Occupational exposure to pesticides and endometrial cancer in the Screenwide case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological tumour in developed countries and disease burden is expected to increase over the years. Identifying modifiable risk factors may help developing strategies to reduce the expected increasing incidence of these neoplasms. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the association between occupational exposure to pesticides and endometrial cancer using data from a recent case-control study in Spain. METHODS: The analyses included data from 174 consecutive incident endometrial cancer cases and 216 hospital controls frequency-matched by age. Data were collected through structured epidemiological questionnaires and exposure to pesticides was assessed using a Spanish job-exposure matrix (MatEmESp). RESULTS: Overall, 12% of controls and 18% of cases were occupationally exposed to pesticides. We observed a positive association between occupational exposure to pesticides and endometrial cancer (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.13-3.88 compared to non-exposed). In general, exposures that occurred farther in the past were significantly associated with endometrial cancer. Exposure to insecticides, fungicides and herbicides were positively associated with endometrial cancer (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.13-3.88, OR = 4.40; 95% CI = 1.65-13.33, and OR = 5.25; 95% CI = 1.84-17.67, respectively). The agricultural, poultry and livestock activities scenario was associated with endometrial cancer (OR = 4.16; 95% CI = 1.59-12.32), while the cleaning exposure scenario was not (OR = 1.22; 95% CI = 0.55-2.67). CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of occupational exposure to pesticides assessed using a Spanish job-exposure matrix revealed a positive association with endometrial cancer. The elucidation of the role of pesticide compounds on endometrial cancer should shed a light on the aetiology of this tumour.

Immune thrombocytopenia and COVID-19: Case report and review of literature.

Immune thrombocytopenia, also known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), has been reported as an important complication related to COVID-19.We present a 49-year-old male patient with systemic lupus erythematosus with lupus nephritis, antiphospholipid syndrome and history of ITP who developed an ITP flare in the context of COVID-19. He had no bleeding manifestations and had a good response to prednisone treatment.We review the characteristics of the cases reported to date in the literature, with an analysis of 57 patients. Mean age was 56 years (±19.6 SD), and 50.9% were male. This was the first episode of ITP in most of the patients (86.05%), with SARS-CoV-2 acting as the initial trigger. We found that ITP flares may appear in both mild and severe COVID-19 cases. They also appeared at any time during the course of the disease, 48.2% of patients developed it during hospitalization, while it was diagnosed at admission in the rest of the cases. Platelet counts were significantly lower than other ITP series, with a median nadir platelet count of 8 × 109/L (IQR 2-17.75 × 109/L). These patients show a higher bleeding rate (61.4%) compared with other ITP series. They also show a better response to treatment, with good response to the first line therapies in 76.9% of them. The most common first-line treatment was intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), used alone or combined with corticosteroids in 40.4% and 32.7% of cases respectively, while 25% of patients received only corticosteroids.Our review suggests that COVID-19-related ITP can be seen even in previously healthy patients. Clinicians must be aware that ITP may appear both in mild and severe COVID-19, at any time during its course. Given that this kind of ITP seems to be associated with a higher bleeding risk, its diagnosis in a clinical scenario such as COVID-19, where anticoagulant therapy is frequently used, may be critical. Treatment with IVIG and/or corticoids is often effective.

A New Look on Financial Markets Co-Movement through Cooperative Dynamics in Many-Body Physics.

One of the main contributions of the Capital Assets Pricing Model (CAPM) to portfolio theory was to explain the correlation between assets through its relationship with the market index. According to this approach, the market index is expected to explain the co-movement between two different stocks to a great extent. In this paper, we try to verify this hypothesis using a sample of 3.000 stocks of the USA market (attending to liquidity, capitalization, and free float criteria) by using some functions inspired by cooperative dynamics in physical particle systems. We will show that all of the co-movement among the stocks is completely explained by the market, even without considering the market beta of the stocks.

