Flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) disrupts histone acetylation during zebrafish maternal-to-zygotic transition.

3,3',5.5'-Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a widely used brominated flame-retardant utilized in the production of electronic devices and plastic paints. The objective of this study is to use zebrafish as a model and determine the effects of TBBPA exposure on early embryogenesis. We initiated TBBPA exposures (0, 10, 20 and 40µM) at 0.75 h post fertilization (hpf) and monitored early developmental events such as cleavage, blastula and epiboly that encompass maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) and zygotic genome activation (ZGA). Our data revealed that TBBPA exposures induced onset of developmental delays by 3 hpf (blastula). By 5.5 hpf (epiboly), TBBPA-exposed (10-20 µM) embryos showed concentration-dependent developmental lag by up to 3 stages or 100% mortality at 40 µM. Embryos exposed to sublethal TBBPA concentrations from 0.75-6 hpf and raised in clean water to 120 hpf showed altered larval photomotor response (LPR), suggesting a compromised developmental health. To examine the genetic basis of TBBPA-induced delays, we conducted mRNA-sequencing on embryos exposed to 0 or 40 µM TBBPA from 0.75 hpf to 2, 3.5 or 4.5 hpf. Read count data showed that while TBBPA exposures had no overall impacts on maternal or maternal-zygotic genes, collective read counts for zygotically activated genes were lower in TBBPA treatment at 4.5 hpf compared to time-matched controls, suggesting that TBBPA delays ZGA. Gene ontology assessments for both time- and stage-matched differentially expressed genes revealed TBBPA-induced inhibition of chromatin assembly- a process regulated by histone modifications. Since acetylation is the primary histone modification system operant during early ZGA, we immunostained embryos with an H3K27Ac antibody and demonstrated reduced acetylation in TBBPA-exposed embryos. Leveraging in silico molecular docking studies and in vitro assays, we also showed that TBBPA potentially binds to P300- a protein that catalyzes acetylation- and inhibits P300 activity. Finally, we co-exposed embryos to 20 µM TBBPA and 50 µM n-(4-chloro-3-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-2-ethoxy-6-pentadecyl-benzamide (CTPB) -a histone acetyltransferase activator that promotes histone acetylation- and showed that TBBPA-CTPB co or pre-exposures significantly reversed TBBPA-only developmental delays, suggesting that TBBPA-induced phenotypes are indeed driven by repression of histone acetylation. Collectively, our work demonstrates that TBBPA disrupts ZGA and early developmental morphology, potentially by inhibiting histone acetylation. Future studies will focus on mechanisms of TBBPA-induced chromatin modifications.

Thyroid Leiomyoma: Case Report.

37-year-old Colombian male with mass in the anterior region of the neck. Initial ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) scan showed a large solid mass (67 × 20.7 mm), dependent on the thyroid isthmus. Total thyroidectomy (TT) was performed. The latest pathological and immunohistochemical findings showed a mesenchymal neoplasm compatible with primary thyroid leiomyoma. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-04356-2.

Detection and mapping of the seasonal distribution of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and valorization as a biosorbent of Pb(II) in water.

In the present research, the presence of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) on the surface of the San Jose Dam located in the city of San Luis Potosi, S.L.P, Mexico, was monitored and mapped. The monitoring was conducted for 2 years (2018-2020) with remote sensing data from OLI Landsat 8 sensors, based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The results demonstrated the capability and accuracy of this method, where it was observed that the aboveground cover area, proliferation, and distribution of water hyacinth are influenced by climatic and anthropogenic factors during the four seasons of the year. As part of a sustainable environmental control of this invasive species, the use of water hyacinth (WH) root (RO), stem (ST), and leaf (LE) components as adsorbent material for Pb(II) present in aqueous solution was proposed. The maximum adsorption capacity was observed at pH 5 and 25 °C and was 107.3, 136.8, and 120.8 mg g-1 for RO, ST, and LE, respectively. The physicochemical characterization of WH consisted of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 physisorption, infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), charge distribution, and zero charge point (pHPZC). Due to the chemical nature of WH, several Pb(II) adsorption mechanisms were proposed such as electrostatic attractions, ion exchange, microprecipitation, and π-cation.

