Hindlimb and pelvic anatomy of Caiman yacare (Archosauria, Pseudosuchia): Myology and osteological correlates with emphasis on lower leg and autopodial musculature.

The anatomy of the archosaurian pelvis and hindlimb has adopted a diversity of successful configurations allowing a wide range of postures during the evolution of the group (e.g., erect, sprawling). For this reason, thorough studies of the structure and function of the pelvic and hindlimb musculature of crocodylians are required and provide the possibility to expand their implications for the evolution of archosaurian locomotion, as well as to identify potential new characters based on muscles and their bony correlates. In this study, we give a detailed description of the pelvic and hindlimb musculature of the South American alligator Caiman yacare, providing comprehensive novel information regarding lower limb and autopodial muscles. Particularly for the pedal muscles, we propose a new classification for the dorsal and ventral muscles of the autopodium based on the organisation of these muscles in successive layers. We have studied the myology in a global background in which we have compared the Caiman yacare musculature with other crocodylians. In this sense, differences in the arrangement of m. flexor tibialis internus 1, m. flexor tibialis externus, m. iliofibularis, mm. puboischiofemorales internii 1 and 2, between Ca. yacare and other crocodylians were found. We also discuss the muscle attachments that have different bony correlates among the crocodylian species and their morphological variation. Most of the correlates did not exhibit great variation among the species compared. The majority of the recognised correlates were identified in the pelvic girdle; additionally, some bony correlates associated with the pedal muscles are highlighted here for the first time. This research provides a wide framework for future studies on comparative anatomy and functional morphology, which could contribute to improving the character definition used in phylogenetic analyses and to understand the patterns of musculoskeletal hindlimb evolution.

An overview of the appendicular skeletal anatomy of South American titanosaurian sauropods, with definition of a newly recognized clade.

In the last two decades, the number of phylogenetically informative anatomical characters recognized in the appendicular skeleton of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs has increased dramatically with the discovery of new and comparatively complete specimens. Here we provide an overview of the appendicular skeletal morphology of South American titanosaurs and discuss its significance for phylogenetic reconstruction. The appendicular skeletal diversity of South American titanosaurs is substantially greater than was initially appreciated. Moreover, some regions of the appendicular skeleton, such as the pes, exhibit remarkable variability in form. Multiple synapomorphies of Titanosauria and the less inclusive clades Lithostrotia and Saltasauridae consist of characters of the girdles and limbs. Although the phylogenetic definitions of titanosaurian clades such as Saltasaurinae and Lognkosauria are stable, the taxonomic content of these clades has varied in recent analyses depending on the phylogenetic topology recovered. Within Titanosauria, the results of four recent, largely independent analyses support the existence of a derived titanosaurian lineage distinct from the 'Saltasaurinae line,' which is herein termed Colossosauria. At present, this clade is mainly comprised by taxa within Lognkosauria and Rinconsauria, and is useful in discussions of titanosaurian lower-level relationships.

A new giant titanosaur sheds light on body mass evolution among sauropod dinosaurs.

Titanosauria was the most diverse and successful lineage of sauropod dinosaurs. This clade had its major radiation during the middle Early Cretaceous and survived up to the end of that period. Among sauropods, this lineage has the most disparate values of body mass, including the smallest and largest sauropods known. Although recent findings have improved our knowledge on giant titanosaur anatomy, there are still many unknown aspects about their evolution, especially for the most gigantic forms and the evolution of body mass in this clade. Here we describe a new giant titanosaur, which represents the largest species described so far and one of the most complete titanosaurs. Its inclusion in an extended phylogenetic analysis and the optimization of body mass reveals the presence of an endemic clade of giant titanosaurs inhabited Patagonia between the Albian and the Santonian. This clade includes most of the giant species of titanosaurs and represents the major increase in body mass in the history of Titanosauria.

Using Spherical-Harmonics Expansions for Optics Surface Reconstruction from Gradients.