Central Pathology Review in SENTIX, A Prospective Observational International Study on Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Early-Stage Cervical Cancer (ENGOT-CX2).

The quality of pathological assessment is crucial for the safety of patients with cervical cancer if pelvic lymph node dissection is to be replaced by sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. Central pathology review of SLN pathological ultrastaging was conducted in the prospective SENTIX/European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial (ENGOT)-CX2 study. All specimens from at least two patients per site were submitted for the central review. For cases with major or critical deviations, the sites were requested to submit all samples from all additional patients for second-round assessment. From the group of 300 patients, samples from 83 cases from 37 sites were reviewed in the first round. Minor, major, critical, and no deviations were identified in 28%, 19%, 14%, and 39% of cases, respectively. Samples from 26 patients were submitted for the second-round review, with only two major deviations found. In conclusion, a high rate of major or critical deviations was identified in the first round of the central pathology review (28% of samples). This reflects a substantial heterogeneity in current practice, despite trial protocol requirements. The importance of the central review conducted prospectively at the early phase of the trial is demonstrated by a substantial improvement of SLN ultrastaging quality in the second-round review.

Marital Satisfaction in Spanish and Dominican Couples / Satisfacción Marital en Parejas Españolas y Dominicanas

Abstract Marriage is an appreciated worldwide institution, although nearly half of first marriages end in divorce. Thus, the relevance of understanding how people choose their partners and what features can predict a satisfactory relationship. More specifically, in search of data supporting similarity or complementarity approaches on marital satisfaction, the current study analyzes the association between different assortative mating options (homogamy, and heterogamy) and marital satisfaction in Spanish and Dominican couples. A stratified quota sampling of 600 participants was selected, corresponding to 300 married couples (50% Spanish and 50% Dominicans). Data were gathered by means of an interview with the 10-item scale on Marital Satisfaction and a 7-item scale on Status. Results suggest that spouses are matched by similarity in their health and education and by the perception of similarity in intelligence and the financial advantages of staying together. Dominican couples experienced higher marital satisfaction than Spanish couples. Findings on hypergamy reveals the persistence of some traditional roles' distribution among Spanish speaking cultures. The association between status and marital satisfaction revealed that heterogamy rather than homogamy is associated to such satisfaction. These results stress the relevance of taking into account social and cultural differences, beyond biological and psychological factors, to fully understand couples' satisfaction.

Resumen El matrimonio es una institución apreciada a nivel mundial, pese a que casi la mitad de los primeros matrimonios terminan en divorcio. De ahí la importancia de comprender cómo las personas eligen a sus parejas y qué factores contribuyen a predecir una relación satisfactoria. Más concretamente, en busca de datos que ofrezcan apoyo a los enfoques de semejanza o de complementariedad en su relación con la satisfacción marital, el presente estudio analiza diferentes alternativas de emparejamiento selectivo (homogamia y heterogamia) y su relación con dicha satisfacción marital en parejas españolas y dominicanas. Para llevar a cabo el estudio se ha empleado un muestreo estratificado por cuotas compuesto por un total de 600 participantes, que se corresponden con 300 parejas casadas (un 50% procedente de España y el otro 50% procedente de República Dominicana). Los datos se recogieron a través de entrevista la escala de 10 ítems de Satisfacción Marital y la escala de 7 ítems de Status. Los resultados sugieren que los emparejamientos se caracterizan por la semejanza en salud, formación, inteligencia, y por la percepción compartida de las ventajas económicas asociadas a su permanencia. Las parejas dominicanas experimentan una mayor satisfacción marital que las españolas. Los resultados obtenidos sobre hipergamia revelan la persistencia de una distribución de roles tradicional en países de habla hispana. La asociación entre estatus y satisfacción marital indicaron que la heterogamia más que la homogamia, se asocia a tal satisfacción. Todos estos resultados subrayan la importancia de tener en cuenta diferencias sociales y culturales, además de factores biológicos y psicológicos, para comprender plenamente la satisfacción en las parejas.