Binary fluoride and As(V) adsorption in water using pleco fish bone chars.

The present work studied individual and binary adsorption of fluorides and As(V) in water on pleco fish bone chars (BC), as well as the effect of BC mass variation on the adsorption capacity of fluoride and As(V) in water for human consumption. The results of individual adsorption indicated that the adsorption of fluoride and As(V) on BC depends on solution pH. The adsorption capacity of fluorides at an initial concentration of 30 mg L-1 increases approximately 3 times, from 5.9 to 15.3 mg g-1, when decreasing the pH of the solution from 9 to 5, however, for the case of As(V) an antagonistic effect is observed, the adsorption capacity increases 7 times when raising the pH from 5 to 9, from 18.4 to 132.1 µg g-1 at an initial As(V) concentration of 300 µg L-1. Besides, in the binary adsorption, BC showed a higher affinity to adsorb fluoride since its adsorption capacity decreased from 16.55 to 12.50 mg g-1 as the As(V) concentration increased from 0 to 800 µg L-1 in solution. In contrast, As(V) adsorption was severely affected, decreasing from 140.2 to 32.7 µg g-1 when the fluoride concentration in the solution increased from 0 to 100 mg L-1. On the other hand, in the adsorption of groundwater contaminated with fluoride and As(V), it was determined that increasing the mass of BC from 0.5 to 20 g increases the removal percentage, reaching 99.3 and 75.7% removal for fluoride and As(V), respectively, due to the fact that increasing the mass of the adsorbent leads to a larger area and a greater number of sites that allow the adsorption of these contaminants. The thermodynamic study revealed the spontaneity of fluoride and As(V) adsorption, better affinity for fluoride but higher adsorption rate of As(V) on BC. Characterization techniques such as XRD and EDS allowed identifying hydroxyapatite as the mineral phase of BC, which is responsible for the adsorption of BC. By studying the effect of solution pH on the adsorption capacities and the characterization of BC such as XRD, EDS and TGA, it was determined that the mechanisms of fluoride adsorption are by electrostatic attractions and ion exchange, and for As(V) it is by coprecipitation and ion exchange. It was concluded that BC from pleco fish could be an alternative for treating water contaminated by fluorides and As(V).

Neuroendocrine Tumor Metastases to the Breast: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Breast metastases from neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are considered infrequent. We report a case of a patient with ileocecal neuroendocrine tumor (NET) metastases to both breasts, for whom the initial clinical presentation was chronic diarrhea. Breast metastasis was initially suspected by a 68-Gallium DOTANOC positron emission tomography (PET)/CT and was confirmed by histopathology. We also performed a literature review in which we identified 116 cases of NENs metastatic to the breast reported so far. Most cases occurred in older women, were caused by NETs, and had the gastrointestinal tract as the primary site.

"Measuring the Environmental Context of Child Growth in Burkina Faso".

Child growth failure, as indicated by low height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), is an important metric of health, social inequality, and food insecurity. Understanding the environmental pathways to this outcome can provide insight into how to prevent it. While other studies have examined the environmental determinants of HAZ, there is no agreed upon best-practices approach to measure the environmental context of this outcome. From this literature, we derive a large set of potential environmental predictors and specifications including temperature and precipitation levels, anomalies, and counts as well as vegetation anomalies and trends, which we include using linear, nonlinear, and interactive specifications. We compare these measures and specifications using four rounds of DHS survey data from Burkina Faso and a large set of fixed effects regression models, focusing on exposures from the time of conception through the second year of life and relying on joint hypothesis tests and goodness-of-fit measures to determine which approach best explains HAZ. Our analysis reveals that nonlinear and interactive transformations of climate anomalies, as opposed to climate levels or vegetation indices, provide the best explanation of child growth failure. These results underline the complex and nonlinear pathways through which climate change affects child health and should motivate climate-health researchers to more broadly adopt measures and specifications that capture these pathways.

