Estadística médica de la Compañía de Ferrocarriles de Tarragona a Barcelona y Francia (Barcelona, 1892)

A més de realitzar una estadística mèdica dels trastorns i perills que afecten els treballadors de dita companyia, el document reivindica la necessitat d'aquest tipus de treball per tal de posar sobre la taula els problemes presents i les solucions a buscar.

Weakening processes in thrust faults: insights from the Monte Perdido thrust fault (southern Pyrenees, Spain)

The Monte Perdido thrust fault (southern Pyrenees) consists of a 6-m-thick interval of intensely deformed clay-bearing rocks. The fault zone is affected by a pervasive pressure solution seam and numerous shear surfaces. Calcite extensional-shear veins are present along the shear surfaces. The angular relationships between the two structures indicate that shear surfaces developed at a high angle (70°) to the local principal maximum stress axis r1. Two main stages of deformation are present. The first stage corresponds to the development of calcite shear veins by a combination of shear surface reactivation and extensional mode I rupture. The second stage of deformation corresponds to chlorite precipitation along the previously reactivated shear surfaces. The pore fluid factor k computed for the two deformation episodes indicates high fluid pressures during the Monte Perdido thrust activity. During the first stage of deformation, the reactivation of the shear surface was facilitated by a suprahydrostatic fluid pressure with a pore fluid factor kv equal to 0.89. For the second stage, the fluid pressure remained still high (with a k value ranging between 0.77 and 0.84) even with the presence of weak chlorite along the shear surfaces. Furthermore, evidence of hydrostatic fluid pressure during calcite cement precipitation supports that incremental shear surface reactivations are correlated with cyclic fluid pressure fluctuations consis- tent with a fault-valve model.

Routine delivery of artemisinin-based combination treatment at fixed health facilities reduces malaria prevalence in Tanzania: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been promoted as a means to reduce malaria transmission due to their ability to kill both asexual blood stages of malaria parasites, which sustain infections over long periods and the immature derived sexual stages responsible for infecting mosquitoes and onward transmission. Early studies reported a temporal association between ACT introduction and reduced malaria transmission in a number of ecological settings. However, these reports have come from areas with low to moderate malaria transmission, been confounded by the presence of other interventions or environmental changes that may have reduced malaria transmission, and have not included a comparison group without ACT. This report presents results from the first large-scale observational study to assess the impact of case management with ACT on population-level measures of malaria endemicity in an area with intense transmission where the benefits of effective infection clearance might be compromised by frequent and repeated re-infection. METHODS: A pre-post observational study with a non-randomized comparison group was conducted at two sites in Tanzania. Both sites used sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) monotherapy as a first-line anti-malarial from mid-2001 through 2002. In 2003, the ACT, artesunate (AS) co-administered with SP (AS + SP), was introduced in all fixed health facilities in the intervention site, including both public and registered non-governmental facilities. Population-level prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum asexual parasitaemia and gametocytaemia were assessed using light microscopy from samples collected during representative household surveys in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. FINDINGS: Among 37,309 observations included in the analysis, annual asexual parasitaemia prevalence in persons of all ages ranged from 11% to 28% and gametocytaemia prevalence ranged from <1% to 2% between the two sites and across the five survey years. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to adjust for age, socioeconomic status, bed net use and rainfall. In the presence of consistently high coverage and efficacy of SP monotherapy and AS + SP in the comparison and intervention areas, the introduction of ACT in the intervention site was associated with a modest reduction in the adjusted asexual parasitaemia prevalence of 5 percentage-points or 23% (p < 0.0001) relative to the comparison site. Gametocytaemia prevalence did not differ significantly (p = 0.30). INTERPRETATION: The introduction of ACT at fixed health facilities only modestly reduced asexual parasitaemia prevalence. ACT is effective for treatment of uncomplicated malaria and should have substantial public health impact on morbidity and mortality, but is unlikely to reduce malaria transmission substantially in much of sub-Saharan Africa where individuals are rapidly re-infected.