A Parametric Model of the LARCODEMS Heavy Media Separator by Means of Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines.

Modeling of a cylindrical heavy media separator has been conducted in order to predict its optimum operating parameters. As far as it is known by the authors, this is the first application in the literature. The aim of the present research is to predict the separation efficiency based on the adjustment of the device's dimensions and media flow rates. A variety of heavy media separators exist that are extensively used to separate particles by density. There is a growing importance in their application in the recycling sector. The cylindrical variety is reported to be the most suited for processing a large range of particle sizes, but optimizing its operating parameters remains to be documented. The multivariate adaptive regression splines methodology has been applied in order to predict the separation efficiencies using, as inputs, the device dimension and media flow rate variables. The results obtained show that it is possible to predict the device separation efficiency according to laboratory experiments performed and, therefore, forecast results obtainable with different operating conditions.

Effect of Several HIV Antigens Simultaneously Loaded with G2-NN16 Carbosilane Dendrimer in the Cell Uptake and Functionality of Human Dendritic Cells.

Dendrimers are highly branched, star-shaped, and nanosized polymers that have been proposed as new carriers for specific HIV-1 peptides. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most-potent antigen-presenting cells that play a major role in the development of cell-mediated immunotherapy due to the generation and regulation of adaptive immune responses against HIV-1. This article reports on the associated behavior of two or three HIV-derived peptides simultaneously (p24/gp160 or p24/gp160/NEF) with cationic carbosilane dendrimer G2-NN16. We have found that (i) immature DCs (iDCs) and mature (mDCs) did not capture efficiently HIV peptides regarding the uptake level when cells were treated with G2-NN16-peptide complex alone; (ii) the ability of DCs to migrate was not depending on the peptides presence; and (iii) with the use of molecular dynamic simulation, a mixture of peptides decreased the cell uptake of the other peptides (in particular, NEF hinders the binding of more peptides and is especially obstructing of the binding of gp160 to G2-NN16). The results suggest that G2-NN16 cannot be considered as an alternative carrier for delivering two or more HIV-derived peptides to DCs.

Missing data imputation of solar radiation data under different atmospheric conditions.

Global solar broadband irradiance on a planar surface is measured at weather stations by pyranometers. In the case of the present research, solar radiation values from nine meteorological stations of the MeteoGalicia real-time observational network, captured and stored every ten minutes, are considered. In this kind of record, the lack of data and/or the presence of wrong values adversely affects any time series study. Consequently, when this occurs, a data imputation process must be performed in order to replace missing data with estimated values. This paper aims to evaluate the multivariate imputation of ten-minute scale data by means of the chained equations method (MICE). This method allows the network itself to impute the missing or wrong data of a solar radiation sensor, by using either all or just a group of the measurements of the remaining sensors. Very good results have been obtained with the MICE method in comparison with other methods employed in this field such as Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). The average RMSE value of the predictions for the MICE algorithm was 13.37% while that for the MLR it was 28.19%, and 31.68% for the IDW.

Umbilical cord as a mesenchymal stem cell source for treating joint pathologies.

Articular cartilage disorders and injuries often result in life-long chronic pain and compromised quality of life. Regrettably, the regeneration of articular cartilage is a continuing challenge for biomedical research. One of the most promising therapeutic approaches is cell-based tissue engineering, which provides a healthy population of cells to the injured site but requires differentiated chondrocytes from an uninjured site. The use of healthy chondrocytes has been found to have limitations. A promising alternative cell population is mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), known to possess excellent proliferation potential and proven capability for differentiation into chondrocytes. The "immunosuppressive" property of human MSCs makes them an important candidate for allogeneic cell therapy. The use of allogeneic MSCs to repair large defects may prove to be an alternative to current autologous and allogeneic tissue-grafting procedures. An allogeneic cell-based approach would enable MSCs to be isolated from any donor, expanded and cryopreserved in allogeneic MSC banks, providing a readily available source of progenitors for cell replacement therapy. These possibilities have spawned the current exponential growth in stem cell research in pharmaceutical and biotechnology communities. Our objective in this review is to summarize the knowledge about MSCs from umbilical cord stroma and focus mainly on their applications for joint pathologies.