In this paper, we propose a new algorithm to reconstruct optics surfaces (aka wavefronts) from gradients, defined on a circular domain, by means of the Spherical Harmonics. The experimental results indicate that this algorithm renders the same accuracy, compared to the reconstruction based on classical Zernike polynomials, using a smaller number of polynomial terms, which potentially speeds up the wavefront reconstruction. Additionally, we provide an open-source C++ library, released under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2), wherein several polynomial sets are coded. Therefore, this library constitutes a robust software alternative for wavefront reconstruction in a high energy laser field, optical surface reconstruction, and, more generally, in surface reconstruction from gradients. The library is a candidate for being integrated in control systems for optical devices, or similarly to be used in ad hoc simulations. Moreover, it has been developed with flexibility in mind, and, as such, the implementation includes the following features: (i) a mock-up generator of various incident wavefronts, intended to simulate the wavefronts commonly encountered in the field of high-energy lasers production; (ii) runtime selection of the library in charge of performing the algebraic computations; (iii) a profiling mechanism to measure and compare the performance of different steps of the algorithms and/or third-party linear algebra libraries. Finally, the library can be easily extended to include additional dependencies, such as porting the algebraic operations to specific architectures, in order to exploit hardware acceleration features.

Laser Spot Detection Based on Reaction Diffusion.

Center-location of a laser spot is a problem of interest when the laser is used for processing and performing measurements. Measurement quality depends on correctly determining the location of the laser spot. Hence, improving and proposing algorithms for the correct location of the spots are fundamental issues in laser-based measurements. In this paper we introduce a Reaction Diffusion (RD) system as the main computational framework for robustly finding laser spot centers. The method presented is compared with a conventional approach for locating laser spots, and the experimental results indicate that RD-based computation generates reliable and precise solutions. These results confirm the flexibility of the new computational paradigm based on RD systems for addressing problems that can be reduced to a set of geometric operations.

Reaction diffusion Voronoi diagrams: from sensors data to computing.

In this paper, a new method to solve computational problems using reaction diffusion (RD) systems is presented. The novelty relies on the use of a model configuration that tailors its spatiotemporal dynamics to develop Voronoi diagrams (VD) as a part of the system's natural evolution. The proposed framework is deployed in a solution of related robotic problems, where the generalized VD are used to identify topological places in a grid map of the environment that is created from sensor measurements. The ability of the RD-based computation to integrate external information, like a grid map representing the environment in the model computational grid, permits a direct integration of sensor data into the model dynamics. The experimental results indicate that this method exhibits significantly less sensitivity to noisy data than the standard algorithms for determining VD in a grid. In addition, previous drawbacks of the computational algorithms based on RD models, like the generation of volatile solutions by means of excitable waves, are now overcome by final stable states.

Appendicular myology of Skorpiovenator bustingorryi: A first attempt to reconstruct pelvic and hindlimb musculature in an abelisaurid theropod.

We present the pelvic and hindlimb musculature of the abelisaurid Skorpiovenator bustingorryi, constituting the most comprehensive muscle reconstruction to date in ceratosaur theropods. Using extant phylogenetic bracket method, we reconstructed 39 muscles that can commonly found in extant archosaurs. Through the identification of bone correlates, we recognized thigh and hindlimb muscles including knee extensors, m. iliofibularis, m. flexor tibialis externus, mm. caudofemorales, mm. puboischiofemorales, and crus muscles important in foot extension and flexion (e.g., m. tibialis anterior, mm. gastrocnemii). Also, autopodial intrinsic muscles were reconstructed whose function involve extension (m. extensor digiti 2-4), flexion (mm. flexor digitorum brevis superficialis), interdigital adduction (m. interosseus dorsalis) and abduction (m. interosseous plantaris, m. abductor 4). Abelisaurids like Skorpiovenator show a deep pre- and postacetabular blade of the ilia and enlarged cnemial crests, which would have helped increasing the moment arm of muscles related to hip flexion and hindlimb extension. Also, pedal muscles related to pronation were probably present but reduced (e.g., m. pronator profundus). Despite some gross differences in the autopodial morphology in extant outgroups (e.g., crocodilian metatarsus and avian tarsometatarsus), the present study allows us to hypothesize several pedal muscles in Skorpiovenator. These muscles would not be arranged in tendinous bundles as in Neornithes, but rather the condition would be similar to that of crocodilians with several layers formed by fleshy bellies on the plantar and dorsal aspects of the metatarsus. The musculature of Skorpiovenator is key for future studies concerning abelisaurid biomechanics, including the integration of functional morphology and ichnological data.