A Study of the Interactions of Heavy Metals in Dairy Matrices Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Chemometric, and In Silico Analysis.

Heavy metals are among the toxic substances longest recognized by man. Today, due to the myriad sources of exposure, such as contaminated water, food, or air, they have become a major public health problem. This work presents the effects manifested in the infrared spectrum behavior caused by the presence of Cd2+, Cr6+, and Pb2+ at different concentrations in three different matrices: water, casein, and milk; observing that the spectral modifications in the regions of different vibrational modes of nucleophilic groups such as -OH, COO- and NH2 depending on the nature of the metal and its concentration. These findings were correlated in-silico using optimized models in Gabedit software and structural optimization was performed with MOPAC 2016 showing stable structures between the metals and Gln, Hys, Glu, and Phe of casein. By applying chemometrics (Principal Component Analysis), it was possible to observe a good correlation between the experimental data and to discriminate between the type of metal, the matrix that contains it, and the concentration could be represented through linear models that showed adjustments with a value of r2 ≥ 0.95.

hTERT and IGF-1R Proteins Expression in Response to Treatment in Patients with HPV Alpha 9-Positive Cervical Cancer.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is strongly associated with cervical cancer (CC). Genomic alterations caused by viral infection and subsequent dysregulation of cellular metabolism under hypoxic conditions could influence the response to treatment. We studied a possible influence of IGF-1Rb, hTERT, HIF1a, GLUT1 protein expression, HPV species presence and relevant clinical parameters on the response to treatment. In 21 patients, HPV infection and protein expression were detected using GP5+/GP6+PCR-RLB and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The worse response was associated with radiotherapy alone compared with chemoradiotherapy (CTX-RT), anemia and HIF1a expression. HPV16 type was the most frequent (57.1%) followed by HPV-58 (14.2%) and HPV-56 (9.5%). The HPV alpha 9 species was the most frequent (76.1%) followed by alpha 6 and alpha 7. IGF-1Rb (85.7%), HIF1a (61.9%), GLUT1 (52.3%), and hTERT expression [cytoplasm and nucleus (90.4%)] were detected. The MCA factorial map showed different relationships, standing out, expression of hTERT and alpha 9 species HPV, expression of hTERT and IGF-1Rb expression [Fisher's exact test (P = 0.04)]. A slight trend of association was observed between, GLUT1 and HIF1 a expression, hTERT and GLUT1 expression. A noteworthy finding was the subcellular localization of hTERT in the nucleus and cytoplasm of CC cells and its possible interaction with IGF-1R in presence of HPV alpha 9 species. Our findings suggest that the expression of HIF1a, hTERT, IGF-1Rb and GLUT1 proteins that interact with some HPV species may contribute to cervical cancer development, and the modu lation of treatment response.

Acute appendicitis secondary to metastatic uterine cervix squamous cell carcinoma. Case report / Apendicitis aguda como manifestación clínica secundaria a metástasis de un carcinoma de células escamosas del cérvix. Reporte de caso

Primary and secondary neoplasms of the appendix are rare and found in approximately 1% of surgical appendectomy specimens. Cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) spreads mainly by direct local invasion of adjacent tissues and lymphatics and, less commonly, through blood vessels. The spread of CSCC via lymphatics occurs early and is present in 25-50% of patients with stage IB and II carcinomas. We present a 31-year-old female with a history of stage IVB CSCC. The patient received palliative radiotherapy (3 Gy divided for a total of 30 Gy) and later chemotherapy (cisplatin 50 mg/m2 IV and paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 IV). Two months after the onset of therapy with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, she was admitted to the hospital, presenting with abdominal pain, fever, and vomiting. Laparotomy revealed perforated appendicitis and an intra-abdominal abscess with no evidence of ovary or fallopian tube compromise. Histopathological examination of the excised specimen evidenced a severe acute inflammatory process and the presence of CSCC. In summary, we describe the second case of acute appendicitis secondary to metastatic CSCC, published in the medical literature. This is an interesting case due to the rarity of acute appendicitis associated with metastatic cervical cancer in the appendix via lymphatic vessels. The history of CSCC played a significant role in defining the histopathological diagnosis.

