Solitary fibrous tumor surrounding the carotid sheath

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are rare spindle cell neoplasms that are mostly found arising from the pleura. Although SFTs recently have been reported in other regions, they are rare in the head and neck and have often been misdiagnosed due to their rarity. SFTs are benign in most cases. Clinically, SFTs usually manifest as wellcircumscribed, slow-growing, smooth and painless masses. Symptoms are often minimal, although they may include sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, change of voice or trismus. CT-Scan and MRI are the most sensitive imaging procedures used. The treatment of choice is complete surgical excision of the lesion. Because recurrences have been noted up to 30 years after surgery, long-term follow up is mandatory. In this article, we present a case of a Solitary Fibrous Tumor arising in the parapharyngeal space in a 20-year-old man, involving the carotid sheath, treated by surgical excision with no recurrence after 1 year. The clinical presentation, surgical management and pathological findings are described

Elevation of Tear MMP-9 Concentration as a Biomarker of Inflammation in Ocular Pathology by Antibody Microarray Immunodetection Assays

Matrix metalloproteinases are a family of enzymes fundamental in inflammatory processes. Between them, MMP-9 is up-regulated during inflammation; thus, its quantification in non-invasive fluids is a promising approach for inflammation identification. To this goal, a biomarker quantification test was developed for ocular inflammation detection using anti-MMP-9 antibody microarrays (AbMAs). After validation with eight healthy control tear samples characterized by ELISA, 20 samples were tested from individuals diagnosed with ocular inflammation due to: cataracts, glaucoma, meibomian gland dysfunction, allergy, or dry eye. Concentration values of tear MMP-9 were obtained for each sample, and 12 patients surpassed the pathological threshold (30 ng/mL). A significant elevation of MMP-9 concentration in the tears of glaucoma patients compared with healthy controls was observed. In order to evaluate the diagnostic ability, an ROC curve analysis was performed using our data, determining the optimal threshold for the test at 33.6 ng/mL of tear MMP-9. In addition, a confusion matrix was applied, estimating sensitivity at 60%, specificity at 88%, and accuracy at 68%. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the AbMAs system allows the quantification of MMP-9 in pathologies that involve inflammation of the ocular surface.This research was funded by Basque Government, BIKAINTEK, grant number 48-AF-W2-2019-00006; by the University of the Basque Country, PIFIND19/02, grant number 201900016247; by ELKARTEK, grant number (KK-2019/00086), by MINECO-Retos, grant number (PID2019-111139RBI00) to E.V.; and by FISS, grant number FISS-21-RD21/0002/0041, to I.R.-A. and A.A

Acquisition of competences to prevent the aquatic accident: a service learning project with university students and population with different abilities

En esta investigación se pretende demostrar que la metodología aprendizaje-servicio es una herramienta eficaz para que las personas con discapacidad intelectual, adquieran las competencias necesarias para resolver el ahogamiento de otra persona, asumiendo un riesgo mínimo. Por otro lado, también se pretende conocer la percepción del alumnado universitario sobre el efecto que les ha producido la participación en un proyecto de aprendizaje y servicio desarrollado con personas con discapacidad intelectual. Para la consecución de estos objetivos se ha contado con la participación voluntaria de estudiantes del Grado en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte para impartir dos sesiones de salvamento acuático a un grupo de personas con discapacidad intelectual. La metodología utilizada en esta investigación ha sido tanto cuantitativa como cualitativa. Los resultados demuestran que la metodología aprendizaje y servicio es una herramienta útil para mejorar la seguridad de las personas con discapacidad intelectual en el medio acuático. Respecto al segundo de los objetivos planteados para este trabajo, se concluye que el alumnado universitario ha percibido que su competencia académica, su respeto y su comprensión hacia las personas con discapacidad intelectual ha aumentado. Al mismo tiempo, el alumnado ha apreciado cambios en su identidad personal y han manifestado la intención de implicarse en proyectos que tengan un impacto social positivo en el futuro.This research aims to demonstrate that the service-learning methodology is an effective tool for people with intellectual disabilities to acquire the necessary skills to solve the drowning of another person, assuming minimal risk. In addition, it is also intended to know the perception of university students about the effect that the participation in a service-learning project developed with people with intellectual disabilities, has caused on them. To achieve these objectives, this research has had the voluntary participation of students of the Physical Activity and Sport Science Degree to provide two sessions of aquatic rescue to a group of people with intellectual disability. The methodology used in this study has been quantitative and qualitative. The results show that the service-learning methodology is a useful tool to improve the safety of people with intellectual disabilities in the aquatic environment. Regarding the second of the objectives set for this study, it is concluded that university students have perceived that their academic competence, their respect and their understanding towards people with intellectual disabilities has increased. At the same time, the students have perceived changes in their personal identity and they have expressed the intention to be involved in projects with a positive social impact in the future

Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Spanish language version of the questionnaire OQLQ for the assessment of quality of life in orthognathic patients

Orthognathic surgery is the cornerstone of the treatment of dentofacial deformities, which have a great psychological and social impact on the life of the patient. Patient satisfaction and the impact on quality of life have recently become clinical parameters of growing importance. The aim of this study was to undertake a transcultural adaptation, translation to Spanish and validation of this version of the questionnaire OQLQ, used to measure quality of life in the context of Spanish culture. Validation of the OQLQ questionnaire to the Spanish language was carried out through the methodology of translation and back translation, conceptual equivalence and piloting. The Spanish version was applied through a cross-sectional study to a total of 50 patients undergoing orthognathic surgery. The adapted and validated version showed adequate metric properties of reliability, change sensitivity and validity. In this study, a positive impact of orthognathic surgery on the specific quality of life was evident in 96% of patients, with an average improvement of 58% with respect to the initial score. Dentofacial deformities have a marked negative impact on the lives of patients, with orthognathic surgery being a therapeutic tool of great value in improving the quality of life in social, functional and aesthetic terms. The pilot test of this Spanish language version of the OQLQ proved valid for the assessment of quality of life in Spanish-speaking orthognathic patients or those with a Spanish culture

Bisphenol-A Induces Podocytopathy With Proteinuria in Mice

Bisphenol-A, a chemical used in the production of the plastic lining of food and beverage containers, can be found in significant levels in human fluids. Recently, bisphenol-A has been associated with low-grade albuminuria in adults as well as in children. Since glomerular epithelial cells (podocytes) are commonly affected in proteinuric conditions, herein we explored the effects of bisphenol-A on podocytes in vitro and in vivo. On cultured podocytes we first observed that bisphenol-A?at low or high concentrations?(10?nM and 100?nM, respectively) was able to induce hypertrophy, diminish viability, and promote apoptosis. We also found an increase in the protein expression of TGF-?1 and its receptor, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1, as well as collagen-IV, while observing a diminished expression of the slit diaphragm proteins nephrin and podocin. Furthermore, mice intraperitoneally injected with bisphenol-A (50?mg/Kg for 5 weeks) displayed an increase in urinary albumin excretion and endogenous creatinine clearance. Renal histology showed mesangial expansion. At ultrastructural level, podocytes displayed an enlargement of both cytoplasm and foot processes as well as the presence of condensed chromatin, suggesting apoptosis. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry for WT-1 (specific podocyte marker) and the TUNEL technique showed podocytopenia as well as the presence of apoptosis, respectively. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that Bisphenol-A exposure promotes a podocytopathy with proteinuria, glomerular hyperfiltration and podocytopenia. Further studies are needed to clarify the potential role of bisphenol-A in the pathogenesis as well as in the progression of renal diseases.Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciónInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIThe Eugenio Rodríguez Pascual Foundatio

Indicators of Good Practices of Service-Learning University

The proliferation of innovative experiences in university education has been confirmed in different forums, as well as the evidence of their impact in research. However, the available tools are limited when trying to address the quality assessment of University Service-Learning (USL) projects. We present a tool for the evaluation of your SL projects. The goal of the Matrix is to specify the essential and secondary indicators needed to develop good practices in USL: IM_USL. A protocol is established to carry out its assessment. Dimensions and phases indicators of a project are specied, as well as the agents or people involved in it. This tool tries to guide the development of USL projects and to specify different points to improve. The application of the IM_USL will allow you to explore, exhaustively, each of the dimensions and indicators that make up a USL project, regarding both the AGENTS involved and the PHASES that make up a programme. In order to gather information on the reality of the projects, the phases and agents involved in a USL project will be reviewed in particular, determining the level of achievement of the indicators that compose it and of the dimensions that specify the particularities of each indicator. Finally, a series of questions are proposed to guide the process of analysis and reflection on the quality of the evaluated project. As a result, we will be able to obtain an X-ray of the quality of the project and the possible aspects for improvement.Funding: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Grant: I+D 2019. REFERENCIA DEL PROYECTO/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

Characterization of the Antitumor Potential of Extracts of Cannabis sativa Strains with High CBD Content in Human Neuroblastoma