Flexible and configurable embedded electrical energy measurement system to acquire and process high-frequency features.

A novel High-Frequency Electric Energy Metering System to inspect non-conventional features that may be relevant for studying real-time energy disaggregation and control of household appliances is presented. Integration of a data acquisition and control board, designed and built to be assembled with an Arduino Due, with the M90E36A Demo Board, allows for flexible and configurable electrical energy measurements. A key feature is that up to 4 current channels can be measured synchronously. On the one hand, samples can be obtained and processed by the M90E36A IC internal Digital Signal Processor at 3 Hz in the time domain and 2 Hz in the frequency domain. On the other hand, the M90E36A IC direct access memory mode can be operated, allowing 8 kHz pure voltage and current signals to be obtained. Finally, integration with Raspberry Pi allows to design and incorporate a custom signal processor into the study. Additionally, in this article, an application example is presented where the variation of the residual harmonic components of a household appliance is obtained.

[Positivity of antigen test in healthcare workers in the first week after diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.] / Positividad de test de antígenos en trabajadores sanitarios en la primera semana tras el diagnóstico de infección por SARS-CoV-2.

OBJECTIVE: The Surveillance and Control Strategy against COVID-19 of the spanish Ministry of Health focuses, since December 2021, on actions aimed at vulnerable people and areas, including healthcare professionals. According to these protocols, a diagnostic test for acute infection (PDIA), with a negative result, is required prior to returning to work (at least five days after the start of clinical practice). The aim of the study was to analyze the proportion of positive antigen (Ag) test results in the first week of diagnosis among healthcare professionals in a university hospital belonging to the province of A Coruña (Spain). METHODS: We calculated the proportion of healthcare professionals who had symptoms on the 5th day after diagnosis of COVID-19 between January and March 2022, and the proportion of Ag tests performed after returning to work with positive results. These results were compared according to the month and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RESULTS: 1,085 cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed among healthcare professionals. 18.62% (95%CI 16.34-21.63; n=202/1,085) were still symptomatic on the 5th day. 55.27% (95% CI 51.92-58.58; n=488/833) of the Ag tests performed after return to work were positive. The mean number of days to perform the Ag test after diagnosis was 6.76 days (SD 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a high proportion of positive results one week after diagnosis of COVID-19 in asymptomatic patients. Taking into account that in the general population, discharge is based on clinical and temporal criteria, and assuming that not every positive test indicates infectivity, adopting a strategy similar to the rest of the population in healthcare workers would be considered plausible.

OBJETIVO: La Estrategia de Vigilancia y Control frente a la COVID-19 del Ministerio de Sanidad se centra, desde diciembre de 2021, en actuaciones dirigidas a personas y ámbitos vulnerables, entre los que se encuentran los profesionales sanitarios. Atendiendo a dichos protocolos, se requiere una prueba diagnóstica de infección aguda (PDIA), con resultado negativo, previa a su reincorporación laboral (transcurridos al menos cinco días desde inicio de clínica). El objetivo del estudio fue analizar la proporción de resultados positivos de test de antígenos (Ag) en la primera semana del diagnóstico entre los profesionales sanitarios en un hospital universitario perteneciente a la provincia de A Coruña. METODOS: Se calculó la proporción de sanitarios que, tras diagnóstico de COVID-19 entre enero y marzo de 2022, tenían síntomas al 5º día y la proporción de test de Ag realizados previa reincorporación laboral con resultado positivo. Se compararon estos resultados en función del mes y se calcularon los intervalos de confianza al 95%. RESULTADOS: Se diagnosticaron 1.085 casos de COVID-19 entre los profesionales sanitarios. Un 18,62% (IC95% 16,34-21,63; n=202/1.085) continuaba con síntomas al 5º día. El 55,27% (IC95% 51,92-58,58; n=488/833) de los test de Ag realizados previa reincorporación laboral fueron positivos. La media de días para realizar el test de Ag tras el diagnóstico fue de 6,76 días (DE 0,76). CONCLUSIONES: Nuestros resultados muestran una alta proporción de resultados positivos tras una semana del diagnóstico de COVID-19 en asintomáticos. Teniendo en cuenta que en la población general el alta se basa en criterios clínicos y temporales, asumiendo que no todo test positivo indica infectividad, consideraríamos plausible adoptar una estrategia similar a la del resto de la población en estos profesionales.