Modeling a MEMS deformable mirror using non-parametric estimation techniques.

Using non-parametric estimation techniques, we have modeled an area of 126 actuators of a micro-electro-mechanical deformable mirror with 1024 actuators. These techniques produce models applicable to open-loop adaptive optics, where the turbulent wavefront is measured before it hits the deformable mirror. The model's input is the wavefront correction to apply to the mirror and its output is the set of voltages to shape the mirror. Our experiments have achieved positioning errors of 3.1% rms of the peak-to-peak wavefront excursion.

Deformable mirror model for open-loop adaptive optics using multivariate adaptive regression splines.

Open-loop adaptive optics is a technique in which the turbulent wavefront is measured before it hits the deformable mirror for correction. We present a technique to model a deformable mirror working in open-loop based on multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), a non-parametric regression technique. The model's input is the wavefront correction to apply to the mirror and its output is the set of voltages to shape the mirror. We performed experiments with an electrostrictive deformable mirror, achieving positioning errors of the order of 1.2% RMS of the peak-to-peak wavefront excursion. The technique does not depend on the physical parameters of the device; therefore it may be included in the control scheme of any type of deformable mirror.

Hipertensión intracraneal idiopática, caso clínico: hallazgos en RM y revisión de la literatura / Idiopathic intracranial hypertension, clinical case: MR imaging findings and literature review

La hipertensión intracraneal idiopática es un síndrome neurológico caracterizado por síntomas y signos de hipertensión intracraneal en ausencia de lesión estructural o de hidrocefalia. En general, autolimitada, aunque con frecuencia recidiva. El diagnóstico se basa en la medición de la presión del líquido cefalorraquídeo que se eleva por encima de 250 mm de H2O. Normalmente los resultados del examen neurológico son normales excepto por la aparición de papiledema y posible afectación del VI par. La principal complicación es la pérdida visual que puede ser irreversible. El tratamiento se basa en la repetición de punciones lumbares evacuadoras combinado con el uso de diuréticos y dieta hipocalórica. Con la aparición de la resonancia magnética se han descrito varios signos asociados a esta enfermedad como son la disminución del tamaño ventricular, el incremento del espacio subaracnoideo, la presencia de silla turca vacía, distensión del espacio perióptico y realce tras contraste de los nervios ópticos.

Quiste leptomeningeo: hallazgos en TC y RM / Leptomeningeal cyst: findings in CT and MR

El quiste leptomeníngeo es una complicación de las fracturas craneales que ocurre mayoritariamente en población pediátrica. La existencia del mismo en adultos es rara. Presentamos el caso de un varón de 47 años que mostró un cuadro de acorchamiento en miembro superior derecho y desviación de la comisura bucal del que se recuperó en una hora. Los estudios de neuroimagen mostraron una destrucción irregular del hueso temporal derecho y una hipodensidad del tejido cerebral subyacente. La cirugía y el estudio histológico del hueso resecado mostraron que se trataba de un quiste leptomeníngeo asociado a un infarto cerebral.

Disquectomía torácoca usando toracoscopía vídeo-asistida: trabajo experimental: informe de 33 disquectomías / Thoracic discectomy by video-assisted thoracoscopy: experimental trial: report of 33 discectomies

