Defining the Histopathological Term Atypical Intraepidermal Melanocytic Proliferation: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Atypical intraepidermal melanocytic proliferation (AIMP) is a general term assigned to melanocytic proliferations of uncertain biological potential when a definitive histopathological diagnosis cannot be achieved. There are few data available describing the possibility of malignancy of AIMP, or ways to further define diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of diagnostic change of AIMP to melanoma or melanoma in situ (MIS) after conventional excision. In addition, to determine the role of immunohistochemistry (IHC) in defining AIMP biopsies. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional, single-center review of biopsies with a diagnosis of AIMP with a follow-up conventional excision from 2012-2016 was performed. In a separate analysis, a search was performed for AIMP biopsied lesions in which IHC was subsequently performed. RESULTS: The rate of diagnostic change of AIMP to MIS was 4.8% (8/167) after excision. Punch biopsy was a risk factor for diagnostic change to MIS (odds ratio 12.94, confidence interval 2.56-65.38, P = 0.008). The rate of diagnostic change of AIMP biopsies after examining with IHC was 21.3% (34/160) to MIS and 4.4% (7/160) to melanoma. CONCLUSION: The possibility of malignancy of AIMP lesions must be taken into consideration when counseling patients and when planning treatment options. IHC is a useful tool and should be used in the evaluation of AIMP specimens.

The environmental effect on the seabed of an offshore marine fish farm in the tropical Pacific.

Marine aquaculture is expanding offshore, where the environmental interactions are not yet fully understood. We performed a benthic environmental assessment of an offshore fish farm on unconsolidated sediment. The physicochemical variables showed marked changes just under the fish farm, although the structure of the community and its bioturbation potential were not influenced. Under no or minimum influence from the fish farm, the physicochemical variables, including acid-volatile sulphides and redox, were notably different to those found in unaffected coastal areas. For this reason, classifications of the environmental status based on physicochemical variables should be adapted to offshore areas. Despite the low degree of impact detected, the organic matter carrying capacity should be carefully determined to avoid environmental drawbacks in terms of fine-grained offshore sediments. Offshore aquaculture could have a lower environmental impact than other types of aquaculture located closer to the coast, but further research is needed to obtain conclusive results.

Effect of memory, intolerance, and second-order reputation on cooperation.

The understanding of cooperative behavior in social systems has been the subject of intense research over the past few decades. In this regard, the theoretical models used to explain cooperation in human societies have been complemented with a growing interest in experimental studies to validate the proposed mechanisms. In this work, we rely on previous experimental findings to build a theoretical model based on two cooperation driving mechanisms: second-order reputation and memory. Specifically, taking the donation game as a starting point, the agents are distributed among three strategies, namely, unconditional cooperators, unconditional defectors, and discriminators, where the latter follow a second-order assessment rule: shunning, stern judging, image scoring, or simple standing. A discriminator will cooperate if the evaluation of the recipient's last actions contained in his memory is above a threshold of (in)tolerance. In addition to the dynamics inherent to the game, another imitation dynamics, involving much longer times (generations), is introduced. The model is approached through a mean-field approximation that predicts the macroscopic behavior observed in Monte Carlo simulations. We found that, while in most second-order assessment rules, intolerance hinders cooperation, it has the opposite (positive) effect under the simple standing rule. Furthermore, we show that, when considering memory, the stern judging rule shows the lowest values of cooperation, while stricter rules show higher cooperation levels.

Comparative study of two different perimodiolar and a straight cochlear implant electrode array: surgical and audiological outcomes.