Earliest evidence of herd-living and age segregation amongst dinosaurs.

Sauropodomorph dinosaurs dominated the herbivorous niches during the first 40 million years of dinosaur history (Late Triassic-Early Jurassic), yet palaeobiological factors that influenced their evolutionary success are not fully understood. For instance, knowledge on their behaviour is limited, although herding in sauropodomorphs has been well documented in derived sauropods from the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous. Here we report an exceptional fossil occurrence from Patagonia that includes over 100 eggs and skeletal specimens of 80 individuals of the early sauropodomorph Mussaurus patagonicus, ranging from embryos to fully-grown adults, with an Early Jurassic age as determined by high-precision U-Pb zircon geochronology. Most specimens were found in a restricted area and stratigraphic interval, with some articulated skeletons grouped in clusters of individuals of approximately the same age. Our new discoveries indicate the presence of social cohesion throughout life and age-segregation within a herd structure, in addition to colonial nesting behaviour. These findings provide the earliest evidence of complex social behaviour in Dinosauria, predating previous records by at least 40 My. The presence of sociality in different sauropodomorph lineages suggests a possible Triassic origin of this behaviour, which may have influenced their early success as large terrestrial herbivores.

Mutation Maker, An Open Source Oligo Design Platform for Protein Engineering.

Protein engineering is the discipline of developing useful proteins for applications in research, therapeutic, and industrial processes by modification of naturally occurring proteins or by invention of de novo proteins. Modern protein engineering relies on the ability to rapidly generate and screen diverse libraries of mutant proteins. However, design of mutant libraries is typically hampered by scale and complexity, necessitating development of advanced automation and optimization tools that can improve efficiency and accuracy. At present, automated library design tools are functionally limited or not freely available. To address these issues, we developed Mutation Maker, an open source mutagenic oligo design software for large-scale protein engineering experiments. Mutation Maker is not only specifically tailored to multisite random and directed mutagenesis protocols, but also pioneers bespoke mutagenic oligo design for de novo gene synthesis workflows. Enabled by a novel bundle of orchestrated heuristics, optimization, constraint-satisfaction and backtracking algorithms, Mutation Maker offers a versatile toolbox for gene diversification design at industrial scale. Supported by in silico simulations and compelling experimental validation data, Mutation Maker oligos produce diverse gene libraries at high success rates irrespective of genes or vectors used. Finally, Mutation Maker was created as an extensible platform on the notion that directed evolution techniques will continue to evolve and revolutionize current and future-oriented applications.

Ontogenetic changes in the body plan of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Mussaurus patagonicus reveal shifts of locomotor stance during growth.

Ontogenetic information is crucial to understand life histories and represents a true challenge in dinosaurs due to the scarcity of growth series available. Mussaurus patagonicus was a sauropodomorph dinosaur close to the origin of Sauropoda known from hatchling, juvenile and mature specimens, providing a sufficiently complete ontogenetic series to reconstruct general patterns of ontogeny. Here, in order to quantify how body shape and its relationship with locomotor stance (quadruped/biped) changed in ontogeny, hatchling, juvenile (~1 year old) and adult (8+ years old) individuals were studied using digital models. Our results show that Mussaurus rapidly grew from about 60 g at hatching to ~7 kg at one year old, reaching >1000 kg at adulthood. During this time, the body's centre of mass moved from a position in the mid-thorax to a more caudal position nearer to the pelvis. We infer that these changes of body shape and centre of mass reflect a shift from quadrupedalism to bipedalism occurred early in ontogeny in Mussaurus. Our study indicates that relative development of the tail and neck was more influential in determining the locomotor stance in Sauropodomorpha during ontogeny, challenging previous studies, which have emphasized the influence of hindlimb vs. forelimb lengths on sauropodomorph stance.

