canonical correspondence analysis can be used to focus on, or partial out, aparticular set of response categories in sample survey data. For example, the method can beused to partial out the influence of missing responses, which usually dominate the results of amultiple correspondence analysis.

Association of NTRK3 and its interaction with NGF suggest an altered cross-regulation of the neurotrophin signaling pathway in eating disorders

Eating disorders (EDs) are complex psychiatric diseases that include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and have higher than 50% heritability. Previous studies have found association of BDNF and NTRK2 to ED, while animal models suggest that other neurotrophin genes might also be involved in eating behavior. We have performed a family-based association study with 151 TagSNPs covering 10 neurotrophin signaling genes: NGFB, BDNF, NTRK1, NGFR/p75, NTF4/5, NTRK2, NTF3, NTRK3, CNTF and CNTFR in 371 ED trios of Spanish, French and German origin. Besides several nominal associations, we found a strong significant association after correcting for multiple testing (P = 1.04 × 10−4) between ED and rs7180942, located in the NTRK3 gene, which followed an overdominant model of inheritance. Interestingly, HapMap unrelated individuals carrying the rs7180942 risk genotypes for ED showed higher levels of expression of NTRK3 in lymphoblastoid cell lines. Furthermore, higher expression of the orthologous murine Ntrk3 gene was also detected in the hypothalamus of the anx/anx mouse model of anorexia. Finally, variants in NGFB gene appear to modify the risk conferred by the NTRK3 rs7180942 risk genotypes (P = 4.0 × 10−5) showing a synergistic epistatic interaction. The reported data, in addition to the previous reported findings for BDNF and NTRK2, point neurotrophin signaling genes as key regulators of eating behavior and their altered cross-regulation as susceptibility factors for EDs.

Dynamic and Regulated Association of Caveolin with Lipid Bodies: Modulation of Lipid Body Motility and Function by a Dominant Negative Mutant

Caveolins are a crucial component of caveolae but have also been localized to the Golgi complex, and, under some experimental conditions, to lipid bodies (LBs). The physiological relevance and dynamics of LB association remain unclear. We now show that endogenous caveolin-1 and caveolin-2 redistribute to LBs in lipid loaded A431 and FRT cells. Association with LBs is regulated and reversible; removal of fatty acids causes caveolin to rapidly leave the lipid body. We also show by subcellular fractionation, light and electron microscopy that during the first hours of liver regeneration, caveolins show a dramatic redistribution from the cell surface to the newly formed LBs. At later stages of the regeneration process (when LBs are still abundant), the levels of caveolins in LBs decrease dramatically. As a model system to study association of caveolins with LBs we have used brefeldin A (BFA). BFA causes rapid redistribution of endogenous caveolins to LBs and this association was reversed upon BFA washout. Finally, we have used a dominant negative LB-associated caveolin mutant (cavDGV) to study LB formation and to examine its effect on LB function. We now show that the cavDGV mutant inhibits microtubule-dependent LB motility and blocks the reversal of lipid accumulation in LBs.

«Conocimientos situados»: reflexión sobre las geografías de la Geografía (Crónica de un viaje al 100 Congreso de la Association of American Geographers)

Dolido por la escasa repercusión y el nulo interés de la geografía (crítica) estadounidense ante los atentados de Al Qaeda en Madrid, el cuaderno de viaje de Margarita del Vez (participante en el 100 Congreso de la Association of American Geographers) reprocha no sólo que el conocimiento geográfico sigue siendo mercantilizado y puesto al servicio del poder, sino que, descontextualizado y desideologizado, a menudo se convierte en una nueva forma de «saber ignorante». Con la deconstrucción formal de la narrativa «científica», el texto pretende ser también una denuncia al hecho de que la institución académica, por guardar las formas, llegue al extremo de dar la espalda a la realidad.

Association of early repolarization with risk of cardiac mortality in the general population

Early repolarization, which is characterized by an elevation of the J-point on 12-lead electrocardiography, is a common finding that has been considered as benign for decades. However, in the last years, it has been related with vulnerability to idiopathic ventricular fibrillation and with cardiac mortality in the general population. Recently, 4 potential ECG predictors that could differentiate the benign from the malignant form of early repolarization have been suggested. Any previous study about early repolarization has been done in Spain. Aim. To ascertain whether the presence of early repolarization pattern in a resting electrocardiogram is associated with a major risk of cardiac death in a Spanish general population and to determine whether the presence of potential predictors of malignancy in a resting electrocardiogram increases the risk of cardiac mortality in patients with early repolarization pattern. Methods. We will analyse the presence of early repolarization and the occurrence of cardiac mortality in a retrospective cohort study of 4,279 participants aged 25 to 74 years in the province of Girona. This cohort has been followed during a mean of 9.8 years. Early repolarization will be stratified according to the degree of J-point elevation (≥0.1 mV or ≥0.2 mV), the morphology of the J-wave (slurring, notching or any of these two), the ST-segment pattern (ascending or descending) and the localization (inferior leads, lateral leads, or both). Association of early repolarization with cardiac death will be assessed by adjusted Cox-proportional hazards models

Association of MMP-2 polymorphisms with severe and very severe COPD: a case control study of MMPs-1, 9 and 12 in a European population.