Transitional effects of a pension system change in Spain

This paper studies the output effects, transition costs and the change in pension benefits derived from the substitution of the current unfunded pension system by a fully funded pension system financed through mandatory savings.These effects are estimated by using reduced versions of the neoclassical and endogenous growth frameworks. Because of the greater capital accumulation during the transition phase, final output increases by 23,6% (neoclassicalframework); and a 24,5-31,5% (endogenous growth framework). The initial revenue loss for the government would represent a 4,8% of the GDP, raising very slowly during the transition period. Given the new growth rates, rates of return ofphysical capital, and financial intermediation costs, we have that the capitalization pension benefits obtained by all 30-contribution-year worker would be more than twice than those that guarantee the financial sustainability of thepublic pension system

Socio-economic inequalities in reported depression in Spain : a decomposition approach

Recent evidence questions some conventional view on the existence of income-related inequalities in depression suggesting in turn that other determinants might be in place, such as activity status and educational attainment. Evidence of socio-economic inequalities is especially relevant in countries such as Spain that have a limited coverage of mental health care and are regionally heterogeneous. This paper aims at measuring and explaining the degree of socio-economic inequality in reported depression in Spain. We employ linear probability models to estimate the concentration index and its decomposition drawing from 2003 edition of the Spanish National Health Survey, the most recent representative health survey in Spain. Our findings point towards the existence of avoidable inequalities in the prevalence of reported depression. However, besides ¿pure income effects¿ explaining 37% of inequality, economic activity status (28%), education (15%) and demographics (15%) play also a key encompassing role. Although high income implies higher resources to invest and cure (mental) illness, environmental factors influencing in peoples perceived social status act as indirect path as explaining the prevalence of depression. Finally, we find evidence of a gender effect, gender social-economic inequality in income is mainly avoidable.

Regional integration and specialisation patterns in Spain

The aim of this paper is to analyse how economic integration in Europe has affected industrial geographical concentration in Spain and explain what the driving forces behind industry location are. Firstly, we construct regional specialisation and geographical concentration indices for Spanish 50 provinces and 30 industrial sectors in 1979, 1986 and 1992. Secondly, we carry out an econometric analysis of the determinants of geographical concentration of industries. Our main conclusion is that there is no evidence of increasing specialisation in Spain between 1979 and 1992 and that the most important determinant of Spain¿s economic geography is scale economies. Furthermore, traditional trade theory has no effects in explaining the pattern of industrial concentration

Foreign migrations and new couples in Spain. Nuptiality and Gender Imbalance in the new century

Nuptiality is not a central item in Migration Research now. In the past, especially for American countries, many scholars were really interested in marriages of immigrants, specially knowing the exchanges between different communities; that is, mixed marriages. Here is the Spanish case in nuptiality between foreign and local people.

SARM-S4 and metabolites detection in sports drug testing: a case report.

Recently, pharmaceutical industry developed a new class of therapeutics called Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM) to substitute the synthetic anabolic drugs used in medical treatments. Since the beginning of the anti-doping testing in sports in the 1970s, steroids have been the most frequently detected drugs mainly used for their anabolic properties. The major advantage of SARMs is the reduced androgenic activities which are the main source of side effects following anabolic agents' administration. In 2010, the Swiss laboratory for doping analyses reported the first case of SARMs abuse during in-competition testing. The analytical steps leading to this finding are described in this paper. Screening and confirmation results were obtained based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analyses. Additional information regarding the SARM S-4 metabolism was investigated by ultra high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UHPLC-QTOF-MS).

Sobre la publicació: "Cowroid de cerámica de cerámica vidriada hallado en el poblado ibérico del "Tossal del Moro" en Piñeras (Batea, Tarragona)"

És aquest un dels treballs pioners del Dr. Maluquer. Efectivament, feia ja un segle que s'havien començat a descobrir peces semblants a la península Iberica de les quals es tenia notícia bibliografica: un escaraboid pseudoegipci descobert a la Puerta de Tierra de Cadis (Delgado 1871: CXXXI), i un escarabeu descobert a Malaga (Rodríguez de Berlanga 1891: 328-329,332-333). Nogensmenys, abans de l' article del Dr. Maluquer que ara ens ocupa, molt pocs treballs explícitament dedicats a objectes de tipus egipci trobats a la península Iberica s'havien publicat: només podem citar-ne un dedicat a troballes d'objectes egipcis fetes a Tarragona (Castillo 1909: 169-180) i un altre dedicat al primer escarabeu egipci procedent de la necropolis d' Alcácer do Sal (Correia 1925: 90-93).