Forelimb musculature and osteological correlates in Sauropodomorpha (Dinosauria, Saurischia).

This contribution presents the forelimb muscular arrangement of sauropodomorph dinosaurs as inferred by comparisons with living archosaurs (crocodiles and birds) following the Extant Phylogenetic Bracket approach. Forty-one muscles were reconstructed, including lower limb and manus musculature, which prior information available was scarce for sauropodomorphs. A strong emphasis was placed on osteological correlates (such as tubercles, ridges and striae) and comparisons with primitive archosauromorphs are included in order to track these correlates throughout the clade. This should help to elucidate how widespread among other archosaurian groups are these osteological correlates identified in Sauropodomorpha. The ultimate goal of this contribution was to provide an exhaustive guide to muscular identification in fossil archosaurs and to offer solid anatomical bases for future studies based on osteology, myology, functional morphology and systematics.

Forelimb muscle and joint actions in Archosauria: insights from Crocodylus johnstoni (Pseudosuchia) and Mussaurus patagonicus (Sauropodomorpha).

Many of the major locomotor transitions during the evolution of Archosauria, the lineage including crocodiles and birds as well as extinct Dinosauria, were shifts from quadrupedalism to bipedalism (and vice versa). Those occurred within a continuum between more sprawling and erect modes of locomotion and involved drastic changes of limb anatomy and function in several lineages, including sauropodomorph dinosaurs. We present biomechanical computer models of two locomotor extremes within Archosauria in an analysis of joint ranges of motion and the moment arms of the major forelimb muscles in order to quantify biomechanical differences between more sprawling, pseudosuchian (represented the crocodile Crocodylus johnstoni) and more erect, dinosaurian (represented by the sauropodomorph Mussaurus patagonicus) modes of forelimb function. We compare these two locomotor extremes in terms of the reconstructed musculoskeletal anatomy, ranges of motion of the forelimb joints and the moment arm patterns of muscles across those ranges of joint motion. We reconstructed the three-dimensional paths of 30 muscles acting around the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. We explicitly evaluate how forelimb joint mobility and muscle actions may have changed with postural and anatomical alterations from basal archosaurs to early sauropodomorphs. We thus evaluate in which ways forelimb posture was correlated with muscle leverage, and how such differences fit into a broader evolutionary context (i.e. transition from sprawling quadrupedalism to erect bipedalism and then shifting to graviportal quadrupedalism). Our analysis reveals major differences of muscle actions between the more sprawling and erect models at the shoulder joint. These differences are related not only to the articular surfaces but also to the orientation of the scapula, in which extension/flexion movements in Crocodylus (e.g. protraction of the humerus) correspond to elevation/depression in Mussaurus. Muscle action is highly influenced by limb posture, more so than morphology. Habitual quadrupedalism in Mussaurus is not supported by our analysis of joint range of motion, which indicates that glenohumeral protraction was severely restricted. Additionally, some active pronation of the manus may have been possible in Mussaurus, allowing semi-pronation by a rearranging of the whole antebrachium (not the radius against the ulna, as previously thought) via long-axis rotation at the elbow joint. However, the muscles acting around this joint to actively pronate it may have been too weak to drive or maintain such orientations as opposed to a neutral position in between pronation and supination. Regardless, the origin of quadrupedalism in Sauropoda is not only linked to manus pronation but also to multiple shifts of forelimb morphology, allowing greater flexion movements of the glenohumeral joint and a more columnar forelimb posture.

Novel insight into the origin of the growth dynamics of sauropod dinosaurs.

Sauropod dinosaurs include the largest terrestrial animals and are considered to have uninterrupted rapid rates of growth, which differs from their more basal relatives, which have a slower cyclical growth. Here we examine the bone microstructure of several sauropodomorph dinosaurs, including basal taxa, as well as the more derived sauropods. Although our results agree that the plesiomorphic condition for Sauropodomorpha is cyclical growth dynamics, we found that the hypothesized dichotomy between the growth patterns of basal and more derived sauropodomorphs is not supported. Here, we show that sauropod-like growth dynamics of uninterrupted rapid growth also occurred in some basal sauropodomorphs, and that some basal sauropods retained the plesiomorphic cyclical growth patterns. Among the sauropodomorpha it appears that the basal taxa exploited different growth strategies, but the more derived Eusauropoda successfully utilized rapid, uninterrupted growth strategies.