Las neoplasias primarias y secundarias del apéndice son raras y se encuentran en aproximadamente el 1% de las muestras de apendicectomía quirúrgica. El carcinoma de células escamosas del cuello uterino (CECU) se disemina principalmente por invasión local directa de los tejidos y por vía linfática, y con menor frecuencia a través de los vasos sanguíneos. La diseminación de CECU por vía linfática ocurre de manera temprana y está presente en el 25-50% de los pacientes con carcinomas en estadio IB y II. Presentamos el caso de una mujer de 31 años con antecedente de CECU estadio IVB. La paciente recibió radioterapia paliativa (3 Gy fraccionada para un total de 30 Gy) y posteriormente quimioterapia (cisplatino 50 mg/m2 IV y paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 IV). Dos meses después del inicio de la terapia con radioterapia y quimioterapia, ingresó al hospital presentando dolor abdominal, fiebre y vómitos. La laparotomía reveló apendicitis perforada y un absceso intraabdominal sin evidencia de compromiso de ovario o trompa de Falopio. El examen histopatológico del espécimen extirpado evidenció un proceso inflamatorio agudo severo y la presencia de CECU. En conclusión, describimos el segundo caso de apendicitis aguda secundaria a CECU metastásico, publicado en la literatura médica. Este es un caso interesante debido a la rareza de la apendicitis aguda asociada con el cáncer de cuello uterino metastásico en el apéndice a través de los vasos linfáticos. La historia previa de CECU tuvo un papel importante para definir el diagnóstico histopatológico.

Metástasis tumor a tumor en pulmón: reporte de tres casos y revisión de la literatura / Tumor-to-tumor metastasis in the lung: report of three cases and review of the literature

Las metástasis tumor a tumor (MTT) corresponden a un evento poco frecuente en el cual se presenta metástasis de un tumor primario a otro tumor primario, bien sea benigno o maligno. El carcinoma de pulmón es un receptor poco habitual, pero uno de los donantes más frecuentes. En el presente articulo presentamos tres casos de MTT como órgano receptor el pulmón: el primero, de una mujer con antecedente de carcinoma papilar de tiroides y carcinoma ductal in situ de la mama, con presencia de MTT y carcinoma papilar de tiroides a un adenocarcinoma primario pulmonar. El segundo caso, es una mujer con MTT de carcinoma ductal de mama a un adenocarcinoma primario pulmonar. Y el tercero, de un MTT de un carcinoma ductal de mama a un hamartoma pulmonar. En los tres casos, fue fundamental la correlación clínico-patológica y los estudios complementarios de inmunohistoquímica.

Tumor-to-tumor metastases (TTM) correspond to a rare event in which a primary tumor metastasizes to another primary tumor, whether benign or malignant. Lung carcinoma is an unusual recipient, but one of the most frequent donors. In this article, we present three cases of TTM to the lung: the first one is of a woman with a history of papillary thyroid carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast, with the presence of TTM and papillary thyroid carcinoma to a primary adenocarcinoma of the lung. The second case is of a woman with TTM from ductal carcinoma of the breast to a primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and the third is TTM from a breast ductal carcinoma to a pulmonary hamartoma. In all three cases, the clinical-pathological connection and complementary immunohistochemical studies were essential

