Stem Cell Markers in Neoplasms and their Relationship with Progression-free and Overall Survival in Patients with Recurrence.

BACKGROUND: Gliomas account for 30% of primary brain tumors in adults, and despite the scientific progress in the field, recurrence is prevalent. Glioma Stem Cells (GSCs) can generate tumor cells in vivo and in vitro and they are associated with treatment resistance, tumor progression, and recurrence. Furthermore, the expression of SOX transcription factors (SOX1, SOX2, SOX9) in these cells is responsible for maintaining an oncogenic genotype and is associated with an aggressive tumor phenotype. The relationship between SOX transcription factors and their prognostic role in recurrent gliomas has not been described in detail. Therefore, we set out to describe the relationship between SOX expression and Progression-free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS) in patients with recurrent gliomas. METHODS: In this observational study, we have retrospectively analyzed 69 patients, of which 20 met the inclusion criteria. The clinical, radiological, and histopathological findings have been described, and survival analysis has been performed according to SOX expression for PFS and OS. RESULTS: We found SOX1, SOX2, and SOX9 to show a non-statistically significant trend with increasing histopathological grade, co-expressed with Ki67, a cell proliferation factor. CONCLUSION: There has been found an inversely proportional correlation between the degree of immunopositivity of SOX1 and OS. A higher SOX1 immunopositivity could predict a worse clinical prognosis. There has also been found an interaction between a pluripotent genotype (GSC) and cell proliferation.

Una Acción Civil (1998): la ley detrás del daño corporal, los defectos congénitos y la leucemia / A Civil Action (1998): the law behind bodily harm, birth defects and leukemia

Acción Civil es una película fundamental para comprender cómo la contaminación del ambiente influye en la salud humana, pero también el contexto biopsicosocial, ético, legítimo y legal en torno a la problemática de ejercer el derecho a un ambiente saludable. Muestra cómo la contaminación afecta a las comunidades, la responsabilidad que muchas empresas intentan eludir frente a sus acciones en perjuicio de la vida humana y ambiente y cómo la comunidad y los medios de comunicación pueden trabajar juntos para abordar estas cuestiones y tomar medidas para prevenir y tratar estos problemas. En la docencia universitaria de Ciencias de la Salud, el filme se constituye en un recurso pedagógico para ilustrar y concientizar sobre la problemática de la contaminación del agua potable y ambiente en general en la salud humana y especialmente durante la gestación. El visionado del filme por otro lado estimula el pensamiento crítico, divergente, analítico, reflexivo, emocional y el aprendizaje significativo, al tiempo que permite integrar conocimientos de las asignaturas que cursan y cultura general en una experiencia inmersiva. Asimismo, permite integrar aspectos legales que pocas veces son abordados en la carrera como una transversal educativa que contribuye al acervo de cultura general del estudiante.(AU)

A Civil Action is a fundamental film to understand how environmental contamination influences human health, but also the biopsychosocial, ethical, legitimate and legal context around the problem of exercising the right to a healthy environment. It shows how pollution affects communities, the responsibility that many companies try to evade due to their actions in detriment of human life and the environment, and how the community and the media can work together to address these issues and take measures to prevent and treat these problems. In the university teaching of Health Sciences, the film becomes a pedagogical resource to illustrate and raise awareness about the problem of drinking water contamination and the environment in general in human health and especially during pregnancy. Viewing the film on the other hand stimulates critical, divergent, analytical, reflective, emotional thinking and significant learning, while allowing the integration of knowledge of the subjects they are studying and general culture in an immersive experience. Likewise, it allows the integration of legal aspects that are rarely addressed in the career as an educational transversal that contributes to the heritage of the student's general culture.(AU)

Single-Layer Graphene/Germanium Interface Representing a Schottky Junction Studied by Photoelectron Spectroscopy.