Cannabis has been used for decades as a palliative therapy in the treatment of cancer. This is because of its beneficial effects on the pain and nausea that patients can experience as a result of chemo/radiotherapy. Tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol are the main compounds present in Cannabis sativa, and both exert their actions through a receptor-mediated mechanism and through a non-receptor-mediated mechanism, which modulates the formation of reactive oxygen species. These oxidative stress conditions might trigger lipidic changes, which would compromise cell membrane stability and viability. In this sense, numerous pieces of evidence describe a potential antitumor effect of cannabinoid compounds in different types of cancer, although controversial results limit their implementation. In order to further investigate the possible mechanism involved in the antitumoral effects of cannabinoids, three extracts isolated from Cannabis sativa strains with high cannabidiol content were analyzed. Cell mortality, cytochrome c oxidase activity and the lipid composition of SH-SY5Y cells were determined in the absence and presence of specific cannabinoid ligands, with and without antioxidant pre-treatment. The cell mortality induced by the extracts in this study appeared to be related to the inhibition of the cytochrome c oxidase activity and to the THC concentration. This effect on cell viability was similar to that observed with the cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2. The effect was partially blocked by the selective CB1 antagonist AM281, and the antioxidant α-tocopherol. Moreover, certain membrane lipids were affected by the extracts, which demonstrated the importance of oxidative stress in the potential antitumoral effects of cannabinoids.This work has been partially supported by a grant from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DIN2019-010902 and DIN2020-011349) and the Basque Government Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment (Bikaintek program: 005-B2/2021)

Evaluation of cytokines as robust diagnostic biomarkers for COVID-19 detection

Producción CientíficaAntigen tests or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification are currently COVID-19 diagnostic tools. However, developing complementary diagnosis tools is mandatory. Thus, we performed a plasma cytokine array in COVID-19 patients to identify novel diagnostic biomarkers. A discovery–validation study in two independent prospective cohorts was performed. The discovery cohort included 136 COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients recruited consecutively from 24 March to 11 April 2020. Forty-five cytokines’ quantification by the MAGPIX system (Luminex Corp., Austin, TX, USA) was performed in plasma samples. The validation cohort included 117 patients recruited consecutively from 15 to 25 April 2020 for validating results by ELISA. COVID-19 patients showed different levels of multiple cytokines compared to non-COVID-19 patients. A single chemokine, IP-10, accurately identified COVID-19 patients who required hospital admission (AUC: 0.962; 95%CI (0.933–0.992); p < 0.001)). The results were validated in an independent cohort by multivariable analysis (OR: 25.573; 95%CI (8.127–80.469); p < 0.001) and AUROC (AUC: 0.900; 95%CI (0.846–0.954); p < 0.001). Moreover, showing IP-10 plasma levels over 173.35 pg/mL identified COVID-19 with higher sensitivity (86.20%) than the first SARS-CoV-2 PCR. Our discover–validation study identified IP-10 as a robust biomarker in clinical practice for COVID-19 diagnosis at hospital. Therefore, IP-10 could be used as a complementary tool in clinical practice, especially in emergency departments.Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant COV20/00491)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones científicas (grant CSIC-COV19-016/202020E155)Junta de Castilla y León (project COVID 07.04.467B04.74011.0)IBGM excellence programme (grant CLU-2029-02

Revista de Vertebrados de la Estación Biológica de Doñana

Descripción de un nuevo género y de una nueva especie Iberocypris palaciosi N.GEN.N.SO (Pisces, cyprinidae).Resultados de los censos d e aves acuáticas en Andalucía Occidental durante el invierno1978-79Interacciones en la alimentación de las larvas de dos especies de tritones. (Triturus marmoratus y Triturus boscai).Utilización del espacio en una comunidad de lacertidos del matorral mediterráneo en la Reserva Biológica de DoñanaMorfología dentaria de las liebres europeas (Lagomorpha, leporidae).El conejo, Oryctolagus cuniculus en Andalucía Occidental: Parámetros corporales y curva de crecimientoObservaciones de foca monje (Monachus monachus Herm.) en las costas del sureste de la Península Ibérica.Presencia de pejerrey Atherina (Hepsetia) boyeri, Risso 1810; Pisces ( Atherinidae) en la laguna de Zoñar (Córdoba, SO de España).Nuevas citas de la "loina" Chondrostoma (Machaerochilus) toxostoma arrigonis Stein. (pisces, cyprinidae) en EspañaRelativa subalimentación de Falco naumanni durante el periodo no reproductor en el valle del GuadalquivirComadrejas alimentandose de carroña.Agrupamientos de Alytes cisternasii bajo el mismo refugioDescripción de un nuevo género de quiróptero neotropical de la familia MolossidaeAlgunas notas sobre Platalea leucorodia en GaliciaInicidencia del murciélago hematófago Desmodus rotundus sobre los indígenas Yanomani de VenezuelaRitmo de actividad de algunos ratones de los llanos de Apure (Venezuela)Presencia del topillo campesino ibérico, Microtus arvalis asturianus Miller, 1908 en la meseta del DueroFalco columbarius EsmerejónCiconia ciconia CigüeñaNycticorax nycticorax MartinetePeer reviewe