KRAS Promoter Methylation Status and miR-18a-3p and miR-143 Expression in Patients With Wild-type KRAS Gene in Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Although some mutations of KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase (KRAS) have been associated with the prognosis and therapeutic management of colorectal cancer (CRC), the epigenetic mechanisms (DNA methylation and microRNA expression) that regulate wild-type KRAS expression in patients with CRC are poorly known. The aim of this study was to establish whether there is a relationship between the expression of the wild-type KRAS gene, the methylation status of its distal promoter, and miR-143 and miR-18a-3p levels in samples of sporadic CRC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 51 cases of sporadic CRC with wild-type KRAS were analyzed. The expression levels of KRAS mRNA, miR-18a-3p, miR-143, and KRAS protein, as well as methylation in the distal promoter of the KRAS gene were evaluated. RESULTS: In the analyzed cases, KRAS mRNA expression was detected in 51.1%; wild-type KRAS protein was found in the membrane in 31.4% and in the cytoplasm in 98% of cases. An inverse relationship of marginal significance was observed between miR-18a-3p and KRAS protein expression in the cytoplasm (odds ratio=0.14, 95% confidence interval=0.012-1.092; p=0.08). The methylation status of the distal promoter of KRAS at four CpG islands was analyzed in 30 cases (58.8%): partial methylation of the four CpG islands evaluated was observed in two cases (6.7%). In these cases, KRAS protein expression was not evidenced at the membrane level; miR-18a-3p expression was not detected either but high expression of miR-143 was observed. CONCLUSION: No association was found between the expression levels of KRAS mRNA, miR-18a-3p, miR-143 and methylation status. Methylation status was detected with low frequency, thus being the first report of methylation in wild-type KRAS.

Synchronous or collision solid neoplasms and lymphomas: A systematic review of 308 case reports.

BACKGROUND: The presence of a lymphoma associated with a solid synchronous neoplasm or collision neoplasm has been rarely in the literature, and a detailed characterization of these cases is lacking to date. OBJECTIVE: To describe the main clinicopathological features of synchronous/collision tumors. METHODS: A systematic search in PubMed, Scielo, and Virtual Health Library literature databases for cases or case series of synchronous or collision lymphoma and other solid neoplasms reported up to March 2021 was performed. Three reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the included studies. The systematic review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Meta-Analyses guidelines. RESULTS: Mean age of patients was 62.9 years (52.9% men). A total of 308 cases were included (62% synchronous and 38% collision). The most frequent location of both synchronous and collision tumors was the gastrointestinal tract with the most common solid neoplasm being adenocarcinoma, and the most frequent lymphoma diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (21.7%) and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (20.4%). Of the total number of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas and gastric adenocarcinomas, the presence of Helicobacter pylori infection was documented in 47.3% of them. Only 2% of all cases had a previous history of lymphoma. Thus, in most cases (98%), lymphoma was discovery incidentally. In addition, nodal lymphoma was associated with metastasis in 29 (9.4%) cases as collision tumor, most commonly (90%) in locoregional lymph nodes of the solid neoplasm. CONCLUSIONS: The frequent association of some type of B-cell lymphoma and adenocarcinoma in synchronous/collision tumors of the gastrointestinal tract points to common pathogenic mechanisms in both neoplasia, particularly related to chronic inflammation in this location. In most cases, lymphoma identified in locoregional lymph nodes or distant of a carcinoma seems to represent an incidental finding during the carcinoma diagnostic/therapeutic approach. A synergy between carcinoma and lymphoma (involving inflammation and immunosuppression mechanisms) may favor tumor progression and dissemination. A better understating of the interactions lymphoma/carcinoma in the setting of synchronous/collision tumors may help to improve patient management and prognosis.

Walking the Line: Conducting Transect Walks in Burkina Faso.

In this article we present results from transect walks and participatory mapping done in Burkina Faso. Since the Sahelian drought of the 1970s, researchers have continued to depict the Sahelian region of West Africa as an environment experiencing severe degradation; a narrative that persists over time. Recently, however, analyses of satellite imagery have identified remarkable patterns of greening across the Sahel. The causes of this greening are hotly debated. Through this project we aim to inform these debates with on-the-ground perceptions of local farmers and pastoralists. The transect walk method is a community-based process that collects information on the land-use/land-cover (LULC) features across villages. Transects help triangulate data by combining high-resolution satellite imagery, firsthand observations, and local experiences of ecological processes. We describe the methodology behind transects and discuss how they contextualize an otherwise removed process of environmental analysis. We also describe the challenges that arise throughout the fieldwork process.