BACKGROUND: Genetic factors play a role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but are poorly understood. A number of candidate genes have been proposed on the basis of the pathogenesis of COPD. These include the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) genes which play a role in tissue remodelling and fit in with the protease--antiprotease imbalance theory for the cause of COPD. Previous genetic studies of MMPs in COPD have had inadequate coverage of the genes, and have reported conflicting associations of both single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and SNP haplotypes, plausibly due to under-powered studies. METHODS: To address these issues we genotyped 26 SNPs, providing comprehensive coverage of reported SNP variation, in MMPs- 1, 9 and 12 from 977 COPD patients and 876 non-diseased smokers of European descent and evaluated their association with disease singly and in haplotype combinations. We used logistic regression to adjust for age, gender, centre and smoking history. RESULTS: Haplotypes of two SNPs in MMP-12 (rs652438 and rs2276109), showed an association with severe/very severe disease, corresponding to GOLD Stages III and IV. CONCLUSIONS: Those with the common A-A haplotype for these two SNPs were at greater risk of developing severe/very severe disease (p = 0.0039) while possession of the minor G variants at either SNP locus had a protective effect (adjusted odds ratio of 0.76; 95% CI 0.61 - 0.94). The A-A haplotype was also associated with significantly lower predicted FEV1 (42.62% versus 44.79%; p = 0.0129). This implicates haplotypes of MMP-12 as modifiers of disease severity.

Association of early repolarization with risk of cardiac mortality in the general population

Early repolarization, which is characterized by an elevation of the J-point on 12-lead electrocardiography, is a common finding that has been considered as benign for decades. However, in the last years, it has been related with vulnerability to idiopathic ventricular fibrillation and with cardiac mortality in the general population. Recently, 4 potential ECG predictors that could differentiate the benign from the malignant form of early repolarization have been suggested. Any previous study about early repolarization has been done in Spain. Aim. To ascertain whether the presence of early repolarization pattern in a resting electrocardiogram is associated with a major risk of cardiac death in a Spanish general population and to determine whether the presence of potential predictors of malignancy in a resting electrocardiogram increases the risk of cardiac mortality in patients with early repolarization pattern. Methods. We will analyse the presence of early repolarization and the occurrence of cardiac mortality in a retrospective cohort study of 4,279 participants aged 25 to 74 years in the province of Girona. This cohort has been followed during a mean of 9.8 years. Early repolarization will be stratified according to the degree of J-point elevation (≥0.1 mV or ≥0.2 mV), the morphology of the J-wave (slurring, notching or any of these two), the ST-segment pattern (ascending or descending) and the localization (inferior leads, lateral leads, or both). Association of early repolarization with cardiac death will be assessed by adjusted Cox-proportional hazards models

Anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: association of predictors with the vital and functional prognosis of patients

Improve the prediction of the vital and functional prognosis of comatose patients suffering from anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy after successful resuscitation from a cardiac arrest, addmitted to the Intensive Care and Coronary Units of the Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital, based on clinical, neurophysiological and biochemical results.The results of these different tests, revised and combined all together, will improve the prediction of the patients' prognosis, leading to an accurate vital and functional outcome, as they only have been studied separately so far. Anoxia is the third most frequent cause of coma, and the most common cause of post-anoxic coma in adults is the cardiac arrest. The incidence of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury is not well known, but it is certain that cardiac arrest, the most common cause of post-anoxic coma, affects approximately 24000 to 50000 Spanish people every year, most of them occuring out of the hospital. A cardiac arrest is the abrupt cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively during systole. It is different from, but may be caused by, a heart attack or myocardial infarction, where blood flow to the still-beating heart is interrupted. Arrested blood circulation prevents delivery of oxygen to all parts of the body. Cerebral hypoxia, or lack of oxygen supply to the brain, causes victims to lose consciousness and to stop normal breathing, although agonal breathing may still occur. Brain injury is likely if cardiac arrest is untreated for more than five minutes