La aplicabilidad del uso de la toracoscopía vídeo-asistida (TVA) para resecar discos torácicos fue investigada. Fue un estudio de laboratorio llevado a cabo usando 10 puercos vivos y un perro vivo como especímenes. Un total de treinta y tres niveles fueron descomprimidos. El objetivo fue estudiar la eficacia de realizar las resecciones torácicas usando TVA. La TVA ha sido usada por los cirujanos torácicos desde 1991 para enfermedades pleuropulmonares y desde 1994 en indicaciones ortopédicas. Se hicieron resecciones quirúrgicas de 33 en 11 animales anestesiados, en todos los casos se usó la TVA para realizar el procedimiento y visualizar el sitio quirúrgico. Se evacuaron adecuadamente 30 de 33 espacios, esto fue confirmado por la visualización de las placas terminales y el ligamento común anterior en cada espacio. La media de tiempo operatorio fue de 2.7 horas (con un rango de 1.5 horas a 4 horas). La posición de decúbito lateral (DL), fue usada en 6 animales y la decúbito prono (DP) en 5, comparándolas. Cuando el cuerpo fue colocado en DP la orientación topográfica fue más rápida y mejor, y el efecto de las leyes de la gravedad protege a las estructuras viscerales y vasculares alejándolas del campo operatorio. Ocurrió un episodio de laceración vascular (vena ácigos) y la ruptura de la punta de un instrumento (Cuchilla). La técnica de TVA mejora el acceso a la columna torácica anterior y es una manera útil de realizar las disquectomías. No fueron necesarias incisiones largas para toracotomía. Al minimizar el tamaño de la incisión muchos de los riesgos de esta operación pueden ser evitados. La TVA parece una alternativa razonable para las disquectomías torácicas

Manejo profiláctico de la rintiis alérgica con ketotifeno: experiencia en México / Prophylactic management of allergic rhinitis with ketotifen: our experience in México

Se presenta una revisión de os estudios clínicos realizados en México con ketotifeno como profiláctico de la rinitis alérgica. En cinco estudios, tres de ellos doble ciego vs placebo y dos abiertos, fueron tratados con ketotifeno un total de 95 pacientes ambulatorios de ambos sexos entre cuatro y 48 años de edad. El medicamento en estudio se administró por un periodo máximo de ocho meses y mínimo de tres, a las dosis de 1 mg/12 h por vía oral (70 casos) y 0.5 mg/12 h vía oral (25 casos). Los criterios de inclusión estuvieron basados en el cuadro clínico, examen de la mucosa nasal, radiografías de senos paranasales, eosinofilia nasal y hemática y pruebas alérgicas cutáneas. La valoración de los resultados tuvo en cuenta la evolución del cuadro así como la eosinofilia, cambios a la exploración y efectos indeseables. En los estudios abiertos, ketotifeno alcanzó una eficacia global (resultados excelentes y buenos) del 86.3% (44/51). Para los estudios doble ciego, la eficacia del ketotifeno fue del 79.5% (35/44casos). con una diferencia estadística altamente significativa frente al placebo (p < 0.001). Los efectos indeseables, en especial somnolencia leve y transitoria afectaron a 20 pacientes (21.0%) en total. Se concluye que ketotifeno es un medicamento eficaz para la prevención de las crisis de rinitis alérgica, dotado a su vez de buena tolerancia

Tratamiento de la mastopatía fibroquistica con bromocriptina: estudio multicéntrico nacional / Bromocriptine in the treatment of fibrocystic mastopathy: a nation wide multicenter study

Se presentan los resultados de un estudio multicéntrico, abierto, nacional en el que 300 pacientes ambulatorias que padecían mastopatía fibroquística (MFQ), fueron valoradas tras el tratamiento con bromocriptina durante tres meses consecutivos a dosis de 5,0 mg y 7.5 mg diarios. Se observó una remisión total de la mastalgia en 88% de los casos y de la tensión mamaria subjetiva en 89.9%. Se produjo también una remisión parcial de los quistes y nódulos en 50% de los casos, traducida como disminución en número, tamaño y consistencia de los mismos. La tolerancia a la bromocriptina fue buena en general, con 6% de abandonos por efectos indeseables, en forma de náusea, vómito, cefalea e hipotensión; en 26% de los casos hubo efectos secundarios leves que no impidieron la continuación del tratamiento; en el resto la tolerancia fue perfecta