Transoral robotic resection of unusual spindle cell/pleomorphic lipoma of the larynx.

Spindle cell/pleomorphic lipoma (SC/PL) is a subcutaneous mass usually localised on nape, shoulder or upper back. It is a benign lipogenic tumour composed of primitive CD34-positive spindle cells, floret-like multinucleated giant cells and mature adipocytes. Complete surgical excision is the optimal treatment. This unusual tumour in the larynx has only been reported in the medical literature once and was treated surgically by open approach. Actually, transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is most suitable because provides tridimensional magnified view plus a greater mobility with instruments, allowing complete and safe removal of the supraglottic mass, allowing rapid healing and recovery. We present the first case of a SC/PL of larynx managed with TORS. Four hours after surgery, the patient was able to take a soft diet and was discharged 2 h later. The follow-up showed an excellent clinical and functional outcome.

hTERT Protein Expression in Cytoplasm and Nucleus and its Association With HPV Infection in Patients With Cervical Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have analyzed the association between human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) protein expression (nuclear and cytoplasmic localization), hTERT methylation status, and human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype infection in cervical cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred seventy-three patients with cervical cancer were analyzed. hTERT protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry. hTERT DNA methylation analysis was performed using a PCR-RLB-hTERT assay, targeting two regions of the hTERT promoter. Type specific HPV infection was detected by using GP5+/GP6+PCR-RLB. RESULTS: hTERT protein expression was found in both cytoplasm and nucleus (78.0% of the samples showed a cytoplasmic localization and 79.8% had a nuclear localization). A statistically significant association was found between alpha 9 and 7 HPV species with a non-methylation pattern of the hTERT promoter and between these species and high expression of hTERT protein with nuclear localization. CONCLUSION: hTERT protein is found in both the nucleus and cytoplasm of patients with cervical cancer and confirm the relationship between the non-methylated status of hTERT promoter and some HPV species as well as the relationship between these species and hTERT protein expression.

Persistent High-Risk HPV Infection and Molecular Changes Related to the Development of Cervical Cancer.

This article is a preliminary investigational study that is aimed at giving hints about the interesting biomarkers involved in the transition process from low-grade cervix lesion to invasive cervical cancer. Our study focuses on the risk factors and tumour molecular changes in one patient. First in 1986, she was diagnosed a preinvasive cervix lesion. Then, 16 years later, she was diagnosed an invasive cervical cancer. The 2002 diagnosis was a squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, stage IIIB (FIGO), whereas in 1986, she had been diagnosed a high-grade squamous intraepithelial cervical lesion. Retrospectively, the analysis of samples of preneoplastic lesions and invasive cervical cancer confirmed the histopathological diagnoses and detected the presence of HPV type and HPV-16 variants, as well as the overexpression of proteins such as hTERT, IGF1Rα, IGF1Rß, CAIX, and GLUT1. Finally, the Arg72Pro polymorphism was detected in TP53. The role of high-risk HPV and HPV-16 variants and of hTERT, IGF1Rα, IGF1Rß, CAIX, and GLUT1 variations seemed confirmed in the development and progression of cervical cancer. As a result, analyzing the molecular changes in one and same tumour that progresses from a low-grade cervix lesion to invasive cervical cancer could provide valuable information in order to improve detection, diagnosis, and treatment in the future.

Synergistic effect of zeolite/chitosan in the removal of fluoride from aqueous solution.