PURPOSE: To compare the surgical and audiological outcomes with two perimodiolar electrode arrays (Nucleus 512-Contour Advance® y Nucleus 532-Slim Perimodiolar®) and a straight electrode array (Nucleus 422/522). METHODS: Patients were retrospectively selected from our cochlear implant program database. Only patients with a history of bilateral, sensorineural postlingually profound hearing loss who underwent cochlear implant surgery with either a N512, a N532 or a N422 were included. Throughout a year of follow-up, pure tone audiometry (PTA), speech perception, Impedances and T-C Thresholds levels were analyzed. Surgical data were also analyzed. RESULTS: 66 patients were included (19-CI532, 20-CI512 and 27-CI422). The most common type of cochlea access with the N532, N512 and N422 was through an extended round window, a promontorial cochleostomy and a pure round window, respectively. No significant differences were observed after 12 months in Mean PTA and Speech recognition. No significant differences were seen in the levels of hearing preservation at frequencies of 250 and 500. The average values of the impedances were significantly higher in the CI group N532 and N422 than in the N512. The mean values of the T and C levels were significantly lower in the CI groups N532 and N422 compared with the N512. CONCLUSIONS: No significant differences were observed after 12 months in Mean PTA and Speech recognition; however, a faster acquisition of auditory results were observed in the group of patients treated with the CI N532. The type of electrode array influences in the type of cochleostomy.

Regional Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (RIMTA): Spatially separated, ecologically linked.

Aquaculture sustainability is restricted by environmental drawbacks such as the pollution derived from the released organic waste. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) aims to lower the input of this waste by culturing other species of low trophic level which feed on them. Despite the appealing idea of IMTA, its implementation is very limited in marine ecosystems. Focusing on marine fish farming, in general terms, fish farm waste is not expected to constitute a relevant food source for low-trophic level organisms cultured in the water column. We propose Regional Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (RIMTA) as a shift of paradigm in the way IMTA is used to sequester the dissolved exported waste and derived primary production generated by high trophic level cultures. RIMTA advocates for independent allocation of cultures of low and high trophic level species within the same water body. RIMTA implementation should be economically supported through tax benefits or nutrient quota trading schemes. Moving from IMTA to RIMTA should not only foster aquaculture sustainability but also the circular economy and the ecosystem services that the low trophic level cultures provide.

Pigmented Lesions of the Nail Unit.

Pigmented lesions of the nail unit are commonly encountered in the clinical setting. Yet, they often present a unique challenge to clinicians because of a broad differential diagnosis or unfamiliarity with clinical and histopathologic features. A wide variety of causes exist ranging from benign lesions such as subungual hemorrhage to malignant lesions such as subungual melanoma. Identifying the underlying cause is key to appropriate management and follow-up in these patients. Although emerging clinical tools such as dermoscopy can be very useful in evaluation of these lesions, histopathologic analysis remains the gold standard. In this review, we discuss and provide a summary of important clinical and histopathological concepts of pigmented lesions of the nail unit with special focus on longitudinal melanonychia, melanotic macule, melanocytic nevus, subungual melanoma, along with discussion of some nonmelanocytic lesions.

Mussels do not directly assimilate fish farm wastes: Shifting the rationale of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture to a broader scale.

Pollution is one of the most significant issues that is currently impeding the development of fish farming. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) has the potential to reduce the accumulation of organic wastes in the environment by using taxa of lower trophic levels such as filter feeders. However, the capacity of filter feeders to assimilate significant quantities of fish farm wastes has not yet been fully tested in situ. We analyzed the stable isotopes δ13C and δ15N in mussels from six fish farms and from six other areas that were not influenced by fish farming, at two water strata (surface and mid-water) across a marked gradient of eutrophication along more than 900 km of coastline in the Western Mediterranean. We found that the mussels did not directly assimilate fish farming wastes. Consequently, fish farming wastes did not constitute a major component of mussel diet, irrespective of local productivity and depth in the water column. These outcomes do not necessarily mean that IMTA is not suitable in other cases, but rather that there should be a shift in the rationale of IMTA by modifying the concept of direct assimilation of wastes to a more general approach of IMTA based on regional budgets of nutrients.

Heterogeneous networks do not promote cooperation when humans play a Prisoner's Dilemma.

