Carrot DcALFIN4 and DcALFIN7 Transcription Factors Boost Carotenoid Levels and Participate Differentially in Salt Stress Tolerance When Expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana and Actinidia deliciosa.

ALFIN-like transcription factors (ALs) are involved in several physiological processes such as seed germination, root development and abiotic stress responses in plants. In carrot (Daucus carota), the expression of DcPSY2, a gene encoding phytoene synthase required for carotenoid biosynthesis, is induced after salt and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. Interestingly, the DcPSY2 promoter contains multiple ALFIN response elements. By in silico analysis, we identified two putative genes with the molecular characteristics of ALs, DcAL4 and DcAL7, in the carrot transcriptome. These genes encode nuclear proteins that transactivate reporter genes and bind to the carrot DcPSY2 promoter in yeast. The expression of both genes is induced in carrot under salt stress, especially DcAL4 which also responds to ABA treatment. Transgenic homozygous T3 Arabidopsis thaliana lines that stably express DcAL4 and DcAL7 show a higher survival rate with respect to control plants after chronic salt stress. Of note is that DcAL4 lines present a better performance in salt treatments, correlating with the expression level of DcAL4, AtPSY and AtDXR and an increase in carotenoid and chlorophyll contents. Likewise, DcAL4 transgenic kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) lines show increased carotenoid and chlorophyll content and higher survival rate compared to control plants after chronic salt treatment. Therefore, DcAL4 and DcAL7 encode functional transcription factors, while ectopic expression of DcAL4 provides increased tolerance to salinity in Arabidopsis and Kiwi plants.

Prostate Cancer Risk Calculators for Healthy Populations: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Screening for prostate cancer has long been a debated, complex topic. The use of risk calculators for prostate cancer is recommended for determining patients' individual risk of cancer and the subsequent need for a prostate biopsy. These tools could lead to better discrimination of patients in need of invasive diagnostic procedures and optimized allocation of health care resources. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the research was to systematically review available literature on the performance of current prostate cancer risk calculators in healthy populations by comparing the relative impact of individual items on different cohorts and on the models' overall performance. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of available prostate cancer risk calculators targeted at healthy populations. We included studies published from January 2000 to March 2021 in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, or German. Two reviewers independently decided for or against inclusion based on abstracts. A third reviewer intervened in case of disagreements. From the selected titles, we extracted information regarding the purpose of the manuscript, analyzed calculators, population for which it was calibrated, included risk factors, and the model's overall accuracy. RESULTS: We included a total of 18 calculators from 53 different manuscripts. The most commonly analyzed ones were the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) and European Randomized Study on Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) risk calculators developed from North American and European cohorts, respectively. Both calculators provided high diagnostic ability of aggressive prostate cancer (AUC as high as 0.798 for PCPT and 0.91 for ERSPC). We found 9 calculators developed from scratch for specific populations that reached a diagnostic ability as high as 0.938. The most commonly included risk factors in the calculators were age, prostate specific antigen levels, and digital rectal examination findings. Additional calculators included race and detailed personal and family history. CONCLUSIONS: Both the PCPR and ERSPC risk calculators have been successfully adapted for cohorts other than the ones they were originally created for with no loss of diagnostic ability. Furthermore, designing calculators from scratch considering each population's sociocultural differences has resulted in risk tools that can be well adapted to be valid in more patients. The best risk calculator for prostate cancer will be that which has been calibrated for its intended population and can be easily reproduced and implemented. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42021242110; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=242110.

[Strategies to advance recovery (STAR) protocol implemented colorectal cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic]. / En época de COVID-19: ¿cómo las estrategias de recuperación avanzadas (STAR) pueden ayudar a dar soluciones a los pacientes oncológicos?

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 hampered the resolution of multiple diseases, including cancer. AIM: To show that a multidisciplinary program of Strategies to Advance Recovery (STAR) can be implemented in a public hospital in Chile, despite the global pandemic and state of a national catastrophe, to provide a solution to cancer patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective descriptive study, of patients requiring an elective resolution of a colorectal cancer. Patients met the inclusion criteria, established in the STAR program. A total of 24 perioperative interventions were performed in the protocol. Demographic variables, days of hospitalization, complications, mortality, and readmissions were described. RESULTS: The 24 interventions of the protocol were successfully implemented, although some partially. Sixteen patients aged 53 to 83 years (50% women) were operated. The median length of hospitalization was four days (range 2 to 9). Four complications were recorded, all were grade I or II according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. Two patients were readmitted. There were no reoperations or mortality. One patient was infected with coronavirus, diagnosed at the time of readmission. CONCLUSIONS: The STAR protocol reduces the length of hospital stay. In a pandemic context such as COVID-19 it becomes a useful resource and can be implemented in cancer patients, as herein reported.

En época de COVID-19: ¿cómo las estrategias de recuperación avanzadas (STAR) pueden ayudar a dar soluciones a los pacientes oncológicos? / Strategies to advance recovery (STAR) protocol implemented colorectal cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: SARS-CoV-2 hampered the resolution of multiple diseases, including cancer. Aim: To show that a multidisciplinary program of Strategies to Advance Recovery (STAR) can be implemented in a public hospital in Chile, despite the global pandemic and state of a national catastrophe, to provide a solution to cancer patients. Material and Methods: A retrospective descriptive study, of patients requiring an elective resolution of a colorectal cancer. Patients met the inclusion criteria, established in the STAR program. A total of 24 perioperative interventions were performed in the protocol. Demographic variables, days of hospitalization, complications, mortality, and readmissions were described. Results: The 24 interventions of the protocol were successfully implemented, although some partially. Sixteen patients aged 53 to 83 years (50% women) were operated. The median length of hospitalization was four days (range 2 to 9). Four complications were recorded, all were grade I or II according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. Two patients were readmitted. There were no reoperations or mortality. One patient was infected with coronavirus, diagnosed at the time of readmission. Conclusions: The STAR protocol reduces the length of hospital stay. In a pandemic context such as COVID-19 it becomes a useful resource and can be implemented in cancer patients, as herein reported.

Fístulas durales intracraneales: reporte de un caso y revisión de la literatura / Dural arteriovenous fistulas: case report and review

Las fístulas arteriovenosas durales, son malformaciones consistentes en corto circuítos entre las arterias durales y extracraneales con los senos venosos durales. Son causa de consulta por acúfenos, cefalea o déficit neurológico producto de sus complicaciones, como hemorragia subaracnoídea (HSA), hematoma intracerebral (HIC) o edema vasogénico. En cuanto a su origen, este puede ser congénito o adquirido; el diagnóstico y su clasificación se realizan en base a la clínica, tomografía axial computada (TAC) y resonancia nuclear magnética (RMN), siendo el gold estándar la angiografía cerebral.