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Glass shards at Pinnacle Point rock shelter 5-~6, South Africa: Are they from the last super-~eruption of Toba?

Cryptotephra, in the form of individual glass shards, have been discovered in paleoarchaeological site PP5-6 North at Pinnacle Point, Western Cape, South Africa. This marks the first documentation of cryptotephra in a South African paleoarchaeological site. PP5-6 North is a rock shelter in the cliffs along the coast of the Western Cape and is one of a series of caves and rock shelters at Pinnacle Point that were inhabited by early modern humans. The presence of cryptotephra at PP5-6 is an important discovery in terms of tephra preservation in cave deposits as well as the possibility of tephra being present in other nearby locations. The cryptotephra at PP5-6 presented numerous challenges in terms of extraction and analysis. Shards were less than 60 micrometers in size and were extremely low in abundance. Electron probe analyses show that the shards are rhyolitic in composition and optically stimulated luminescence dating of the host sediment indicates the shards are 73.7 ka. This leads to the conclusion that the cryptotephra in PP5-6 may represent an ultra-distal deposit, more than 5000 km from the source eruption, of the 74 ka Toba super-eruption in Sumatra, Indonesia. The Toba caldera is 8964 km away from Pinnacle Point, making Pinnacle Point the most distal deposit of this eruption

delta16HER2 splice variant and its role in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer

Deep insight on delta16HER2 splice variant and its role in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer

Diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of mesonephric adenocarcinoma of the vagina: a literature review and a case report

Background: Mesonephric adenocarcinoma (MA) of the vagina is a rare tumor that arises from mesonephric remnants (Wolffian) in the female genital tract. It is a neoplasm with no significant evidence about its diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and prognosis. Methods: Systematic research of the literature was conducted in Scopus, PubMed/MEDLINE, ScienceDirect and the Cochrane Library, including observational prospective and retrospective studies, case series and case reports. We collected data regarding studies related to diagnosis and treatment options evaluating the following aspects: study design, population, treatment type, rate of surgical complications and fertility outcome. We further included a case report of laparoscopic management of MA with pictorial assays. Results: Thirteen cases of MA of the vagina are available in the literature, including our case report. The median age at diagnosis was 52 years old; the majority of patients reported vaginal bleeding as a symptom (38%); and ultrasound, followed by a magnetic resonance and CT scan were the diagnostic tools most used. In 54% of the cases, a surgical biopsy was performed, and 92% of the patients underwent upfront surgery with an open access or vaginal resection except one case fully managed by minimally invasive surgery. Most of the patients (68%) received adjuvant treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy or a combination of them. The mean follow-up period was 6 years. Conclusions: Despite the rarity of this cancer and bizarre location, a minimally invasive approach seems feasible after multidisciplinary evaluation. According to the rarity of this tumor, any future case and follow-up data must be reported in the literature in order to enlarge the knowledge about it

Indagine sulla presenza di Salmonella spp. nelle spezie

In the last decades, food-borne infections and food poisoning, due to spices, have increased, in several European countries. The main cause is the improved consumption of ready-to-eat food and increased use of spices in food. A total of 158 samples of spices were analyzed from 2015 to 2019, they were collected in Palermo district, at commercialization or import phase. All samples were analysed for Salmonella spp. All microorganisms isolated were subjected to antibiotic resistance assay. The results of the analysis showed a satisfying hygienic quality of spices, only four samples (2,5%) of sesame showed the presence of Salmonella spp.. The Salmonella isolated strains showed sensitivity to all antibiotics tested except the ampicillin and gentamicin. The strain of S. Maastricht, instead, showed sensitivity to ampicillin and resistance to gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin and tetraciclin

Indagine sulla prevalenza di Vibrio spp. potenzialmente patogeni in prodotti ittici in Sicilia: nuovi dati

The aim of this study was to value the prevalence of enteropathogenic Vibrio spp. in fish products, collected in the last two years. A total of 100 samples (75 bivalve molluscs, 6 shrimps, 12 teleosts and 7 cephalopods) were analysed according to the ISO 21872-1:2017. Vibrio strains were characterised by molecular analysis (PCR). Enteropathogenic Vibrio spp were isolated in the 11% of fish products, particularly in shellfish. V. parahaemolyticus was identified in 4/75 (5.3%) and in 2/12 (16.7%) samples of bivalve molluscs from production areas and teleosts respectively. The isolates of V. parahaemolyticus were tested by PCR for the presence of specie- specific gene (toxR) and for the tdh and trh genes: 1 sample of teleosts (Sardina pilchardus) had the trh gene. V. vulnificus was isolated in 5/75 (6.7%) samples of bivalve molluscs (only in oysters). This is the first report of V. vulnificus identification in bivalve molluscs in our area