It is not fully understood why we cooperate with strangers on a daily basis. In an increasingly global world, where interaction networks and relationships between individuals are becoming more complex, different hypotheses have been put forward to explain the foundations of human cooperation on a large scale and to account for the true motivations that are behind this phenomenon. In this context, population structure has been suggested to foster cooperation in social dilemmas, but theoretical studies of this mechanism have yielded contradictory results so far; additionally, the issue lacks a proper experimental test in large systems. We have performed the largest experiments to date with humans playing a spatial Prisoner's Dilemma on a lattice and a scale-free network (1,229 subjects). We observed that the level of cooperation reached in both networks is the same, comparable with the level of cooperation of smaller networks or unstructured populations. We have also found that subjects respond to the cooperation that they observe in a reciprocal manner, being more likely to cooperate if, in the previous round, many of their neighbors and themselves did so, which implies that humans do not consider neighbors' payoffs when making their decisions in this dilemma but only their actions. Our results, which are in agreement with recent theoretical predictions based on this behavioral rule, suggest that population structure has little relevance as a cooperation promoter or inhibitor among humans.

Three-step metal-promoted allene-based preparation of bis(heterocyclic) cyclophanes from carbonyl compounds.

A straightforward metal-mediated method for the synthesis of bis(dihydrofuryl) cyclophane scaffolds from carbonyl compounds has been developed. The combination of the dihydrofuran moiety with different heterocycles such as ß-lactams and sugars allows high levels of skeletal diversity. The process comprises indium-promoted one-pot carbonyl bis(allenylation) and gold- or palladium-catalyzed double cyclization in the resulting bis(allenols), followed by selective ruthenium-catalyzed macrocyclization. In some cases, the method has been successfully applied to the synthesis of the challenging Z-isomers. The E- versus Z-stereochemistry of the metathesis-formed double bonds could not be assigned taking into consideration the usual coupling constants criteria, but a diagnostic based on the chemical shifts of the two olefinic protons located at the macrocyclic double bond was established.

Anthropogenic and environmental factors partly co-determine the level, composition and temporal variation of beach debris.

The accumulation of human-derived waste on our coasts is an escalating phenomenon, yet the relative importance and potential interactions among its main drivers are not fully understood. We used citizen-science standardized collections to investigate how anthropogenic and environmental factors influence the level, composition, and temporal variation of beach debris. An average of 58 kg and 803 items/100 m, dominated by single-use items of land (rather than sea) origin, were collected in the 881 beaches sampled. Interactions between anthropogenic and environmental factors (e.g., human use × beach substrate) were the strongest predictors of beach debris, accounting for 34% of the variance explained in its amount and composition. Beach debris showed a highly stochastic temporal variation (adjusted R2 = 0.05), partly determined by interactions between different local and landscape anthropogenic pressures. Our results show that both environmental and anthropogenic factors (at the local and landscape scale) co-determine the level and composition of beach debris. We emphasize the potential of citizen-science to inform environmental policy, showing that land-originated single-use items dominate beach debris, and the importance of considering their multiple anthropogenic and environmental drivers to improve our low predictive power regarding their spatio-temporal distribution.

Removal and fate of microplastics in permeable pavements: An experimental layer-by-layer analysis.

The increasing prevalence of microplastics (MP) in urban environments has raised concerns over their negative effects on ecosystems and human health. Stormwater runoff, and road dust and sediment, act as major vectors of these pollutants into natural water bodies. Sustainable urban drainage systems, such as permeable pavements, are considered as potential tools to retain particulate pollutants. This research evaluates at laboratory scale the efficiency of permeable interlocking concrete pavements (PICP) and porous concrete pavements (PCP) for controlling microplastics, including tire wear particles (TWP) which constitute a large fraction of microplastics in urban environments, simulating surface pollution accumulation and Mediterranean rainfall conditions. Microplastic levels in road dust and sediments and stormwater runoff inputs were 4762 ± 974 MP/kg (dry weight) and 23.90 ± 17.40 MP/L. In infiltrated effluents, microplastic levels ranged from 2.20 ± 0.61 to 5.17 ± 1.05 MP/L; while tire wear particle levels ranged between 0.28 ± 0.28 and 3.30 ± 0.89 TWP/L. Distribution of microplastics within the layers of PICP and PCP were also studied and quantified. Microplastics tend to accumulate on the pavements surface and in geotextile layers, allowing microplastic retention efficiencies from 89 % to 99.6 %. Small sized (< 0.1 mm) fragment shaped microplastics are the most common in effluent samples. The results indicate that permeable pavements are a powerful tool to capture microplastics and tire wear particles, especially by surface and geotextile layers. The study aims to shed light on the complex mobilisation mechanisms of microplastics, providing valuable insights for addressing the growing environmental concern of microplastic pollution in urban areas.