Early-Stage Breast Cancer Detection in Breast Milk

Breast cancer; Breast milkCáncer de mama; Leche maternaCàncer de mama; Llet maternaBreast cancer occurring during pregnancy (PrBC) and postpartum (PPBC) is usually diagnosed at more advanced stages compared with other breast cancer, worsening its prognosis. PPBC is particularly aggressive, with increased metastatic risk and mortality. Thus, effective screening methods to detect early PrBC and PPBC are needed. We report for the first time that cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA) is present in breast milk (BM) collected from patients with breast cancer. Analysis of ctDNA from BM detects tumor variants in 87% of the cases by droplet digital PCR, while variants remain undetected in 92% of matched plasma samples. Retrospective next-generation sequencing analysis in BM ctDNA recapitulates tumor variants, with an overall clinical sensitivity of 71.4% and specificity of 100%. In two cases, ctDNA was detectable in BM collected 18 and 6 months prior to standard diagnosis. Our results open up the potential use of BM as a new source for liquid biopsy for PPBC detection. Significance: For the first time, we show that BM obtained from patients with breast cancer carries ctDNA, surpassing plasma-based liquid biopsy for detection and molecular profiling of early-stage breast cancer, even prior to diagnosis by image.We thank the patients who participated in the study and donated samples for analysis for their generous contribution, with particular thanks to the first patient, Maite, and her daughter Àneu, who inspired us to initiate this study (oral consent to name the patient and her daughter was provided by the patient, and her legal partner provided written consent after patient's exitus). We are grateful to Javier Carmona for his valuable contributions and support in the manuscript's conceptualization, preparation, and revision. VHIO would like to acknowledge the Cellex Foundation for providing research facilities and equipment and the CERCA Programme from the Generalitat de Catalunya for their support of this research. The authors from VHIO acknowledge the State Agency for Research (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) for the financial support as a Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa (CEX2020-001024-S/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). This research is financially supported by the “El paseíco de la mama” Foundation. C. Saura was the recipient of a II FERO-GHD grant from the FERO Foundation (FERO/5086), a Junior Clinical award from the Spanish Association Against Cancer Foundation (FAECC; CLJUN212026ORTI), and a SEOM-Daiichi Sankyo grant for its support on the Breast Cancer Research Projects 2021 (SEOM/FECMA2022) and received funding from the Department of Health (Generalitat de Catalunya SLT008/18/00198) and from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), cofunded by the European Union (PI21/01020). C. Ortiz was the recipient of a Junior Clinician award from the FAECC (CLJUN212026ORTI) and a SEOM-Daiichi Sankyo grant for its support on the Breast Cancer Research Projects 2021 (SEOM/FECMA2022), and received funding from the Department of Health (Generalitat de Catalunya SLT008/18/00198). N. Bayó-Puxan received funding from the Department of Health (Generalitat de Catalunya SLT008/18/00205), MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (GPE2022-001029) and MCIN/AEI/10.130.39/501100011033, and the European Union “Next GenerationEU/PRTR” (ECT2020-000827). J.M. Miquel received funding from the Department of Health (Generalitat de Catalunya SLT008/18/00205), MCIN/AEI/10.130.39/501100011033, and the European Union “Next GenerationEU/PRTR” (ECT2020-000827). J. Arribas is funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF-23-008), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (project reference numbers AC15/00062, CB16/12/00449, and PI22/00001), and the European Commission under the framework of the ERA-NET TRANSCAN-2 initiative cofinanced by FEDER and Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer. A. Vivancos was the recipient of a project award from the FAECC (AVP/18/AECC/3219) and received funding from the Advanced Molecular Diagnostic (DIAMAV) program from the FERO Foundation (8361) and from ISDIN for supporting the development of liquid biopsy applications at the Cancer Genomics Lab (1848). M. Sansó was the recipient of a II FERO-GHD grant from the FERO Foundation (FERO/5086) and an investigator award from the FAECC (INVES19056SANS), and received funding from the Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), the RADIX-Janssen program (RADIX/JANSSEN21/01), and the Miguel Servet Program funded by the ISCIII (CP22/00131)