Today, fluoride represents one of the most often found, and resilient, pollutants threatening the health of millions of people around the globe. The use of biosorbents is an interesting alternative technique for the removal of fluorine-ions. Chitosan is a natural biopolymer with surface groups capable of removing fluorine; however, their lack of mechanical stability restricts its application. In the present work, we proposed that such limitations can be overcame by forming a composite with zeolite (ZCC). A proper zeolite-to-chitosan ration must be kept to prevent a collapse of the material's capacity. Two ZCCs at ratios of 1:1 and 1:3 were formed and tested for the removal of fluoride from aqueous solution. The composites were characterized by Electron Microscopy, FT-IR, N2 physisorption, and potentiometric titration techniques. During fluoride adsorption studies, the effects of pH and temperature were analysed and thermodynamic parameters for adsorption were calculated. The results demonstrated that there is a chemical interaction between the zeolite and chitosan components leading to a superior adsorption performance than if there was a simple physical mixture of the precursors. Maximum adsorption capacities were reached using the composite material with the lowest chitosan content due to reduced constriction of the zeolite pores and a better dispersion of overall the adsorption sites. Both pH and temperature had a significant, and negative, impact on the adsorption; these effects were discussed. The present work represents an advance in the development of functional biocomposites for the removal of pollutants from aqueous solutions.

Advantages of the 99mTc-sestamibi Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography in Occult Parathyroid Adenoma and Concomitant Thyroid Papillary Carcinoma.

Hyperparathyroidism and concurrent thyroid nodular disease are prominent. In contrast, concomitant papillary thyroid cancer and hyperparathyroidism are uncommon (1%-2%). Parathyroid adenomas in unusual locations are difficult to detect by conventional diagnostic imaging. 99mTc-sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) has increased the localizing success rate of these lesions since it provides specific functional and anatomical information, improving exploratory parathyroid surgery planning and decreasing operative time, unnecessary dissections, complications, and morbidity. We confirmed its usefulness in a patient with an occult parathyroid adenoma that was clearly identified by 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT/CT 2 weeks after a thyroidectomy for papillary carcinoma. The SPECT/CT results allowed us to successfully perform efficient reexploration of the thyroid bed, in a retroesophageal parathyroid adenoma by minimally invasive surgery.

Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography Detects a Second Ignored Intrathyroidal Parathyroid Adenoma.

The primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a result of high levels of parathyroid hormone and serum calcium, the most frequent cause is a solitary parathyroid adenoma. Double parathyroid adenoma is <5% of the PHPT. Intrathyroidal parathyroid adenoma (IPA) occurs< 3.2%. We present a case of 58-year-old female with persistent primary hyperparathyroidism due to a second undetected IPA, suspected by ultrasound and confirmed by 99mTc sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography.

Neuroendocrine neoplasms of gastrointestinal tract and secondary primary synchronous tumors: A systematic review of case reports. Casualty or causality?

BACKGROUND: Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) can arise in most of the epithelial organs of the body and are not a rare condition in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The presence of NENs in GIT associated with other secondary primary malignancies (SPM) has been considered an exotic event. This study aims to describe the case reports of NENs accompanied by synchronous primary tumors. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a systematic literature search of the databases Scopus, PubMed, Scielo and LILACS to identify case reports that described the presence of NENs in GIT with SPM. 78 case reports were included. The mean of age of the cases was 60.2 years. 60% were male. 95.4% were NENs G1. 17 cases of NENs had metastasis. 80% of SPM were recognized in the GIT (36% in stomach, 27% in large intestine, 11.2% in small intestine, and 5.6% in esophagus). The most common type of SPM was adenocarcinoma (49.4%), followed by GIST (13.5%), other NENs in different GIT segment (7.9%), lymphoma (6.8%), and squamous cell carcinoma (4.5%). The most common tumor in GIT was adenocarcinoma (97.6%) and the presence of adenocarcinoma in the same segment of GIT was found in 68.4% of the cases. Association between adenocarcinomas and NENs in GIT (p:<0.0001) and adenocarcinoma and tumor in the same segment of GIT location were observed (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that NENs with SPM are not a rare condition. Several theories have been proposed to explain this association; one of these is the ability of NENs to generate synchronous tumors by autocrine and paracrine effect. We observed an association between adenocarcinomas and NENs in the same segment of GIT.