Eventos adversos a medicamentos durante el tratamiento de inducción de la leucemia linfoide aguda en niños / Adverse drug events during the induction treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children

Introducción: Durante el tratamiento de inducción de la leucemia linfoide aguda en niños no siempre se identifican las reacciones adversas a medicamentos. Objetivo: Describir los eventos adversos y las reacciones adversas a medicamentos durante el tratamiento de inducción de la leucemia linfoide aguda, en niños tratados en el Instituto de Hematología e Inmunología de Cuba, durante 2012-2017. Método: Estudio observacional, descriptivo, transversal, de series de casos en farmacovigilancia, se utilizó la farmacovigilancia activa. Variables: sexo, edad, grupo pronóstico, semana de tratamiento, tipo de evento adverso, sistema de órgano afectado, severidad e imputabilidad. La información se obtuvo del registro nacional del protocolo ALLIC-BFM 2009 y las historias clínicas. Resultados: Se incluyeron 69 niños, 55,1 por ciento (38 casos) fueron masculinos, 56,5 por ciento (39 niños) tenía entre uno y seis años. El 52,2 por ciento (36 pacientes) pertenecían al grupo pronóstico intermedio. Se registraron 471 eventos adversos. El 50,5 por ciento (238/471) ocurrió en la primera semana de tratamiento. Los más frecuentes: anemia (17,8 por ciento; 84/471), neutropenia (16,1 por ciento; 76/471) y trombocitopenia (15,9 por ciento; 75/471). Los sistemas de órganos más afectados: hemolinfopoyético (57,54 por ciento; 271/471) y gastrointestinal (15,71 por ciento; 74/471). El 93,2 por ciento (439/471) se clasificó en reacciones adversas posibles. Según gravedad el 72,4 por ciento (330/456) fueron moderadas y el 27,4 por ciento (125/456) graves. Conclusiones: Todos los casos presentaron eventos adversos, predominaron las alteraciones hematológicas y los eventos reportados para fármacos incluidos en la quimioterapia. Se identificaron reacciones adversas clasificadas como posibles, con predominio de las moderadas y graves(AU)

Introduction: During the induction treatment of acute lymphoid leukemia in children, adverse drug reactions are not always identified. Aims: Describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of children with acute lymphoid leukemia who receive induction treatment at the Institute of Hematology and Immunology between 2012-2017. Characterize adverse events that occur during induction treatment. Describe adverse drug reactions during induction. Methods: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study of case series in pharmacovigilance, used active pharmacovigilance. Variables: sex, age, prognosis group, week of treatment, type of adverse event, organ system affected, severity and imputability. The information was obtained from the national register of the ALLIC-BFM 2009 protocol and the medical records. Results: 69 children were included, 55.1 percent belonged to the male sex, 56.5 percent were between one and six years old. 52.2 percent (36 children) belonged to the intermediate prognosis group. 471 events were recorded. 50.5 percent occurred in the first week of treatment. The most frequent: anemia (17.8 percent), neutropenia (16.1 percent) and thrombocytopenia (15.9 percent). The most affected organ systems: hemolinfopoietic (57.5 percent) and gastrointestinal (15.7 percent). According to the severity, 72.4 percent were moderate and 27.4 percent severe. Conclusions: The whole presented adverse events, hematological alterations and reported events for drugs included in chemotherapy predominated. Adverse reactions classified as possible were identified, moderate and severe predominated(AU)

Temporal and phylogenetic evolution of the sauropod dinosaur body plan.