Scapulalgie et neuropathie sus-scapulaire en pathologie sportive [Scapular pain and supra-scapular neuropathy in sports medicine]

Eight patients with shoulder pain are reported with a history of athletic activities. On examination, performed with a delay of several months, all patients had painful paresis and atrophy of spinati fossa. Electroneuromyography was carried out in all cases and showed a suprascapular nerve axonal loss from the spinati muscles or infraspinatus muscle, signs of denervation-reinnervation in spinati or infraspinatus muscles, normal examination of other scapular girdle muscles, and a coordinate spinati contraction with shoulder displacement excluding rotator cuff tears. All patients had conservative treatment and only two improved. Six patients underwent surgical decompression of the suprascapular nerve; in three, motor function clearly improved, and in three others pain improved. The factors leading to entrapment include stretch mechanisms associated with shoulder movements, leading to suprascapular nerve liability to mechanical lesions. In patients with shoulder pain, the authors recommend an early electrophysiological work-up to recognize an isolated suprascapular neuropathy. The surgical decompression of the nerve should be based on persistent shoulder pain after conservative treatment.

Troballa d'un palet de riera pintat a la cova del Filador (Margalef de Montsant, Priorat, Tarragona)

Aquesta nota vol ser la primera notícia de la troballa d'un palet de riera pintat durant els treballs d'excavació de l'abric del Filador (Margalef de Montsant, Priorat, Tarragona) l'estiu de 1982. Volem que Pyrenae, la revista del nostre Institut d'Arqueología i Prehistoria, organisme que d'altra banda inclou la nostra tasca de camp dins de la seva programació, sigui la primera en tenir aquesta nova. Si bé una primera fotografía ja ha aparegut al cataleg de l'exposició "L'Arqueologia catalana, avui" (pag. 30), aixo no resta actualitat a les dades ínicials que oferirem.

Vint anys d'excavacions a l'abric del Filador (Margalef de Montsant, Priorat, Tarragona)

L"objectiu d"aquest treball és fer conèixer, de forma molt resumida el procés d"excavació de l"abric del Filador entre el 1978 i el 1997. Durant aquest període de temps la Universitat de Barcelona ha tingut cura de la direcció dels esmentats treballs. Els tres codirectors que hem assolit durant més de temps les responsabilitats de coordinar la recerca volem oferir una síntesi de la història i resultats de vint campanyes ininterrumpudes en un jaciment clau per entendre el desenvolupament de l"Epipaleolític al NE peninsular i la façana mediterrània ibèrica.

Un mosaico con tema de muralla en Tarragona

En los primeros días de octubre de 1973, al tener noticia del derribo de la casa nº19 de la calle Gobernador González, de ,Tarragona, recabamos la oportuna autorización al nuevo propietario del inmueble, don Angel Molinero Sisamón, para poder recuperar el mosaico allí existente. El mosaico estaba visible en parte, ya de antiguo, en un pequeño patio de luces de la casa derribada, por lo que se presentaba ahora la ocasión de excavarlo y extraerlo en su totalidad (lám. J, a). La extracción había que realizarla con relativa rapidez para no entorpecer los trabajos preparatorios de la nueva construcción, por lo que pedimos la colaboración de parte de la brigada del Patrimonio Artístico Nacional, que en esas fechas trabajaban en la Plaza del Rey, además del capataz de las excavaciones de Els Munts, práctico ya en el arranque de mosaicos. Nuestra labor no se limitó a salvar el mosaico sino que aprovecharnos la oportunidad para estudiar el solar resultante del derribo de la casa y del jardín situado al norte¡ de la misma. A este fin realizamos una zanja de 5 metros al norte del mosaico hasta llegar a un pozo negro y efectuamos cuatro catas de sondeo de 1,50 por 1,50 metros dentro del área del antiguo jardín. La zanja dio unos resultados positivos, aunque modestos, y no así las catas que nos patentizaron la falta absoluta de restos arqueológicos de alguna importancia en toda aquella zona. La parte situada al sur del mosaico ya había sido rebajada antiguamente hasta el nivel de la calle.