We investigated the interfacial electronic structure of the bidimensional interface of single-layer graphene on a germanium substrate. The procedure followed a well-established approach using ultraviolet (UPS) and X-ray (XPS) photoelectron spectroscopy. The direct synthesis of the single-layer graphene on the surface of (110) undoped Ge substrates was conducted via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The main graphitic properties of the systems were identified, and it was shown that the Ge substrate affected the electronic structure of the single-layer graphene, indicating the electronic coupling between the graphene and the Ge substrate. Furthermore, the relevant features associated with the Schottky contact's nature, the energy level's alignments, and the energy barrier's heights for electron and hole injection were obtained in this work. The results are useful, given the possible integration of single-layer graphene on a Ge substrate with the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology.

Interactions of Antibacterial Naphthoquinones with Mesoporous Silica Surfaces: A Physicochemical and Theoretical Approach.

1,4-naftoquinone (NQ) molecules have been extensively evaluated as potent antibacterial compounds; however, their use is limited, since they have low water solubility and exhibit toxicities in healthy eukaryotic cells. A possible path to overcoming these challenges is the use of particulate vehicles, such as SBA-15, which is a biocompatible and biodegradable mesoporous silica material, that may enhance drug delivery and decrease dosages. In this work, an isotherm model-based adsorption of three NQs into SBA-15 microparticles was evaluated. Interactions between NQs and SBA-15 microparticles were modeled at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory to understand the nature of such interactions. The results demonstrated that the adsorption of NQ, 2NQ, and 5NQ into SBA-15 fit the Freundlich adsorption model. According to theorical studies, physisorption is mediated by hydrogen bonds, while the most stable interactions occur between the carbonyl group of NQ and silica surfaces. Both experimental and theoretical results contribute to a deeper understanding of the use of SBA-15 or similar particles as nanovehicles in such a way that NQs can be modified in carbonyl or C3 to enhance adsorptions. The theoretical and experimental results were in accordance and contribute to a deeper understanding of how interactions between NQ-type molecules and SiO2 materials occur.

Infected chylopericardium: An unexpected cause of cardiac tamponade.

A 22-year-old immunocompetent female with a history of small pericardial effusion while infant presented with fever and hemodynamic collapse 4 days after facial trauma. She was found to have cardiac tamponade secondary to infected chylopericardium from bacterial translocation. We report this very unusual case and review of the literature on chylopericardium infections.

Integrating Autoencoder and Heteroscedastic Noise Neural Networks for the Batch Process Soft-Sensor Design.

Viscosity represents a key product quality indicator but has been difficult to measure in-process in real-time. This is particularly true if the process involves complex mixing phenomena operated at dynamic conditions. To address this challenge, in this study, we developed an innovative soft sensor by integrating advanced artificial neural networks. The soft sensor first employs a deep learning autoencoder to extract information-rich process features by compressing high-dimensional industrial data and then adopts a heteroscedastic noise neural network to simultaneously predict product viscosity and associated uncertainty. To evaluate its performance, predictions of product viscosity were made for a number of industrial batches operated over different seasons. Furthermore, probabilistic machine learning techniques, including the Gaussian process and the Bayesian neural network, were selected to benchmark against the heteroscedastic noise neural network. Through comparison, it is found that the proposed soft-sensor has both high accuracy and high reliability, indicating its potential for process monitoring and quality control.

Does valve morphological type impact TAVR outcomes?

Appropriate treatment for the bicuspid aortic valve demands attention to detail across the spectrum of bicuspid morphological types. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement outcomes, while encouraging, require in-depth evaluation before generalization to improve the precision of care.

Functional Crosstalk between PCSK9 Internalization and Pro-Inflammatory Activation in Human Macrophages: Role of Reactive Oxygen Species Release.

Atherosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease caused mainly by dyslipidemia and is characterized by the formation of an atheroma plaque and chronic inflammation. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a protease that induces the degradation of the LDL receptor (LDLR), which contributes to increased levels of LDL cholesterol and the progress of atherosclerosis. Given that macrophages are relevant components of the lipidic and inflammatory environment of atherosclerosis, we studied the effects of PCSK9 treatment on human macrophages. Our data show that human macrophages do not express PCSK9 but rapidly incorporate the circulating protein through the LDLR and also activate the pro-inflammatory TLR4 pathway. Both LDLR and TLR4 are internalized after incubation of macrophages with exogenous PCSK9. PCSK9 uptake increases the production of reactive oxygen species and reduces the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and cholesterol efflux, while enhancing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines through a TLR4-dependent mechanism. Under these conditions, the viability of macrophages is compromised, leading to increased cell death. These results provide novel insights into the role of PCSK9 in the crosstalk of lipids and cholesterol metabolism through the LDLR and on the pro-inflammatory activation of macrophages through TLR4 signaling. These pathways are relevant in the outcome of atherosclerosis and highlight the relevance of PCSK9 as a therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

A comprehensive review of coronary artery disease in patients with end-stage liver disease.

The prevalence of coronary artery disease has increased in patients with end stage liver disease. In the near future, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is expected to be the leading cause of end stage liver disease and shares common risk factors with coronary artery disease such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and diabetes mellitus. At present, liver transplantation is the only definitive treatment for end stage liver disease, with post-operative mortality associated with the presence of coronary artery disease. Given the high prevalence of cardiovascular disease and the unique balance of pro-thrombotic and antithrombotic factors in patients with end stage liver disease, we sought to discuss the non-invasive and invasive diagnosis, medical and procedural management considerations and pre-transplant evaluation of coronary artery disease in patients with end stage liver disease.

Investigating the Design and Implementation of an In-Line Near-Infrared Probe Using Computational Fluid Dynamics for Measurement of Non-Newtonian Fluids.

Process analytical technology (PAT) has developed significantly since its introduction in pharma where many in situ analytical probes and measuring devices are now commercially available, replacing the use of off-line quality control measurements that are typically laborious and time intensive. The use of PAT instrumentation should not interfere with the process itself and subsequently should have no effect on the product whilst measuring representative samples. Implementation of these devices is typically arbitrary using empirical means. Therefore, the objective of this study is to highlight the use of computational fluid dynamics modeling to investigate the effect of interfacing parameters and process parameters of an inline near-infrared (NIR) probe used to determine the viscosity of a non-Newtonian micellar liquid. The parameters investigated for the probe were immersion depth, immersion angle, gap size, and fluid velocity. The results conclude that the immersion angle and depth should both be optimized to prevent stagnant fluid accumulating in the measuring gap ensuring that the NIR measurements are representative of the bulk. The gap size determines the optical pathlength and therefore was also investigated against an existing predictive viscosity model showing no changes in model performance with varying gap size. The use of computational modeling to develop a digital twin prior to PAT implementation at the equipment design stage ensures the technology can perform at its best and will also aid in calibration transfer studies.

Innovatively processed quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) food: chemistry, structure and end-use characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) flour and processed traditional Peruvian quinoa breakfast foods were studied to evaluate the effect of extrusion and post-processing on protein properties, morphology and nutritional characteristics (amino acids and dietary fibers). RESULTS: The extrusion increased quinoa protein crosslinking and aggregation observed by size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography and the amount of soluble fibers, as well as decreasing the amounts of insoluble fibers in the processed foods. The post-processing drying resulted in additional crosslinking of large protein fractions in the quinoa products. The microstructure of the extruded quinoa breakfast flakes and heat-post-processed samples studied by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray tomography differed greatly; post-drying induced formation of aerated protein microstructures in the heat-treated samples. Nanostructures revealed by small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering indicated that extrusion imparted morphological changes in the quinoa protein and starch (dominance of V-type). Overall, extrusion processing only reduced the content of most of the essential amino acids to a minor extent; the content of valine and methionine was reduced to a slightly greater extent, but the final products met the requirements of the Food and Drug Organization. CONCLUSION: This study presents innovative examples on how extrusion processing and post-processing heat treatment can be used to produce attractive future food alternatives, such as breakfast cereal flakes and porridge powder, from quinoa grains. Extrusion of quinoa flour into Peruvian foods was shown to be mostly impacted by the processing temperature and processing conditions used. Protein crosslinking increased due to extrusion and post-processing heating. Starch crystallinity decreased most when the product was dried after processing. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.