Understanding the sources of marine litter in remote islands: The Galapagos islands as a case study.

Determining the sources of marine litter is necessary to mitigate this increasing global problem. Plastic bottles are useful tracers of marine litter and constitute the main item (24%) stranding on remote beaches in the Galapagos Islands. The aim of this study was to estimate the abundance of plastic bottles in remote beaches and inferred their sources. To do so, we collected plastic bottles at 60 remote Galapagos Island beaches from 2018 to 2022. 76% of beaches were qualified as badly polluted, with >34 bottles·100 m-1. Most identified bottles came from Peru (71%), followed by China (17%) and Ecuador (9%). Although most locally-sold products are made in Ecuador, they contribute little to beach litter loads. Polyethylene terephthalate bottles with lid (necessary for litter dispersal) represented 88% of all bottles, demonstrating that most of the litter reaching the Galapagos comes from distant sources, mainly from South America. However, bottle ages indicate that at least 10% of Peruvian, 26% of Ecuadorian, and all Chinese bottles likely were dumped from ships. Reducing marine litter reaching the Galapagos Islands requires tackling litter leakage from land-based sources in South America and better compliance with regulations banning the dumping of plastics and other persistent wastes from ships.

Microplastic in clams: An extensive spatial assessment in south Brazil.

Microplastic pollution is becoming a continuously growing environmental concern, while bivalve mollusks are particularly vulnerable due to their sessile habits and feeding through water filtration processes. Microplastic incidence in soft tissues of the clam Amarilladesma mactroides was assessed along unconsolidated substrates distributed in extensive coastal regions of southern Brazil. Influence of urbanization levels, distance to rivers and local hydrodynamics on microplastic accumulation by the clam was tested. The average concentration of microplastics was high (3.09 ± 2.11 particles.g-1), considering 16 sampled sites. Particles were mainly composed by polyamide, polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate, while were mainly smaller, fibrous and colorless. High urbanization and closer proximity to rivers insured higher contamination, which is a trend observed globally. No influence of coastal hydrodynamics was seen. Considering obtained findings, A. mactroides presents good potential to be used as a valuable tool to assess microplastic contamination in unconsolidated substrates of beach areas.

Microplastics in rocky shore mollusks of different feeding habits: An assessment of sentinel performance.

Microplastics (MPs) accumulation in rocky shore organisms has limited knowledge. This study investigated MPs accumulation in filter-feeding oysters, herbivorous limpets and carnivorous snails to assess their performance as sentinel species in the MPs trophic transfer. The samples were obtained along a contamination gradient in the Santos Estuarine System, Brazil. All three studied species showed MPs concentrations related to the contamination gradient, being the oysters the species that showed the highest levels, followed by limpets and snails (average of less and most contaminated sites of 1.06-8.90, 2.28-5.69 and 0.44-2.10 MP g-1, respectively), suggesting that MPs ingestion rates are linked to feeding habits. MPs were mainly polystyrene and polyacetal. The polymer types did not vary among sites nor species. Despite minor differences in percentages and diversity of size, shape, and color classes, the analyzed species were equally able to demonstrate dominance of small, fiber, transparent, black and blue MPs. Thus, oysters, limpets, and snails are proposed as sentinels of MPs in monitoring assessments.