The colossal size and body plan of sauropod dinosaurs are unparalleled in terrestrial vertebrates. However, to date, there have been only limited attempts to examine temporal and phylogenetic patterns in the sauropod bauplan. Here, we combine three-dimensional computational models with phylogenetic reconstructions to quantify the evolution of whole-body shape and body segment properties across the sauropod radiation. Limitations associated with the absence of soft tissue preservation in fossils result in large error bars about mean absolute body shape predictions. However, applying any consistent skeleton : body volume ratio to all taxa does yield changes in body shape that appear concurrent with major macroevolutionary events in sauropod history. A caudad shift in centre-of-mass (CoM) in Middle Triassic Saurischia, associated with the evolution of bipedalism in various dinosaur lineages, was reversed in Late Triassic sauropodomorphs. A craniad CoM shift coincided with the evolution of quadrupedalism in the Late Triassic, followed by a more striking craniad shift in Late Jurassic-Cretaceous titanosauriforms, which included the largest sauropods. These craniad CoM shifts are strongly correlated with neck enlargement, a key innovation in sauropod evolution and pivotal to their gigantism. By creating a much larger feeding envelope, neck elongation is thought to have increased feeding efficiency and opened up trophic niches that were inaccessible to other herbivores. However, we find that relative neck size and CoM position are not strongly correlated with inferred feeding habits. Instead the craniad CoM positions of titanosauriforms appear closely linked with locomotion and environmental distributions, potentially contributing to the continued success of this group until the end-Cretaceous, with all other sauropods having gone extinct by the early Late Cretaceous.

Reacciones alérgicas por L-asparaginasa en niños con leucemia linfoide aguda / L-asparagibase allergic reactions in children with lymphoblastic acute leukemia

La L-asparaginasa es un medicamento utilizado en distintas fases de todos los protocolos de tratamiento actuales de la leucemia linfoide aguda (LLA). Se describen múltiples manifestaciones secundarias a la L asparaginasa entre las que las reacciones alérgicas son las más frecuente. Se estudiaron 144 niños con diagnóstico de LLA tratados en el Instituto de Hematología e Inmunología, entre 1998 y el 2013. En 30 pacientes (21 por ciento) se presentaron reacciones alérgicas, similar a lo descrito en la literatura. El 76,6 por ciento de ellos habían recibido una dosis acumulativa menor de 80 000 UI (media de 48 757) y el mayor número de las reacciones alérgicas (86,7 por ciento) se reportó entre las dosis 9 y 18 recibidas (media de 11 dosis). Se observó una mayor supervivencia en los enfermos que recibieron más dosis (19 - 26 dosis) (p = 0.003). La sobrevida libre de eventos fue también mayor en este grupo (p= 0.357)(AU)

ABSTRACT L-asparaginase is a medication used in different phases of all current treatment protocols for acute lymphoid leukemia. Multiple secondary manifestations to L- asparaginase are described, and allergic reactions are the most frequent. We studied 144 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated at the Instituto de Hematología e Inmunología between 1998 and 2013. Thirty patients (21 percent) had allergic reactions, similar to what is described in literature; 76.6 percent of them had received a cumulative dose of less than 80 000 IU (average of 48 757); and the highest number of allergic reactions (86.7 percent) was reported between doses 9 and 18 received (mean of 11 doses). A greater global survival was observed in patients who received more doses (19 - 26 doses) (p=0.003). Event free survival was also higher in this group (p= 0.357)(AU)

Plasmocitoma solitario en pediatría: una rara entidad / Pediatric solitary bone plasmacytoma: a rare entity

El plasmocitoma en edad pediátrica es poco frecuente. Se presenta a una adolescente de 14 años que ingresó por una cuadriplejia fláccida asociada a una tumoración a nivel de cráneo y columna cervical. En el estudio histológico se diagnosticó un plasmocitoma en ambos sitios, sin infiltración medular. Recibió tratamiento con radio y quimioterapia. A los tres años se encontró una nueva lesión a nivel del ovario izquierdo, que coincidió histológicamente con el diagnóstico inicial. El plasmocitoma solitario de hueso se describe como el más común en edad pediátrica con tendencia a la recidiva tumora(AU)

Plasmacytoma in the pediatric age group is rare. We present a 14-year-old girl admitted with a flaccid quadriplegia associated with a tumor at the level of the skull and cervical spine. In the histological study plasmacytoma was diagnosed in both sites without bone marrow infiltration. The patient was treated with radiation and chemotherapy. After three years a new lesion on the left ovary was found, which histologically coincided with the initial diagnosis. Solitary bone plasmacytoma is described as the most common in pediatric patients prone to tumor recurrence(AU)

Relación entre los factores de riesgo de accidente vascular encefálico en niños con drepanocitosis / Relationship between stroke risk factors in children with sickle cell disease

Introducción: la drepanocitosis es la enfermedad genética más frecuente en el mundo. Las complicaciones neurológicas y sus secuelas se conocen casi desde la primera descripción de la enfermedad. La más frecuente es el accidente vascular encefálico (AVE); especialmente en la primera década de la vida, posiblemente porque la velocidad del flujo circulatorio en las arterias cerebrales es más alta en el niño. El riesgo de tener AVE se puede monitorear mediante técnicas no invasivas como la ecografía doppler transcraneal del segmento supraclinoideo de la arteria carótida interna y cerebral media y, relacionando estos resultados con parámetros clínicos y de laboratorio. Objetivo: caracterizar los factores de riesgo relacionados con el accidente vascular encefálico en niños con drepanocitosis. Métodos: se realizó un estudio descriptivo retrospectivo en 104 pacientes con diagnóstico de drepanocitosis atendidos en el servicio de Pediatría del Instituto de Hematología e Inmunología de La Habana, entre 2003 y 2011. Los enfermos se dividieron en dos grupos: genotipos más sintomáticos (HbSS y la HbSß0) y menos sintomáticos (HbSC y HbSß+). Se estudiaron las alteraciones del flujo sanguíneo cerebral (FSC) por ecografía doppler transcraneal y se relacionaron con elementos clínicos y hematológicos. Resultados: el 48 por ciento de los pacientes tenían edad entre los 3 y 11 años. Prevaleció el grupo más sintomático, en el cual las arterias con mayor velocidad del FSC fueron la arteria cerebral media derecha (115,8 ± 42,5 cm/s) y la izquierda (113,7± 40,8 cm/s). En este grupo prevalecieron significativamente las crisis vasoclusivas dolorosas (136,4± 20; 1,3/100 pacientes/año), los ingresos (90,9±14,3; 0,9/100 pacientes/año), las transfusiones (72,7±16,3; 0,7/100 pacientes/año) y el síndrome torácico agudo (STA) (27,3±8,2; 2,8/100 pacientes/año). Hubo una correlación inversa entre la hemoglobina y la velocidad del FSC; la LDH tuvo significación estadística 1 211,8± 503,9 UI/L, con diferencias significativas entre los grupos; p=0,027(AU)

Introduction: Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disease in the world. Neurological complications and their sequelae have been known almost since the first disease description. Stroke is the most frequent, especially in the first decade of life, perhaps as consequence of blood flow velocity of cerebral arteries is higher in children. The stroke risk could be monitorized by non-invasive technics such as transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) of cerebral arteries and related with clinical and laboratorial parameters. Objective: To characterize risk factors related to stroke in children with sickle cell disease. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted in 104 patients diagnosed with sickle cell disease and treated in Pediatric Service of the Institute of Hematology and Immunology (IHI) in Havana from 2003 to 2011. The patients were divided into two groups: more symptomatic genotypes (HBSS and HbSß0); and less symptomatic (HbSC and HbSß +). Alterations of cerebral blood flow (CBF) were obtained TCD and were related to clinical and hematological elements. Results: 48 percent of patients were aged between 3 - 11 years. The most symptomatic group prevailed and the arteries in it showing greater speed FSC were right middle cerebral artery (MCA) (115.8 ± 42,5 cm /s) and left MCA (113.7 ± 40,8 cm /s). Also in this group prevailed significantly: painful vaso-occlusive crises (136.4 ± 20, 1.3 per 100 patients/year), admissions (90.9 ± 14.3, 0.9 per 100 patients/year), transfusions (72.7 ± 16.3, 0.7 per 100 patients/year), and acute chest syndrome (27.3 ± 8.2; 2.8 100 patients/year). There was an inverse correlation between hemoglobin and CBF velocity; and lactate dehydrogenase LDH had statistical significance 1211,8 ± 503.9 IU / L, establishing a significant difference between groups (p = 0.027)(AU)