Intracranial thrombus composition is associated with occlusion location and endovascular treatment outcomes: results from ITACAT multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of thrombolytics directed towards different thrombus components regarding site of occlusion in combination with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) to achieve endovascular complete recanalization is unclear. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of a prospective database in two stroke centers. Intracranial thrombi retrieved by MT were analyzed using hematoxylin-eosin staining for fibrin and red blood cell proportions, and CD61 immunostaining for platelets proportion in thrombus (PLTPT) assessment. Thrombi composition, baseline variables, etiology, treatment features and occlusion location were analyzed. RESULTS: Overall, 221 patients completed the per protocol analysis and 110 cases achieved a final expanded Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (eTICI) 3 (49%) of which 70 were MT (32%) by first pass effect (FPE). Thrombi from medium distal vessel occlusions had higher PLTPT compared with thrombi from proximal large vessel occlusions (68% vs 61%, P=0.026). In particular, middle cerebral artery M2-M3 segment thrombi had the highest PLTPT (70%), and basilar artery thrombi the lowest PLTPT (41%). After logistic regression analysis adjusted for occlusion location and intravenous fibrinolysis, lower baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.95, 95% CI 0.913 to 0.998) and PLTPT (aOR 0.97, 95% CI 0.963 to 0.993) were independently associated with FPE. Fewer MT passes (aOR 0.67, 95% CI 0.538 to 0.842) and platelet poor thrombus (<62% PLTPT; aOR 2.39, 95% CI 1.288 to 4.440) were independently associated with final eTICI 3. CONCLUSIONS: Occlusion location might be a surrogate parameter for thrombus composition. Platelet poor clots and fewer MT passes were independently associated with complete endovascular recanalization. Clinical trials testing the benefits of combining selective intra-arterial platelet antagonists with MT to improve endovascular outcomes are warranted.

Darwin's paradise contaminated by marine debris. Understanding their sources and accumulation dynamics.☆.

Plastic pollution is a global environmental threat. Remote and pristine islands are not safe from this threat. Here, we estimated beach macro- (>25 mm), meso- (5-25 mm) and microdebris (<5 mm) levels in Galapagos and studied the role of environmental variables determining their accumulation. The vast majority of beach macro- and mesodebris were plastic, while most microdebris were cellulosic. The levels of beach macro-, meso- and microplastics were notably high and comparable with exceptional levels reported in contaminated areas. Oceanic currents and the anthropic pressure of use of the beach were the main factors that determined the level of macro- and mesoplastics, as well as the diversity of items, with more types of items in the beaches facing the predominant current. Microplastic levels were mainly driven by the slope and, to some extent, the grain size of the sediment in the beach. The absence of relationship between the levels of large size debris and the level of microplastics suggests that secondary microplastics that accumulated in the beaches were previously fragmented before arriving to the beach. This differential influence of environmental factors in the accumulation of marine debris according to their size should be taken into account when developing strategies to mitigate plastic pollution. Additionally, this study reports high levels of marine debris reported in a remote and protected area such as Galapagos, which are comparable to areas with direct sources of marine debris. This is especially worrying for Galapagos since the sampled beaches are cleaned at least annually. This fact highlights the global dimension of this environmental threat that demands further extensive international commitment to conserve some of the last paradises on Earth.

Factors affecting populations of the endemic Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) after the first myxomatosis outbreaks in Central Spain.

The Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) is an endemic species distributed in Spain and Portugal. Myxomatosis outbreaks affecting this species were detected in 2018 in Central and Southern Spain, spreading afterward. Aiming to evaluate factors affecting the status of hare population after the arrival of myxomatosis, we conducted 108 nocturnal hare counts in Central Spain during two study periods (winter/spring and summer/autumn) in 54 different hunting grounds, covering 1071 km and observing 884 individuals. The mean density in winter/spring was 7.66 hares/100 ha, (range 6.14-9.54/100 ha), while in summer/autumn, it was 3.4 hares/100 ha (range 2.6-4.4/100 ha). Densities of hares were not affected by the dominant habitat and the presence/absence of myxomatosis outbreaks. Hares were more abundant at hunting grounds at a higher altitude and in those conducting targeted management, while detection of myxomatosis was related to lower altitude and higher levels of game management. A MaxEnt model used to generate a risk map for myxomatosis occurrence showed that the temperature annual range was the most important predictor, which suggests that environmental factors affecting myxomatosis vectors (mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks) could play a key role in disease transmission. As myxomatosis in hares is becoming endemic, hare densities may be improved by game management and the monitoring and surveillance of this emerging disease. These surveillance programs could be the basis of effective collaborations between hunters, researchers, and environmental managers.